The GT Tour Spring Lap

From Reservoir -

Courtesy of Reservoir

This is one of the latest from Reservoir, the GT Tour Spring Lap.

Here are the pertinents -

CASE

– 43mm, 316L Stainless Steel Case with satin and Polished finish
– Black Dial
– Green Hand
– Screw-down Crown, Water-resistant 5ATM
– Opened Case-Back at 360°
– Anti-reflective Sapphire Crystal

MOVEMENT

– Retrograde Minute, Jumping Hour, Power Reserve
– Caliber RSV-240 : Manufacture Self-winding Mechanical Movement, Patented proprietary 113-pieces module (LJP G100 base)
– 56-Hour Power Reserve
– 28,800 alt./h
– Swiss Made

STRAP

– Black Racing Calf Leather with Green stitching Strap, 22 mm Width 
– Stainless Steel Butterfly Folding Clasp 
– Additional NATO Strap provided with quick release spring bars for easy changing of strap

Suggested Retail price is $4,200

Just Under The Radar - The Cincinnatus Centurion

From the Cincinnati Watch Company -

Courtesy of the Cincinnati Watch Company

A few Henki factoids -

I made my debut in Zanesville, Ohio. Although my formative years were spent to the north in Oberlin, I think I somehow felt a stronger connection to southern Ohio - at least as much as a 6 year-0ld can. While my friends rooted for the Cleveland Browns (or worse the Pittsburgh Steelers), my support went to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati is now also home to a growing micro brand, the Cincinnati Watch Company. 

Courtesy of Cincinnati Watch Company

The Cincinnatus Centurion is a good example of the one watch to have if you are only going to have one watch. And yes, I mean that as a compliment.

The case is of stainless steel and measures 40 mm in diameter. The crystals (front and display back) are sapphire, with the front being double domed sapphire with inner AR coating.

Courtesy of Cincinnati Watch Company

The movement is Sellita's SW200-1. 

The Cincinnatus Centurion retails for $549.00 plus shipping, and is available direct -

Cincinnatus Centurion

Love Overdue - A Bit More On The Tudor x Rowing Blazers Neon Noir

So, it's now been a few weeks. And suffice it to say, the love affair continues. 

And now that the dust has settled, all of the lucky "Friends & Family" of Rowing Blazers have received their Neon Noirs, I can now share a little more of the backstory.

First and foremost, the Neon Noir Tudors were only offered to what Rowing Blazers co-founder Jack Carlson and his friend Eric Wind (of Wind Vintage) referred to as "Friends & Family". And in fairness, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I was in that category. I have been asked more than a few times by more than a few people - "how did you manage that?" 

I first met the Rowing Blazers team back in December of 2017.  They were conducting a pop-up in Boston on Newbury Street and I wandered over on my lunch break.

Jack was kind enough to participate in a few interviews, and the team (with his partner David doing some particularly heavy lifting) helped me with a customized Tempus Fugit x Rowing Blazers blazer -

It has been interesting to see how Rowing Blazers has grown and evolved over the past 6 years, and I look forward to continuing my sartorial journey.

One other interesting side part to this story. We all received our Neon Noir watches with the very strict instructions to (please) not post any images on social media, etc., until after an embargo date had passed. But as I had my nifty new time machine, I wanted to wear it (albeit incognito) as soon as possible. My Neon Noir arrived on a Tuesday, and I believe I made it all the way to Friday! I discovered that there was a place not too far from me that sold Tudor watches. And it seemed like a safe bet that they would be able to size a bracelet. Friday afternoon the Neon Noir and I drove to Long's Jewelers in Peabody, MA. I felt a wee bit sheepish. I explained that I had a new Tudor watch that (obviously) I had not bought from them, and I needed to get it sized. 

"We'd be happy to do that for you! Would you like a coffee, or some water?" 

Needless to say, I enjoyed a lovely bottle of sparkling water while the bracelet was sized. And serious respect to the person helping me. She took one look at the watch on my wrist and said -

"Three links. I'll be right back". 

Coffee and water were again offered. And the watch was placed on my wrist, perfectly sized. I reached for my wallet, and was told that there was no charge for this service.

Now a few things I will point out as a former Tourneau employee. At the end of the day (or in our case back in San Francisco, night), the very last thing you want to do is hang around close to closing time unless you are in the process of closing a sale. You want to get the watches wrapped, back in the safe, and head home. Your colleagues would be getting agitated, shooting daggers at you, making it clear that they could not wait for your customer to wrap it up and go home. But the team at Long's could not do enough for me, a guy who had come in for service (apparently a free one), who had never shopped there before, and decided to do so fifteen minutes to closing time.

Anyone can sell watches. You can save some money by shopping around, but to a large extent you are not only buying a watch, but you are also buying an experience. An experience that you relive every time you wear that watch. When I wear my Neon Noir I certainly think of Rowing Blazers fondly. But I also now think of the folks at Long's. Their kindness and unbelievable service are now indelibly part of this story.

The Kinetik Duro 20Atm

From Defakto -

Courtesy of Defakto

The case is of hardened stainless steel and measures 39 mm in diameter. The movement is the ETA 2824-2. Water resistant to 20 ATM.

1.189,00 EUR (incl. VAT) 

999,16 EUR (excl. VAT)

Available direct from Defakto.

What I've Learned - The Big Comeback

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been working Watch Town adjacent for the better part of 20 years now. And as is tradition with this outlet, from time to time I like to reflect on just what I've learned on this little journey.

1. There will always be someone smarter, faster, and better than you.

This is true on every side of the business - manufacturing, marketing, sales, and the Fourth and Fifth Estates. Recently mighty retail empires have contracted to the point of near collapse, and the former aspiring have taken the field. And once mighty journalists representing once mightier print and digital outlets are now starting to dust off their CVs. Some have found their way to brands where new positions in marketing departments have been created just for them! Let's hope they last. 

And now we get ready for the big payback!

2. Thought the SIHH was snotty? Watches and Wonders served up an even colder cup of coffee to several loyal, consistent attendees from the press corps in the parlor game better known as "High School Was The Best Time of My Life, and Now I Get To Relive it!". Needless to say, it is clear that certain media outlets will never be seeing the inside of the Palexpo because certain newly minted brand representatives are carrying the sorts of grudges that would give Prom Queen First Runners Up a hernia.

3. A Sale is a sale not when the watches arrive at the retail outlet, but when they leave said outlet on the wrist of a paying customer. It is great to see the enthusiasm of the brand and of the retail partner. And in a perfect world, all of those watches would leave through the front door at close to full retail. In the real world, high volume typically equals thinner margins. It's great that the export numbers are up, in the end it means very little in terms of actual sales.

4. "My friend" still means "You &*$king asshole!"

And I will close this as I often do with a thought about the impermanence and malleability of those who live and work in Watch Town, as first shared by George C. Scott as General George Patton -

"For over a thousand years, Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of a triumph - a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters and musicians and strange animals from the conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children, robed in white, stood with him in the chariot, or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror, holding a golden crown, and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting."

The "Neon Noir" Tudor X Rowing Blazers

As many watch journalists will relate, there are few new releases / special editions that can be kept secret  where a new watch model intersects with social media and a 24 hour watch news cycle. But then again, not every special project has been handled by Rowing Blazers -

So let's hop into the Wayback machine and return to those halcyon days of March, 2022. March 11, in fact. I got an email letting me know that there was going to be a special project open to a maximum of 100 people. Invitation only, targeting a delivery within 12 months. 

To quote the invitation announcement:

Our watch is a Black Bay 58 model in black, designed based on the original Tudor Submariner "Big Crown" watches from the late 50s.

I gave it all of about 5 minutes of deliberation and pulled the "commitment trigger".  And then I put the whole thing in the mental vault, and tried to forget about it as waiting for this was going to be like waiting for Christmas, your birthday, and graduation all in one go.

And time, as is its wont, went by. 

And then with the first signs of spring came the news that the Tudor "Neon Noir" watches were ready and would be shipping. And so, nearly a year to the day of its announcement, my "Neon Noir" Tudor x Rowing Blazers found its way to my door.

Needless to say, the Executive Publisher approved ; )

To say that I am a bit of a Rowing Blazers addict would be an understatement. My custom Tempus Fugit blazer has become somewhat of a conversation piece since its (and my) appearance at the Wind Up fair in New York this past October.

Now I have no doubt that there will be longer, more eloquent reporting on this special Tudor from the Great and the Good of Watch Town's Fourth and Fifth Estate. But as for myself? I have reported on many special watch projects, but this is the first one that I ever had the opportunity to do more than report, but actually participate. So a big thank you to Jack Carlson, Eric Wind, and the team at Rowing Blazers. It is nice to be part of the club!

This Is Not A Watch Review - Wrapping It Up With The Earl

I have been involved in the watch business for over 20 years now. It seems odd to say that, because it doesn't seem that long, and also owing to the fact that I currently am not dependent on Watch Town to make a living. So I think it's safe to say that my continued involvement as a consultant, as a brand advisor, and more importantly for the purposes of this article, as a journalist is based on my continued interest and passion for watches and the people who endeavor to make them. So with that said, I need to stress yet again, that this is not a watch review. 

Courtesy of E. Stohlman Watch Co.

I am proud to say that Eugene Stohlman is my friend. I have taken great interest and pleasure in seeing him grow professionally over the past 3 years. With his partner Pete, he created and grew Maryland Watch Works into the go-to resource for micro-brands not just in the region, but from around the world. In addition to white label service, they are the official service center for several brands both big and small. But beyond the business side, Eugene is a watch maker. I remember a few years ago we were at tables next to each other at a watch fair. Eugene had been going flat out for 2 days at the show, not to mention the 4 hour round-trip drive back and forth from Hagerstown to DC. My flight wasn't until later so I asked Eugene if he wanted to get dinner. He said, thanks but no - he was driving that night to Weehawken, New Jersey to take a certification course with Omega! That passion, that commitment says something. 

Eugene has toyed with the idea of creating his own collection for some time, and earlier this year, at the District Time show, he unveiled his first piece. A few weeks ago, I came home to find a box had been delivered. I recognized the return address and opened it up -

As a rule, I am not that fussed one way or the other about packaging. Invariably it gets stuck in the garage, basement, or attic. But with that said, I also appreciate that for the watchmaker, their watch is their baby. And with that comes a certain degree of pride, and a desire to present that new baby in the best possible light.

The standard cardboard is removed, and a lovely wooden box is revealed. 

But it gets better -

A travel case, should you opt to take more than watch with you. And let's be honest, it is more than likely that if you are into watches, you will likely take an extra with you when you travel ; )

But let's get to the watch itself -

I will start out by making a very important disclosure - I love this watch! I was enamored of it before I put it on, and have worn it pretty-much nonstop for the past 2 weeks. First and foremost?  The case itself. It is round, with a stepped bezel, measuring 39 mm. The lugs are tortoise style, reminiscent of Eterna, Le Coultre, and Movado. And they are striking. But Mr. Stohlman did something that I personally love. Rather than stainless steel, he opted for Rhodium plated .925 Sterling Silver. So needless to say, the Earl has a bit of heft that only adds to its presence.

The lower 2 lugs bear the hallmarks of the Silver case (925) and Mr. Stohlman's logo.

The crown is an onion style, the cabochon style insert is resin. The case back body is stainless steel which makes perfect sense as it is in contact with the wrist of the wearer. Silver, as we all know, impacts different people's skin differently. It is not something everyone can wear, and the use of a stainless steel case back combined with a display (sapphire) crystal is wise, and it also reveals the Maryland Watch Works movement -

The movement is described as the  

MWW708. This self-winding (automatic) movement is fully assembled and tested in Hagerstown, Maryland at Maryland Watch Works.

The timekeeping has been first rate, power reserve over 48 hours in my experience.

Now as formal a watch as you may think this is, Eugene Stohlman also has a sense of whimsy. A closer examination of the dial reveals several colors utilized in the minute track of the dial -

You could miss it and never know about it, but a closer look reveals this wonderful Easter egg!

The numbers are applied, and they are wonderfully subtle in their beautiful simplicity.

Lastly, the strap. It is described as brown Nile alligator. The strap tapers to 16 mm at the buckle connecting point. The clasp is elegant and secure.

So how to sum up? In all honesty, I can't be entirely objective. I am friends with the brand's owner, the man who designed and created the Earl. I am predisposed to like it. But with that said, wearing the Earl these past 2 weeks has been enjoyable not just as a watch enthusiast. It has been truly wonderful to see my friend's passion project come to fruition, particularly in that it is as wonderful a watch as it is. More to the point, it is a watch that I would (and quite frankly, may) purchase for myself. 

If I am honest with myself about this watch thing that I am involved with, I realize that it is not about the biggest, baddest, toughest watch. Nor is it about the most glittering, fancy name. And as I have learned over the past 20 years, watches trigger an emotional connection (hopefully, anyway). The Earl has flipped a switch in me, it has struck a visceral chord. I cannot, and will not imply that my feelings are not entirely objective. They are indeed passionate, it's hard not to be passionate about watches.

But then again, as I said from the start -

This Is Not A Watch Review!

Enjoy your watches!

The Pandial LE.4 DD Emerald Green Chronometer

From Brellum -

Courtesy of Brellum

This the latest from   Sébastien Muller and his chrono-centric brand, Brellum.

The Pandial LE.4 DD Emerald Green Chronometer is priced at (incl. VAT and shipping worldwide) approx. $3120US Dollars / £2980 / €3390 / CHF 2990. 

If this is in your wheelhouse, you can order direct at:

www.brellum.swiss 

Shipping will be around the end of April 2023.

Courtesy of Brellum

Here are the pertinents, straight from Brellum -

Caliber: 

BRELLUM BR-750-2 Automatic Chronometer (Valjoux 7750 base) Certification Officially Chronometer certified (COSC) 

Decoration: 

Perlage, Geneva stripes, blue screws, Brellum gold coated rotor 

Technology: 

Automatic 28'800 A/h, 25 jewels, 46 hours power reserve; Incabloc, Glucydur Balance, Nivarox Alloy Hairspring type Anachron 

Functions: 

Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Day/Date window, 12 hour chronograph, stop-second, tachymeter. 

Case: 

Material Stainless Steel 316L, DIN 1.4435 

Dimensions: 

Diameter 43.00mm, thickness: 11.70mm without crystals, 15.90mm total 

Crystal: 

Box sapphire crystal on top and back with anti-reflection coating (inside) 

Dial: 

Multi-level dial, diamond cut indexes with Super Luminova Hands Diamond cut with luminous material on hours and minutes hands 

Water resistance: 

100m, 10ATM, 100% tested 

Case back: 

Exhibition stainless steel case back, with sapphire crystal and antireflective coating inside, numbered from 01/23 to 23/23 

Strap: 

Delivered with : 1 x Integrated Green Veal leather strap with stainless steel deployment buckle and 1 x Stainless steel bracelet and tools

Looking Back...Weaponizing Empathy

We have, in many was gotten past COVID19. Without getting into the political differences that were laid bare during the worst phases of the pandemic, both Wendy and I were reminded recently of some of the positives that came out of it. I realize that it is a truly difficult thing to find light in the bottom of a dark well, but we have now come out the other side, and on May 11 the official public health emergency will be declared over.

A few heroes emerged, and one who I am truly proud to call my friend. I first heard the motto "Weaponizing Empathy" in an interview with José Andrés, and I can think of nobody who embodied that ethos more than watchmaker, medic, and Army veteran - Daniel Wentzel.  Daniel and several hundred military veterans decided to run towards danger while so many of us were squabbling over petty differences. It is hard to believe that this was three years ago, and I hope for all of our sakes it's something we won't have to go through again for a very long time. As I write these words, the Executive Publisher (my cat, Tallulah) is on my lap purring away, the birds are out and singing, and it is the third consecutive warm spring day. When this story first ran we were laying in bulk supplies of masks, ordering everything online, and waiting collectively for things to go back to normal. Well, let us hope that our return to normal will not cause us to forget to be kind, courteous, respect different opinions, and most importantly? That we will always have people like Daniel Wentzel out there who are not afraid to weaponize empathy.

And so, an end of Pandemic special repeat -

Weaponizing Empathy

Or - A funny thing happened on the way to New York City

COVID-19 has, in the words of an old university chum of mine who is now a professor of theology and Sunday School teacher, "Kicked the snot out of us."  It continues to be a challenging situation.

I will ask you to go back with me to April 11th.  It was a Saturday, and I was cooking dinner when my Facebook Messenger pinged. It was my friend Daniel Wentzel.  At first I thought that maybe my watch repair was finished - Daniel is a highly skilled watchmaker here in Massachusetts and more than once he has taken pity on my mechanical babies and repaired them.  But this message did not involve any of my watches, it was actually a request for help. Because in addition to being a very talented watchmaker, Daniel is also a proud US Army veteran who, just so happened to have served as a medic.  And as it happened, Daniel was in New York City with a flood of other military vets who also had medical training. They had all converged on the city and surrounding area to help support the various hospitals and pop-up centers that were struggling to keep up with the flood of patients coming in.  And believe it or don't, but there was one key thing that was needed by this massive group of volunteers -

Wrist Watches.

Now in normal situations (that means back in December and January here in the US), a nurse or EMT wears a watch with a second function OR they had a nice big wall clock with a LARGE, RED second hand so that they can take accurate vital signs.  Curious to relate?  A smart watch is not going to be reliable as you frequently need to move your wrist to "wake up" the watch face.  A cell phone will also do you no good as it requires another set of hands to hold it.  And as many of these facilities were hastily assembled? Let's just say that there was a dearth of wall clocks.  Long story short?  Plenty of people to take pulses and blood pressure, very few of them had a watch that would do something so basic as indicate seconds elapsed!

Daniel's message was short and to the point: "We need basic quartz wristwatches with a central second.  People will need to be able to disinfect them between shifts.  And if possible, we need them by Tuesday.  Could you reach out to your contacts for help?"

Ironically, a simple $15 watch that could be had (again, pre-lock down) on virtually any street in New York City would do the trick. That was before the lockdown.  Oh, one other thing?  This was the Saturday night before Easter!  Oh, one other small detail -

They needed about 200 watches!

I told Daniel that I would do what I could.  I reached out to Gary Girdvainis, the publisher of iW and About Time magazines and the two of us reached out to all of our contacts in the watch world.  And what happened next was pretty amazing.

On Easter, which is a pretty big deal in Europe as they tend to stay closed from Friday to Tuesday, I received a response from Yasmina Pedrini of Frederique Constant / Alpina in Switzerland. She wished Wendy and me a happy Easter, and she said that they would love to help, but with shipping times, etc. it was not going to be as quick as was needed.  But that she would reach out to her colleagues in the US.  Monday morning an email came in to Gary at iW from Ellen Seckler of Citizen Watches in North America (Citizen is the parent company of Frederique Constant), asking what they could do to help.  Without putting too fine a point on it, mountains were moved.  Somehow, watches were tracked down, retrieved from a secure location, and delivered most riki-tik! 
For those of you unfamiliar with this expression, per the Urban Dictionary: riki-tik

Derived from a story in "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling. The story featured a mongoose named Rikki Tikki who exhibited great speed. To do something "riki-tik" or "most riki-tik" is to do it very quickly. The phrase has common usage in the US armed forces. by SpenserPS May 27, 2009)

How the people at Citizen made this happen is still pretty remarkable, but within a very short time span, 175 Citizen watches arrived in New York City!

Courtesy of Citizen

Courtesy of Citizen

But Watch Town was not done!  The owner of Ollech & Wajs had been working with folks in a few different countries to help them produce face masks for medical staff. He is based in Belgium, but his mother was born in the US, and he wanted to help. While Ollech & Wajs was a watch brand, they make mechanical watches, not quartz.  So an order was made to a "third party retailer" and a good amount of another brand's watches were purchased and delivered.  

And then there was Ray Grenon, of Grenon's of Newport in Rhode Island. Ray made it personal by donating a large number of his personal quartz collection.  On the Monday morning after Easter, he replaced all of the batteries in his watches and shipped them all down to NYC.

Curious to relate?  There really wasn't anything in this for the folks who donated. These were volunteers they were giving watches to, not an official charity.  There will be no tax credit statement, no mention in the monthly newsletter, no champagne thank you at the annual gala.  They all stepped up and helped without expecting a thank you.

But I wanted to personally thank them all, Gary, Ray, Ollech & Wajs, Yasmina, Ellen, Citizen, and most of all?  I wanted to thank Daniel and his incredibly dedicated band of brothers and sisters who stepped up to help us all be safer.  There are no words sufficient.  

But Daniel wanted to be sure that this story got told, so I am going to turn this part over to him -

May 21, 2020

Daniel Wentzel on his way to the hot zone

So my journey to the field hospitals of New York City began way back in 2009. I had just returned from deployment to Iraq as a Combat Medic in the US Army. I suffered injuries to my hips having had to have them both replaced over the next ensuing years. Prior to my deployment to Iraq, I was a Paramedic Supervisor in Elizabethtown PA providing pre-hospital EMS, among many other management related duties. When I had my Hip joints replaced I could no longer pass the physical requirements needed to perform as a pre-hospital EMS.

I decided that I would change careers and become a watchmaker, I enjoy working with my hands and true watchmaking requires critical thinking and problem solving. I then attended the York Time Institute for 2 yrs and graduated with a Diploma in Watch/ Clock Repair and Restoration. I was hired directly our of school in a high end Jewelry store in Massachusetts, I worked there for almost 3 years. It was hard for me to adjust to the environment with my old employer, I didn’t fit in with their culture, like most vets I am not a yes man. I decided to start my own watch repair/watch making home based business in January of 2019 working on my own endeavors.

Then came COVID-19, my clients dried up and I really had to sit down and figure out what I really wanted to do. I decided that I needed to give back to society again, my whole adult life has been about healing others, this is what made me truly happy deep down. I soon put out the feelers for jobs in the healthcare field where my experience and expertise could be best utilized. I was not having much success, lots of applications with little feedback. I then received a post on social media calling for prior service Medical Corp veterans to volunteer to staff a field hospital in NYC for treating COVID-19 patients. I applied Monday and got accepted the next day and was on a flight to NYC to be a medical provider at the Ryan Larkin Field Hospital-New York Presbyterian Hospital. I spent the next month providing care to patients stricken by COVID-19.

Medic in action

When I arrived in NYC I saw a need for wrist watches, most of the younger generation uses cell phones and smart watches for timing, they are not easily accessed in the controlled environments that were required in the “Bubble” COVID ward. I reached out to my friend James Henderson, who moved mountains to get the project moving; within a week's time he had already arranged several wristwatches to be set to NYC. I cannot thank him enough for all his hard work and to all the people who made the wristwatch mission happen. It is heart-warming know that there are people who can do something to help others and then follow through above and beyond what is asked of them.

In Action

Again, I would like to thank everyone involved, James Henderson, Gary Girdvainis of iW and About Time Magazine,Ray Grenon of Grenon's of Newport, Charles at Ollech & Wajs and Ellen from Citizen watches; you made our jobs much safer, productive and directly affected the outcome of our patients in a positive way due to your generosity.

Sincerely,

Daniel Wentzel

The Power of (the lack) of the Press

As the curtain comes down on the one and a half watch fairs in Geneva, its's time to look back and take stock. For those brands that were not Rolex or Patek, the first day apparently didn't happen for you. And it didn't really get much better as the fair progressed. The big Richemont brands got some, but in all honesty not too much press coverage. 

(High) and Mighty Hodinkee covered:

Rolex - A LOT. In scrolling through their last week of coverage I ran out of fingers and had to switch to the Executive Publishers toes to try and keep count. Add in Tudor and you get a truly impressive number. Patek and Cartier also got a lot of ink. A little bit from Oris and the obligatory mentions for some other brands. 

And curious to relate? The "Dink" was not the only less than comprehensive outlet. By and large there were 3 or 4 Belles of the Ball, and the rest of the brands might as well have been showing their wares down the road at the Head...

Courtesy of Spotify

Sorry, too soon? Time to Watches crowed again about how awesome their show was, increasing a mighty 28% in terms of attendees and up to 55 brands! 5,800 people apparently made the journey to the U, which breaks down to an average of 105 (or so) visitors per brand (if you divide). Now knowing how much the organizers were charging for booth space, I would seriously question whether or not this was money well-spent. Moreover, if the press coverage of this Star-Spangled-Awesome event is anything to go by, it apparently never even happened. To be fair I am not monitoring every watch and fashion media outlet in the world, but I can say that based on the coverage of the great and the good in the Fourth and Fifth Estates, the silence has been deafening.

And here's the ironic rub - Watches and Wonders in their own Cock of the Walk fashion boasted about 5,000 or so retailers and something like 1,500 journalists. Think about that for a moment...

Some glaring realities were laid bare:

• As snotty and exclusionary (not exclusive, there is a difference) as Watches and Wonders is with its press accreditation policy, this is the first year that there has been notable backlash not only from the shunned, but the regular attendees. C'mon Richemont, what are you really afraid of?
• Without sufficient hotels within a reasonable commute, it is next to impossible to expect that anyone will make it to their appointments on time.
• Without better infrastructure, it is next to impossible to expect that anyone will make it to their appointments in time. 
• Without a wider diversity of brands, Watches and Wonders will never truly be on the level that BaselWorld was back in its best times.
• Without an actual, functioning public transportation system, well let's just say it's not an ideal situation if you're trying to get to either fair without the benefit of having your own car.

But for those of us on the sidelines, we'll keep watching and wondering.

Henki Time Book Club - S-TOWN EXQUISITE CLOCKS

In fairness, it has been a minute since the Podcast S-TOWN dropped back in 2017. So you could be forgiven for not being familiar with it.

Courtesy of natcon.nawcc.org

A brief synapsis, courtesy of Wikipedia -

In 2012, horologist John B. McLemore^[3] sent an email to the staff of the show This American Life asking them to investigate an alleged murder in his hometown of Woodstock, Alabama, a place he claimed to despise. After a year of exchanging emails and several months of conversation with McLemore, producer Brian Reed traveled to Woodstock to investigate.^[4]  He investigated the crime and eventually found that no such murder took place, though he struck up a friendship with McLemore, a "depressed but colorful" character. He recorded conversations with McLemore and other people in Woodstock, which are played on the podcast.

McLemore killed himself by drinking potassium cyanide on June 22, 2015,^[5] while the podcast was still in production. In the narrative of the podcast, this occurs at the end of the second episode, and subsequent episodes deal with the fallout from McLemore's death while exploring more of McLemore's life and character. Though the podcast was promoted under the name S-Town, Reed reveals in the first episode that this is a euphemism for "Shit-Town", McLemore's derogatory term for Woodstock.^[1] Reed generally refers to the podcast by the non-euphemized name in the episodes themselves.

My wife Wendy and I binged the whole thing in a few weekends. And the one thing that I remembered at the time was that Mr. McLemore was a clock maker. But what the podcast does not reveal is the extent of work he had done. 

Courtesy of natcon.nawcc.org

Enter Philip E. Morris Jr., and William R. Tatum. Their upcoming book, S - TOWN EXQUISITE CLOCKS offers a rare look into the life's work of a man who was as much a mystery in life as remains in death.

Courtesy of natcon.nawcc.org

The book is available through the NAWCC and is scheduled to ship later this month. It is priced at $39.95 and you can order here -

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