Where It All Started - Wrapping Up a 90 Day Essay and Finally Talking About Seregin's Watch Club

I had never lived in California before moving to San Francisco from Europe in 2000.  Having said that, people from LA, Sacramento, the 805 and other regional hubs would argue that I still  hadn't lived in California - let's just say San Francisco is, in many ways, a special place unto itself ; )

Courtesy of Meister Singer

Seregin's in San Francisco is probably the most responsible party for my love of watches. It is also where I first discovered MeisterSinger back in 2003. Paul Seregin has been operating in the downtown area for quite some time.  He specialized in pre-owned watches, and the diplomatic way to put it was that Seregin's didn't waste money on interior decorating, but he always had the deepest, best collection of watches pretty much anywhere. Unlike the other stores that would put big pictures of celebrity pals up on their walls, Seregin's was really more of a secret club that didn't go out of their way to self-promote. While back in the early part of the century everyone knew Shreve, if you were to check the wrists of members of the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Raiders, the Giants, the A's or the Warriors (that's Golden State, not the fictional New York City gang) you might be surprised that almost all of them were members of the Serregin's "Watch Club". 

The Warriors

And it went beyond that.  Walking into Seregin's on a Saturday morning to look at watches I did a double-take that nearly broke my neck as I am fairly certain I was face to face with the player who would be named MVP that year.  Who was it?  Well that was part of the code at Seregin's. You didn't blab about your brushes with the famous. You didn't bother these folks when they were "out of the office", and you certainly wouldn't dream of trying to sneak a selfie (which admittedly would have been much more difficult with the technology of the time). I have on more than one occasion discussed the pros and cons of Breitling with future hall of famers - I came down on the con side, and remain there to this day ; )

What did these stars buy?  Well, a lot of it could be expected - Rolex, Cartier, a fair amount of bling, which was "blingier" back then. But there were always some outliers as well. And I will always remember one Thursday afternoon in August that I had off from work, and popped into Seregin's after a walk through Union Square. I was wearing my Meister Singer.  This was back before there was really a Meister Singer collection. I walked in, a few pleasantries were exchanged, and a member of the Screen Actors Guild who may or may not be someone you have heard of (again, first rule of Seregin's Watch Club - you don't talk about Seregin's Watch Club) started chatting me up about my watch:

Famous Person:

"What is that, an altimeter?  Like, are you a skydiver?"  

Me:

"No, I suffer from vertigo and can't really handle going beyond certain heights".

Vertigo

I then had to explain that vertigo was in fact what inspired the name of the movie, not the other way around.

Famous Person:

"So it's a watch?"

(editor's note - no, I am not spicing this up for ironic sarcasm, this is literally how the conversation went).

Me:

"Yup".

At this moment, Francis Zanetti (old friend and the watch savant who coined the phrase: "The Shit That Killed Elvis" as an honorific for watches) broke in and presented the MeisterSingers (all three of them) in the three different color ways. There might have been more options, but that is what they had on hand.

I do not know which model "Famous Person" bought as I had to hustle home to get dinner ready for Wendy, but I do recall getting asked by someone in line at Starbucks 3 weeks later and asked -

"Isn't that the watch 'Famous Person' wears?"

So that you know, there was a hot minute back in 2003 where MeisterSinger almost became the "It Watch", and like Forest Gump, I was there.

Courtesy of MeisterSinger

It's been an interesting 90 days, made even more interesting as it was during what we will in the future refer to as "COVID Times".  While I've always liked MeisterSinger, missed my first one from 2003, and enjoy the one I currently wear I have become somewhat obsessed with the bronze Metris (above).  It really  captures a lot of the spirit of "slow time" has come to mean for me. And being bronze, it will take on the patterns of the wearer's memories over time.  

As I get older, I realize that time has taken on a bit of an accelerated pace.  2003 seems like it was just a few years ago.  Francis Zanetti sadly passed away (prematurely) the year Wendy and I moved to Santa Barbara (2006).  I worked for DOXA for 3 years and some change, and Tempus Fugit's odometer hit 10 years recently. I have fallen in and out of love with the world of watches so many times now that my Facebook Relationship Status should read:

"It's complicated".

But love and angst are frequently inextricably linked, and these past 90 days with MeisterSinger has definitely reminded me of how much there is still to love.

Enjoy your watches.  And take your time doing it ; )

Who Does The Influencer Really Influence?

The price of influence (or more specifically to watch brand marketing departments), influencers is a constant topic of conversation and debate. Do clicks, swipes, likes and shares really translate to sales conversions?

I was recently forwarded a story about an Instagrammer who boasts over 2 million followers, who tried to launch a clothing brand, and unfortunately did not succeed.

You can find the story here -
Instagrammer with 2 million followers...

That's not such an unusual story, even before the time of COVID-19. It takes a bit of pluck to start your own company/business, and a lot of them don't make it. Remember 3thirty3 watch fans? But what is particularly intriguing in this particular situation is that with more than 2 million followers, she was unable to shift (if the article is correct) a total of 36 t-shirts...

Oh, which reminds me -

SUPPORT Tempus Fugit AND BUY A SHIRT!

https://www.customink.com/fundraising/help-support-tempus-fugit-on-our-tenth-anniversary

See what I did there ; )

Now on the one hand, you can say that this influencer is not as popular or "influential" as might be believed based on her number of followers. It is true that a lot of this could be down to what they referred to in The Wire as - "Juking the Stats". Essentially manipulating the numbers so they look better than they really are. In social media where success or failure is based on head counts, there are the real numbers, and the "not-so-real" numbers. Click farms still do exist, random people (by that I mean, your last name doesn't start with Kardashian) seldom magically acquire such a large number of followers without a wee bit of "magic pixie dust" being sprinkled out there. So it's safe to say that "real numbers" may not always match the reported or tracked number of followers.

And in a world where a brand can send a press release to an online watch magazine and receive back a rate sheet with prices based on what level of coverage and praise the watch brand is seeking, it is safe to say that everyone seems to be working on an angle. 

Because if you can't trust the press...
Well, to (loosely) quote Baltimore Sun City Editor Gus Haynes as portrayed by Clark Jackson in the seminal Baltimore based series, The Wire -

Courtesy of The Wire

"That's Some Shameful Shit".

Another inconvenient truth that this highlights, selling stuff - clothes, watches, or widgets is not as easy it might seem.

So this is the crux of the challenge in this rapidly evolving media world that we live in. Does influence truly equal sales? Big brands have SEVERAL people on their payrolls who operate their social media platforms. There is a very clear reason why you will frequently find the "Follow us on (insert your favorite social media platform here)". And clearly it is the brand's belief that while they can "maintain" a certain presence of followers themselves, the follower has to have already "found" the brand in the first place. The hope is that the influencer will then introduce them to millions of other people.

Okay, fair enough. But the reality becomes realer when the influencer is suddenly the brand/ company. And like any good pyramid scheme, you are now dependent upon OTHERS to promote and like, share and potentially press coins of silver into your palm.

Influence is great, but for would-be influencer cum entrepreneur? Sales are what makes Sammy Run.

Summer Repeat - The Social Contract of Social Media

This first ran about three years ago.  Since that time it has become crystal clear to me and others that there is less and less of such a thing as a free press when it comes to watches.  How do I know this?  In addition to this, and my day job as a social worker, I also represent a handful of brands in North America.  In this role I am often reaching out to my colleagues in the Fourth and Fifth Estate, and more often than not, it becomes readily evident that unless some sort of an "accommodation" can be reached, they are not going to cover it.  This is particularly striking when I consider the way that some of these folks used to bemoan the fact that they couldn't get any ad money.  Suddenly they are sending replies like - "oh, sorry, we won't be covering this one".  This is code for - "I know that this brand has no budget and you will not be sending me any cash, so I guess we'll see each other at BaselWorld".  One of the larger outlets ran a piece bemoaning the rise of the "influencer" and how unfair it was that the influencer (not the honest, fair-minded watch reporter writing about the unfairness of the influencer getting a piece of his pie) would insist on coin of the realm in exchange for coverage.  And curious to relate?  When I sent over a press release to this "honest broker" of horological news, their business manager sent me a rate sheet.  No other reply except, essentially, PAY ME BITCH!  And this was the type of money that isn't usually negotiated without the aid of a loaded pistol ; )

In fairness to the "fair haired" weasels out there, it takes two parties to make a corrupt system.  The blogger/writer/influencer that has their hand in the brands pockets, and the brand who willingly hands over the money, then cries "we're a small brand and don't have any advertising money" when approached for honest, above board advertising from people who are ready to cover them without a fee. So just how honest could the coverage really be that you are being hose-fed from the big outlets?


So let's re-heat this one -

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide info web

The Social Contract of Social Media 
This post has been on the shelf for nearly a year, but it seems time to air it out.

For most of us who write about watches in the digital arena, we don't do it for money.  True enough, our blogs might have advertising - such as this one, but by and large that is where it begins and ends.

Blogs, and blogs that have evolved into online magazines started out life as an alternative to magazines that more often than not were constrained by the need to drive advertising revenue.  It opened up a whole new world where people would tune in with the hopes of getting some viewpoints and opinions that were not fueled and channeled directly through the marketing arm of Richemont, LVMH or the SWATCH Group.  And perhaps more importantly, it did not cost the reader anything.  It was free to read, and you didn't have to drive to a book store or news stand.

But then another interesting thing started to happen -
The number of people checking out these alternative watch sites began to far outstrip the number of magazine readers.  And suddenly real analytics were possible!  And even more suddenly what had been a vehicle to promote a decidedly niche product to a clearly more niche market became a mechanism to subvert the role of independent writer and pump favorable content directly in front of this now much larger audience via an electronic delivery system.  In other words, payola arrived in the watch world.

For those of you not familiar, here is a definition from our friends at Urban Dictionary -

payola

Bribery made to a dj in exchange for promotion of an album or single. Derived from the words 'pay' (give money to) and 'victrola' (a record player).You'd need to offer some serious payola to get your song played.

And that opened up a whole new paradigm.  Wonder how an online magazine or blog with multiple writers can afford to provide salaries and benefits for so many people, with no visible ads?  Ever wonder why a brand that has never seen the light of day on that blog suddenly makes multiple appearances?  

And then things took an even darker turn.  The way things are supposed to work for a brand is:

1.  You draft a press release regarding a new brand or product

2.  You spend time and/or money putting together a list of blogs, magazines, etc.

3.  You send it out and, for the most part, the blogs will run it.

Now a quick peek behind the curtain - 

The way that it should work is that the blogger will review what they receive, and if it interests them and they feel it will interest their readers, they will run it.  In some instances, if there are personal or professional differences/ conflicts, etc., with the brand,  then the blogger might not run the release.  In addition, if the blogger has managed to alienate the brand through their writing, then it is entirely possible that the brand's pr/marketing team will pull a Donald Trump and refuse to communicate with them or send them press updates.  This is to be expected and I would say, fair enough.

Now it seems that with the owners of several of the blogs, "horological interest" is measured in terms of payment.  And to be clear by payment I do not mean advertising agreements, a watch received in barter for advertising or marketing or even simple good will.   I mean just what I am saying - payment required and received in exchange for coverage.

So what has now become standard for some of these outlets is that a rate sheet is sent to the brand manager or pr representative, not unlike a take out food menu:  

• To do a review  of your watch will cost you X.
• To announce your new brand will cost you Y.
• To REALLY pump your watch or brand will cost you Z.

Simply put, a fair amount of what you read in some of the bigger blogs and online magazines has been bought and paid for.

Now again, in fairness, if a brand supports a blog or online magazine with advertising, it is not unreasonable to expect coverage - in fact I believe that there is an implied social contract between the blog and the brand that requires a certain amount of coverage. 

Moreover, many bloggers do contract work for brands.  But that is a very separate matter that precludes "air time" on their blog or online magazine beyond the normal coverage.

But, and it's a big but, when a blog or online magazine requires payment in exchange for any sort of coverage, well then it is no longer what can even remotely be thought of as fair and impartial.  

Because there is another contract that is more than merely implied.  It is the social contract with the writer and the reader.

Belville 1892

So before you say it, yes the Kickstarter Rule is still in place.  I will not write about a watch pre-Kickstarter or mid-Kickstarter.  UNLESS...

I've had a chance to see it, touch it, and wear it in real life.  And in this case, I had the opportunity to have an advance look (and wearing) of two of the Kickstarter pieces.

Courtesy of Belville

Of the two, this one was my favorite.  This is one of the two Royal Hill variations with hours, minutes, seconds and date.  Under the hood is Miyota's 821A automatic.  The case measures 40 mm in diameter, made of 316L stainless steel with a gold PVD finish.

The dial is a deep blue and the sunray finish.  This is elegant, legible and timeless.  And yes, I want one, and I suspect many people out there want one as well.  

The Kickstarter starts later today, but if you want to dig a little deeper, and you are "Facebook fluent", you can dig in for more information here -

https://www.facebook.com/belville1892/

As near as I can tell, the goal of Belville is to offer a well made, beautiful watch at a great price.  The Kickstarter prices will be even better, but even at the proposed retail price, it is a well priced watch for people who want something a bit special, but perhaps don't have $1,000. 

So the Kickstarter will go live today, there will be a few other choices, but for me, this one is my favorite.

 

Valentine's Contest

From Frederique Constant -

A Meridian Give Away!

Okay - so I got your attention!

Like Meridian on Facebook and put yourself in the running for a Meridian watch travel case -

All Facebook likes have a chance to win this nice item.  So if you haven't already, go to the Meridian page on Facebook and LIKE Meridian's page:

www.facebook.com/MeridianWatches

A winner will be selected on January 1st, 2013