Heroes and Villains - Wrapping up 2014

So we've managed to do it again, 364 days marked off the calendar and it's the day where some of us ask ourselves what we learned?  Who went above and beyond, who disappointed?

Well let's start with the "Heroes" -

Omega - yes, you read that correctly.  Although their US marketing side can hold a grudge like the day is long, they were heroes on a few fronts -

Courtesy of OMEGA

The Seamaster 300 is THE BOMB!  There have been plenty of "re-imaginations" in the past few years, some have been good - this one is great.  Well done.

Courtesy of NOMOS

The NOMOS Metro.  Hats off to NOMOS for breaking the "sapphire crystal" ceiling with their new "Swing System" the NOMOS in-house escapement.  A refresher in "soft skills" from the folks in marketing and PR and who knows, they could become a brand to love again.

Courtesy of A. Manzoni & Fils

Although not here in the US yet, the Canopus from A. Manzoni & Fils is something sort of exciting not just in terms of the design, but the return of Oliver Ike to the big leagues.  I for one am looking forward to what is in store.

Courtesy of Ressence

And to round out the metal bound heroes, another gem from Ressence.

But what's a "nice" list without a "naughty" one?  And for those of you more sensitive readers - the "s" word is going to be trotted out a fair bit -

INVICTA getting a formal investigation into its business practices in the state of Florida was welcomed on many fronts - not necessarily from a gleeful sense of schadenfreude  but because it is a brand that for better or worse has built up an enormous fan base and has been seen by many to have betrayed that trust.

The Tag Heuer debacle - if I am telling it like I see it, the way that this was handled was bush-league and shit-canning so many people so suddenly was some pretty shameful shit.  To cap it off with the CEO falling on his sword to take one for the team, and the coach essentially claiming he had "no idea" of a potential exit is about as likely as the man who "accidentally, violently cut off his own head while shaving".  I'm sorry, but this is a grown-up business - let's act like grown-ups.  Don't get me wrong, sometimes hard decisions have to be made, and sometimes your ass is the one getting caught by the door on the way out - but there are many right ways to do this, and this was not one of them.

John Mayer's lament - Okay this is a bit of schadenfreude but there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a self-proclaimed expert get caught with his loupe down.  Mr. Mayer has a lot of knowledge and by all accounts an outstanding collection.  But then again, so does a certain car dealer in the Pacific Northwest.  I guess my point is this, were Mr. Mayer not Mr. Mayer, very few people would give two shits what he thinks.  It stinks that he got hosed on some of his watch purchases, don't get me wrong I wouldn't wish that on anyone.  But it is ironic when someone who goes on record as being an expert was actually relying on another "expert" for the watches that validated his (Mr. Mayer's) expertise.  Were he not so quick in the past to scoff at and ridicule those he perceived to be less knowledgeable than himself, I wouldn't even bat an eyelash.  But as I said before - pride can hurt you.

Kering re-shuffling the deck yet again - and this time losing perhaps one of the best hopes that they had to finally put Girard-Perregaux in the league it belongs.  Mr. Sofisti deserved better.  Having said that, let's see what 2015 holds.

Enjoy what's left of 2014 - see you next year.

A Grand Day Out with A. Manzoni & Fils

Like every year, this year I had a small "field trip" to somewhere I'd never been before -
Lugano!

So I met up with the man behind the re-birth of A. Manzoni & Fils, Oliver Ike for a morning coffee.
I had never been to Lugano before, and after a long flight and a long train ride from Zurich, I arrived at the train station in Lugano after dark with no real idea of how to get to the hotel!  And to further add to the intrigue, everything was in Italian.

A. Manzoni is HERE!

So after an exciting Kickstarter campaign, and a LOT of hard work behind the scenes, A. Manzoni & Fils is HERE!

For A. Manzoni & Fils first go-round at BaselWorld, Oliver Ike presented his new brand.

There had been a great deal of conversation about the Canopus Weekplanner, but a magnificent chronograph was being created behind the scenes.  Well, here it is!

This is not just any old chronograph.  Although the prototypes are in stainless steel, the models that will be made available to the public will be in gold.  I will have more images (i.e. better/professional) of this model as soon as they are available.  But for now I can tell you that this is one magnificent time machine.

And there will be some further posts about other developments in the next few days, so stay tuned!

What If? BaselWorld Press Day Update!

I always used to avoid Press Day at BaselWorld - well not anymore!

Today Glycine, A. Favre & Fils, Tiret and  DuBois et fils joined our ever growing band of brothers and sisters uniting to help the brave men and women fighting poaching on the front lines!

Thank you Glycine!

Thank you A. Favre & Fils!

Thank you Tiret!

Thank you Dubois et fils!

So let's see, that makes:

Girard Perregaux, JEANRICHARD, A. Manzoni & Fils, Kobold, Aquadive, ISOfrane, Xetum, Jardur, Gavox, the Oberlin Pen Company, SAVOY, Ressence, Marvin, the Chinese Timekeeper, Tigerlily Skye, GoS Watches, Catherine Jones of Cambridge, Glycine, A. Favre & Fils, Tiret and DuBois et fils!

And because, as always, I could do this ALL DAY -

What if?

Dear watch companies,

What if?

What if each one of you could take even $5,000 from your annual budgets and donate it to a common cause?  What if the mighty SWATCH, Richemont, LVMH, ROLEX, Sowind, Audemars Piguet, Patek Phillipe, Ulysse Nardin… what if you all came together with a reasonable contribution with the sole goal of trying to fix an "unfixable" problem?

What if 100 watch companies in the world each contributed $5,000 - or more - to fund rangers to protect elephants and rhinos from poachers?  What if based on that, we could then go to people with even more money?  What if your KINDNESS and willingness to do something that was totally selfless then triggered people like Phil Knight of Nike, or Oprah Winfrey, or Bill Gates - I mean, let's aim high here!  What if that all got so much money - and so much attention, that it would be better financially for a father to become a ranger, rather than to become a poacher?  

And what if that action, created a groundswell in China and Vietnam to help people understand that maybe, just maybe the preservation of a species is more valuable than a dubious aphrodisiac?

So, let's name some names - Biver, Hayek, Hoffmann, Sofisti (THANK YOU!), Stern, Marini, Raffi, Stas and all the rest of you -

Are you really interested in doing something great - or is it just talk and PR?  

What am I asking for?  $5,000 if you have it - for some of you big brands, that is WAY less than you spend on a month of advertising.  And as the saying goes, if you can't afford $5,000, give what you can!

Do you really want to make a mark in the world and not just talk about it?  Here is a chance to do it!

Who is in?

What's That Sound? What If - Update Number 11!

Why, that sound is the sound of momentum!

GoS Watches and our first retail store - Catherine Jones of Cambridge!

Thank You!!!

So let's see:

Girard Perregaux, JEANRICHARD, A. Manzoni & Fils, Kobold, Aquadive, ISOfrane, Xetum, Jardur, Gavox, the Oberlin Pen Company, SAVOY, Ressence, Marvin, the Chinese Timekeeper, Tigerlily Skye, GoS Watches and Catherine Jones of Cambridge!

For those of you keeping score at home - that is 17! We are nearly 20% there! C'mon!

What if?

Dear watch companies,

What if?

What if each one of you could take even $5,000 from your annual budgets and donate it to a common cause?  What if the mighty SWATCH, Richemont, LVMH, ROLEX, Sowind, Audemars Piguet, Patek Phillipe, Ulysse Nardin… what if you all came together with a reasonable contribution with the sole goal of trying to fix an "unfixable" problem?

What if 100 watch companies in the world each contributed $5,000 - or more - to fund rangers to protect elephants and rhinos from poachers?  What if based on that, we could then go to people with even more money?  What if your KINDNESS and willingness to do something that was totally selfless then triggered people like Phil Knight of Nike, or Oprah Winfrey, or Bill Gates - I mean, let's aim high here!  What if that all got so much money - and so much attention, that it would be better financially for a father to become a ranger, rather than to become a poacher?  

And what if that action, created a groundswell in China and Vietnam to help people understand that maybe, just maybe the preservation of a species is more valuable than a dubious aphrodisiac?

So, let's name some names - Biver, Hayek, Hoffmann, Sofisti (THANK YOU!), Stern, Marini, Raffi, Stas and all the rest of you -

Are you really interested in doing something great - or is it just talk and PR?  

What am I asking for?  $5,000 if you have it - for some of you big brands, that is WAY less than you spend on a month of advertising.  And as the saying goes, if you can't afford $5,000, give what you can!

Do you really want to make a mark in the world and not just talk about it?  Here is a chance to do it!

Who is in?

What If? Update Number 7!

And BIG UPS to RESSENCE!  Our "Band of Brothers and Sisters" has grown to 12 with RESSENCE joining forces with Girard-Perregaux, JEANRICHARD, A. Manzoni & Fils, Kobold, Aquadive, ISOfrane, Xetum, Jardur, Gavox, the Oberlin Pen Company and SAVOY!

And for those of you have have missed it ; )

What if?

Dear watch companies,

What if?

What if each one of you could take even $5,000 from your annual budgets and donate it to a common cause?  What if the mighty SWATCH, Richemont, LVMH, ROLEX, Sowind, Audemars Piguet, Patek Phillipe, Ulysse Nardin… what if you all came together with a reasonable contribution with the sole goal of trying to fix an "unfixable" problem?

What if 100 watch companies in the world each contributed $5,000 - or more - to fund rangers to protect elephants and rhinos from poachers?  What if based on that, we could then go to people with even more money?  What if your KINDNESS and willingness to do something that was totally selfless then triggered people like Phil Knight of Nike, or Oprah Winfrey, or Bill Gates - I mean, let's aim high here!  What if that all got so much money - and so much attention, that it would be better financially for a father to become a ranger, rather than to become a poacher?  

And what if that action, created a groundswell in China and Vietnam to help people understand that maybe, just maybe the preservation of a species is more valuable than a dubious aphrodisiac?

So, let's name some names - Biver, Hayek, Hoffmann, Sofisti (THANK YOU!), Stern, Marini, Raffi, Stas and all the rest of you -

Are you really interested in doing something great - or is it just talk and PR?  

What am I asking for?  $5,000 if you have it - for some of you big brands, that is WAY less than you spend on a month of advertising.  And as the saying goes, if you can't afford $5,000, give what you can!

Do you really want to make a mark in the world and not just talk about it?  Here is a chance to do it!

Who is in?

What If? Update Number 6!

And the good folks at SAVOY have signed on to the Tempus Fugit Initiative - joining forces with Girard-Perregaux, JEANRICHARD, A. Manzoni & Fils, Kobold, Aquadive, ISOfrane, Xetum, Jardur, Gavox and the Oberlin Pen Company!

And because it never gets old -

What if?

Dear watch companies,

What if?

What if each one of you could take even $5,000 from your annual budgets and donate it to a common cause?  What if the mighty SWATCH, Richemont, LVMH, ROLEX, Sowind, Audemars Piguet, Patek Phillipe, Ulysse Nardin… what if you all came together with a reasonable contribution with the sole goal of trying to fix an "unfixable" problem?

What if 100 watch companies in the world each contributed $5,000 - or more - to fund rangers to protect elephants and rhinos from poachers?  What if based on that, we could then go to people with even more money?  What if your KINDNESS and willingness to do something that was totally selfless then triggered people like Phil Knight of Nike, or Oprah Winfrey, or Bill Gates - I mean, let's aim high here!  What if that all got so much money - and so much attention, that it would be better financially for a father to become a ranger, rather than to become a poacher?  

And what if that action, created a groundswell in China and Vietnam to help people understand that maybe, just maybe the preservation of a species is more valuable than a dubious aphrodisiac?

So, let's name some names - Biver, Hayek, Hoffmann, Sofisti (THANK YOU!), Stern, Marini, Raffi, Stas and all the rest of you -

Are you really interested in doing something great - or is it just talk and PR?  

What am I asking for?  $5,000 if you have it - for some of you big brands, that is WAY less than you spend on a month of advertising.  And as the saying goes, if you can't afford $5,000, give what you can!

Do you really want to make a mark in the world and not just talk about it?  Here is a chance to do it!

Who is in?

You Still Have Time!

The Bad News

The A. Manzoni & Fils Kickstarter Drive is almost at an end, and you only have 2 days left to order your A. Manzoni & Fils Canopus Week Planner and save $10,000.

                                                        THE GREAT NEWS -
You still have 2 days left to participate in the Kickstarter campaign and get your A. Manzoni & Fils Canopus Weekplanner at a savings of $10,000!!!  And they even come in BLUE!

A. Manzoni & Fils Kickstarter

Buy a Part of a Watch Brand - Part Deux

A. Manzoni & Fils have announced the launch of their crowd-funding campaign through Kickstarter.

Courtesy of A. Manzoni & Fils