The DOXA SUB 200 and the GPHG - Some Inside Baseball

So with the latest press release from DOXA, I am starting to get the sense that the folks now responsible for the SUB bought a bulk package of press releases and need to use them up before the introduction period expires ; )

This one is somewhat interesting, if not only for the slightly goofy copywriting.  I will give you the press release first, just as it was received this morning, then we'll sift through the tea leaves to get a handle on what it might really mean.

Courtesy of DOXA

DOXA SUB 200 in the runningfor the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2019

in the “Challenge” category

For its first participation in the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), the global watchmaking industry’s annual celebration of creativity and excellence, Swiss brand DOXA (celebrating its 130th anniversary this year) is both pleased and humbled to see its legendary SUB 200 chosen for the official preselection in the “Challenge” category.  

DOXA SUB 200 goes on the GPHG World Tour Australia,

Asia, Latin America, Europe...the travelling exhibition showcases the 84 watches of the Official Preselection.First stop: Australia, a key growth market DOXA looks forward to engaging as part of an international redeployment strategy.

DOXA’s SUB watches still remain a reference in the field of legendary diving watches in watchmaking history. And the legend lives on.

At Baselworld 2019, DOXA celebrated the brand's 130th anniversary with a new edition of the famous DOXA SUB 200 in steel. Originally launched in 1967, the revolutionary SUB concept became the first truly purpose-designed diving watch for the general public. Besides being rated to a depth of 300 meters, it was the first to feature DOXA’s patented unidirectional rotating bezel with the dual indication of dive time in minutes and depth in meters to avoid decompression stops for a safe return to the surface. A legend in its own time, the SUBs was instantly recognizable because of its orange dial, also a first for a diver's watch, contrasting with the conventional black or white dials available then.

An authentic vintage character

True to legend, today's SUB 200 is still a three-handed diver's watch with a case made of 316L stainless steel of the highest quality. With a diameter of 42 mm, it is topped by a sapphire crystal that takes on the distinctive shape of the domed plexiglass used back in the day. Water-resistant to 20 ATM, about 200 meters, this model features a unidirectional rotating sapphire bezel. Distinctive features of this series: a velvet black dial with baton-type hands, applied indexes and elements on the bezel, all of which are coated with Super-LumiNova® beige “Light Old Radium” to accentuate the authentic vintage character. The SUB 200 is powered by a Swiss Made ETA 2824-2 automatic mechanical caliber and held on the wrist by the iconic DOXA “beads of rice” bracelet, also made of 316L steel and featuring a folding clasp with diving extension.

Okay, so one important piece of Inside Baseball for your fine readers - 

It is not as if that August body of judges and commissioners of the GPHG are out there, pounding the horological pavement, scouring the horizon for the latest and greatest of the watch world.  Want to be considered for the GPHG?  You fill out an application, and YOU send CHF 500 (for administrative fees and expenses), along with your application, and not entirely unlike the "Who's Who" sales pitch, you will be instantly part of the big time.  Okay, that's not entirely fair.  The "Who's Who" is a well known scam - Who's Who Scam
And I want to be very, very clear - I am in no way saying that the GPHG is a scam.  

BUT -

What makes a true competition is not the ability to nominate and promote yourself.  Especially when you have a perpetually constant group of judges who despite the claims of only retaining a small percentage from year to year, tend to continually be recycled and appear in that capacity more frequently than Madonna did on MTV in the 80s.
Put Gregory Pons on the list of Judges?  Then maybe I can take it seriously.

But then again, the watch world is full of interconnected interests like media, advertising and marketing.  And the GPHG is a nice shiny thing to show off.

We will wait for November, and who knows? Maybe DOXA's first foray into the GPHG will be a winner.


But what I find fascinating is the relentless repetition of the same message -
DOXA had an amazing BaselWorld and the watch world is awash with excitement and demand.

So let's hop into the Way-Back Machine and revisit those thrilling days of yesteryear.  Most specifically?  BaselWorld 2008.  The team (and yes, part of that team was yours truly), opened up several accounts across the US.  It also bears mentioning that within 18 months we had to close several of those accounts due to the manner in which those stores were representing the brand.  Deep discounting was the least of it.  Let's just say that it was not unlike being a parent sending your child off to summer camp, and finding out that they got hustled by a pimp when they were trying to change buses at the Port Authority in New York City.

And don't get me wrong, at that moment in 2008 we were crowing like the rooster that made the sun rise.  But as I have come to learn after 12 years of involvement in this business on every side of the BaselWorld booth, it's easy to get excited about potential retail partners.  The only thing that will really matter is whether or not those retail partners can sell the watch, and do so in the manner that you, as the brand, hope that they will.

To be clear, there are a LOT of us who want to see DOXA succeed and finally become a mainstream player.  But maybe, just maybe, if they could stop repeating the same message about how much demand there is.  

It sounds a bit needy.

The Regulator Classic

From Chronoswiss -

Courtesy of Chronoswiss

Here are the pertinents -

CASEe

Reference	CH-8773-GRBK
Case material	Stainless steel
Case back	Screw-down case back with satin finish and sapphire crystal
Diameter in mm	41
Height in mm	12.7
Finish	Partly polished, partly with vertical satin finish, onion crown
Bezel	Polished screw-down bezel with full thread and side knurling with curved, double coated anti-reflective sapphire crystal

Caliber/Movement

Caliber	Caliber C. 295, automatic
Frequency	4 Hz (28.800 A/h)
Power reserve in hours	42
Number of jewels	27

Dial Dial material	Galvanic grey with matte finish; black scales with circular-graining; interior of hour and second display black with guilloche details
Display/s	Off-centre hours at 12:00, central minutes, small seconds at 6:00
Design of hands	Rhodium-plated and lacquered; with Super-LumiNova inlays
Shape of hand	"Trigono"ap & buckle

Strap & Buckle Strap material	Stainless steel
Type of buckle	Folding clasp

Characteristics Water resistance	10 bar( 100m )
Special	High end stainless steel bracelet in new design

The Snow Star

From Milus -

Courtesy of Milus

The third, and in many ways for some of us, most exciting piece in the initial three model family offering for Milus is the Snow Star.

As I previously mentioned, I got more than a jump on my colleagues in the 4th and 5th Estate as Milus was one of the brands participating at The HYPE during BaselWeek this past March.  

The former Sleeping Beauty was awoken from a rather unfortunate slumber a few years ago when the brand was purchased by none other than Luc Tissot.

It is available in the silver version (above) which is based on the original -

  

The red date is that extra something that really adds to the watch.
The only thing that I would change?  I would use an "inverted cyclops" date window for the crystal, as I think it adds a certain "what's it" to the watch overall.

It is also available in a very attractive black version -

Courtesy of Milus

The case is a very welcome 39 mm in diameter, and is of polished stainless steel.  A very traditionally laid out dial, hours minutes, seconds and date.  The movement is ETA's 2892A2  (TOP).

And the packaging is actually useful!

Courtesy of Milus

Priced (at least in my opinion) quite fairly at CHF 1,690, direct from Milus.

Introducing Allemano

Now in fairness, you may already be acquainted.  But something new for me was found deep in the bowels of the less-than-fancy section of Hall 1  -

Courtesy of Allemano

Allemano.  And if you're scratching your head as you read this, you are not alone.  But I have to be honest, it kinda' caught my attention.

Allemano started out life as something quite different.  How different?  Well, you know that expression "all roads lead to Rome"?  Well, I can't speak to a Roman destination, but I can tell you that Allemano originally manufactured the machines that flatten the tarmac when roads are created, and here in the Northeast, repaired.

Courtesy of Allemano

From road work, the company went into gauges for cars, airplanes, and even wrist-bound depth gauges.  So the jump to watches is not as random as you might think.

Per the info I have received, the watches are assembled in Italy, using Swiss movements.

There are three models families, the one featured in this post is called, MAN.  No, I am not kidding ; ) 

Courtesy of Allemano

 It is available antique white (above), and black -

Courtesy of Allemano

The movement is hand-wound, and provides the basis for a regulator set-up with small seconds at 6 o'clock.

Courtesy of Allemano

Pretty basic, but then again, this is not a watch claiming to be something that it is not.  

Like I said, kinda' digging this one!

For those of you interested in such things, here are the pertinents, straight from Allemano -

CASE:
44 mm
All 316L Stainless steel with sandblasted, brushed, polished finish
5 ATM water-resistant
Sapphire crystal case front and back

MOVEMENT:
Swiss made manual movement
Functions: center hours hand, retrograde minutes hand at 12 o’clock, small seconds hand at 6 o’clock
21600 A/h frequency 
48 hours autonomy

DIAL:
Antique white or black
Traced serial number 

HANDS:
Matt black and red or matte rose gold and red 

STRAP:
Brown or black soft premium Italian leather
Steel buckle paired with the finish of the case 

 

What was Cool at BaselWorld - Patek Philippe

One of the rare, halfway decent pictures you will find posted by yours truly ; )

This is the 5168G - Aquanaut.  If there was a theme of sorts this BaselWorld, it was the use of green.  And some were better than others, but suffice it to say, the Aquanaut was my personal favorite. 
So it is important to make a few things abundantly clear - I am not a denizen of what the marketers at Patek would consider their demographic.  I have never owned one, and I do not have a towheaded son who will "never actually own my Patek Philippe" either.  I tend to try and maintain my sense of reality and remember what I learned while working behind the counter at Tourneau -
just because I sell expensive watches to the great and good, does not make me one of them.

Having said that, I can certainly appreciate the risk that went into offering a version like this one.  Patek, like Rolex attracts a certain cult of "sameness",  with the excitement being that rare little quirk.  I go to a fair number of events with collectors and enthusiasts, and I have noticed that the fellas (let's be honest, they all tend to be a bit of a sausage fest) don't generally speak in terms of Submariner or Nautilus, they tend to go right for reference numbers.  And I guess that's fair enough.  I have been reading Magnus Walker's book -
URBAN OUTLAW:
Dirt Don't Slow You Down
editor's note - I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!  It is an excellent read and pretty damn inspirational.  I also encourage you to check out Mr. Walker's TED Talk which I shared with my class of English for Banking students.  You can view it here:


Regular Tempus Fugit readers will have no difficulty understanding that I am not likely to be what is known as a "Porsche Person"(not that there's anything wrong with being one), I am pretty risk adverse.  But in reading about Mr. Walker's transformation into perhaps the best-known car ambassador of all times, I was struck by the shared obsession for minutiae among car collectors and watch collectors - it's often all about the reference numbers.  And yes, I realize that we've drifted off topic ; )  But before we return to our regularly scheduled programming - the relationship between Porsche and Mr. Walker reminds me of the relationship between Omega and Robert-Jan Broer.  Wonderfully organic.

So back to the watch, here are the pertinents, straight from Patek Philippe -

Watch

Self-winding mechanical movement. Caliber 324 S C. Date in an aperture. Sweep seconds hand.

Dial

Khaki green embossed, gold applied numerals with luminescent coating.

Case

White gold. Screw-down crown. Sapphire-crystal case back. Water resistant to 120 m. Diameter (10 - 4 o’clock): 42.2 mm. Height: 8.25 mm.

Strap

Composite material, khaki green. Aquanaut fold-over clasp.

What was Cool at BaselWorld - Bereve

This is the Numbers from Bereve.  It was one of the most talked about watches at the fair and drew a great of traffic to the star-crossed incubator pavilion.  

The Numbers is apparently available in either a silver or gold dial, but to be very honest with you, gentle reader, I couldn't really spot the difference, they are both stunners.

Courtesy of Bereve

The case measures 42 mm in diameter and is of stainless steel with a display back.  The movement is from Vaucher, based on the 3002.

Here are the pertinents, in their entirety courtesy of Bereve -

NUMBERS

DIAL: Enamel Grand Feu – Champlevé, twenty colors with Ugo Nespolo’s opera “Numbers”.

CASE: Stainless steel 316 LM, height 14.41 mm, sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating.

DIAMETER: 42 (without crown).

WATER RESISTANCE: 5 ATM (50 meters).

MOVEMENT: Bereve BV02, Vaucher Manufacture 3002 based, self-winding mechanical movement, Adjusted in five positions, double barrel rapid rotation in series, two hands, Fitting of 11 ½”, Thickness of 3.7 mm, 189 components, Flat balance-spring, Tungsten oscillating weight, Ceramic ball-bearing, Incabloc Anti-shock.

JEWELLING: 28 jewels.

POWER RESERVE: 56h.

FREQUENCY: 4 Hz (28’800 A/h).

HAND: Feuille.

INDICATION: Hours and minute.

STRAPS: Handmade blue Louisiana alligator leather.

BUCKLE: Stainless steel 316 LM, custom buckle deployante 
three parts with buttons.


 

What was Cool at BaselWorld - Chronoswiss

Courtesy of Chronoswiss

I have a long standing fascination for Chronoswiss and while there were plenty of exciting new regulators unveiled last month, sometimes it's the classics that grab your attention, and that is exactly what I was drawn to in the form of this new version of the Sirius Chronograph Moonphase.

The case is of stainless steel and measures 41 mm in diameter, with a height of 15 mm.  The movement is self-winding and is labeled the Chronoswiss caliber C.755, automatic. 

Hours, minutes, date, chronograph and moonphase...

It is simply perfect.

What's Cool at BaselWorld? Raketa Russian Code - 0024

Another nice surprise was this piece from Raketa -

Courtesy of Raketa

This is one that caught the eye of MANY people.  Now as a huge fan of Atomic Ranch magazine, this watch speaks to me simply on an aesthetic level.  It's wicked cool!

But take a closer look - you will note that the time scale seems to be inverted, almost as if you were looking at it in a mirror.  Almost as if... it moved counter-clockwise.  And you'd be right!

Curious to relate, the earth actually rotates counter-clockwise!  Per the folks at Wikipedia:

Earth rotates eastward, in prograde motion. As viewed from the north pole star Polaris, Earth turns counter clockwise. The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface.

The pertinents of the watch are as follows:

Movement	Automatic movement
Water resistant	5 АТМ
Crystal	Sapphire
Case size	40.5х12 mm
Gender	Unisex
Strap type	Genuine leather
Strap width	22 mm
Wrist size	135 - 185 mm

To be sure, there have been several efforts at a counter-clockwise 
watch, but many of them have been somewhat prohibitively 
expensive.  The Raketa "Russian Code" 0224 comes in at a relatively forgiving €1,280.  Not too bad for a manufacture movement equipped watch.

To the best of my knowledge, there is not currently US distribution, but I do know that the Raketa collection is available online, direct.

SWATCH X YOU and Henki Time

The Monday before BaselWorld found me a wee bit groggy after touching down in Zurich and "training" it in to Biel/Bienne.  My good pal Rod Hess and I had some time to kill prior to attending the Watch City / BaselWorld kickoff event, so we went on a field trip to the SWATCH campus.  

We drove around and looked at the usual things, and then something caught my eye.  So Rod pulled over and we got out of the car to take a closer look -

No, it was not a Sonic Burger!  It was a SWATCH concept store with sort of a Jetsons meets retail feeling.  As far as I understand it, the store is new and will continue to develop.  I was worried that perhaps they had not opened yet, but we were welcomed in and looked around.  

And there in pride of place was the design station for the SWATCH X YOU -

Now a bit of Henki history, my mother was a very talented artist and at the never-too-late age of 52 embarked on a career in fashion design.  Suffice it to say, the artistic/creative gene did not land in my personal DNA pool.  But SWATCH has the solution for me and my fellow would-be watch designers.

The system is pretty simple, you pick a background pattern and drag the outline of the SWATCH over the pattern (there are quite a few to chose from), and once you've completed the process, you submit everything, pay at the counter, and your watch immediately goes into "production".  If you live in Switzerland, you can have it delivered to your home.  But fear not!  For those of you not able to visit Biel/Bienne, or who do not live in Switzerland, you can do the same thing online at the SWATCH site.  

So I "designed", I confirmed, and yes, gentle reader, I paid.  I received an email the very next day that my SWATCH was ready (I was already on a train heading to Grenchen), but I had arranged for the new Henki Time original to be delivered to my friend who would bring it to the fair.  The day after, it was at my friends, and then hand delivered to me!

So if you always wanted to design your own SWATCH (within the provided patterns) here's your chance!

BaselWorld 2019 - Pro Tips for a Better Fair in 2020

So another BaselWorld is in the books.  And I have to be honest, it was wicked strange.  

The most obvious point being SWATCH group's absence.  And the word around the campfire is that they are not likely planning a return.  But in fairness, it was more than just SWATCH taking a pass that spiked the fair this year.   A lot of brands, and a lot of the services contracted by the fair and the brands, quite simply, shit the bed.  So gentle reader, I will provide some "pro tips" to provide some ideas for improvement next time:

1.  You need to be "findable".  Quite simply, the fair was laid out with all of the precision of a drunken cow wandering the halls with a GPS device.  I'm sorry, but I'm calling this one like I (and many people) see it.  The big brands were fine (but let's be honest, that was a particularly small number).  Several of the mid-level brands required a compass and Michelin road map to find.  And God help you if you were trying to find a brand in the misplaced "Incubator", because not even GPS could help you locate it.  

Here's a crazy idea - put up some fucking signage!  You know, something subtle like:

This way to the Incubator!   

You know, like the signs you used throughout Hall 1 to direct people to Les Ateliers and other sections.  Seeing as these brands paid good money to the fair organizers to, essentially, have a table in an environment not dissimilar to the waiting area of a Grey Hound bus station (circa 1978), the least you could do is make sure people know how to find them.

2.  You Can't Email a Handshake (That bon mot courtesy of Rod Hess).  I appreciate that I am clearly now a member of the older generation.  While 50 might be the new 40, I accept and appreciate that we are now at a point where we need to hear more from the new and emerging folks out there.  We need new blood, and they (and my fellow old farts) need to be communicated with better.  A poorly written, jacked-up email blast does not help the brands or the fair.  In fact, it actually hurts them.

So a few pro tips within a pro tip:

Shamelessly borrowed from the worldwide infoweb

     A.  If you are claiming that your staff are fluent in English (and charging usurious rates based on this), then it would be reasonable to assume that they are.  Unfortunately, this is frequently not the case.  Either send your "faux-fluent" folks to Berlitz, or (and I know that this is an absolutely INSANE idea because, you know, it makes sense and is cost effective) HIRE a native speaker in each of your target languages to proofread and edit your press releases before they get sent out.  It will cost you less than you spend on lunch for your team during the fair.

     B.  What's in a name?  Well, I have been called many names in the halls of BaselWorld, some of them are even close to my given one!  But when I get an email that starts:

Dear ____  _____, 

I tend to next look for a message from a former "Most Excellent Foreign Prime Minister" of country X who wants to entrust me with his fortune.  

Automation is great.  But what happened this year was an endless cycle of broken communication that you could not even unsubscribe from.  Add to this a "book your appointment now" function that was, well, dysfunctional.  Actually, that's not really fair.  Dysfunctional leads you to believe that things weren't great, but worked to some extent.  And if we are being honest, these auto-schedulers were about as useful as a band aid on a gun shot wound.  I was in one booth apologizing for the fact that I had been unable to schedule an appointment and saw a stream of four different journalists come in for their "scheduled" appointments, all at 3 o'clock.  The result?  Five journalists ended up not having an appointment.

     C.  Just like the Junior Prom, you might not want to wait until the week before BaselWorld to send out your invitations for appointments.

3.  Charge a reasonable amount for what you are offering.  It is actually really simple math.  You can have a lot of empty space because brands can't or won't pay for it, or you can punch your weight and charge a realistic rate and have full halls.  Because here's a little truth cocktail that might be tough to swallow - there were probably more brands displaying "off campus" than in the main sections of Hall 1.

In fairness to the new management team, you can't really blame them.  Most of this was put in motion by their predecessors.  And contrary to popular belief, I actually REALLY LOVE BaselWorld and I really want to see it succeed.  So some tough lessons, but let's hope that 2020 marks a real comeback! 



 

A Few Minutes With Stefano Macaluso

The latest podcast has dropped!

Stefano Macaluso joins us live, from BaselWorld!

A Few Minutes With Stefano Macaluso

BaselWorld Beckons

So it's that time again.  BaselWorld beckons and once again the hustle is real.  I am writing this from the newly revamped press area that is adjacent to Hall 1 (translation?  Too much space left unoccupied).

There are some very, very weird vibes.  Obviously we hope that the fair will be good, successful, etc. But I would be less than forthright if I did not say that there is a palpable whiff of anxiety hovering around the area.  So we shall wait, and we will see.

More to come, stay tuned!