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 "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!