About as International as IHOP

STOP THE PRESS!

The International Chronometry Competition of 2019 has been announced.  Granted, the copy provided was a bit dodgy, but that's just part of the fun!

But what was even more jarring than the awkward English, was the declaration that this was the - International Chronometry Competition.  

I would draw your attention the word International.  

To be sure we had an unbiased notion, I turned to the good folks at Mirriam Webster -

international

adjective in·ter·na·tion·al \ ˌin-tər-ˈnash-nəl , -ˈna-shə-nᵊl \

Definition of international

1 : of, relating to, or affecting two or more nations

• international trade

2 : of, relating to, or constituting a group or association having members in two or more nations

• international movement

3 : active, known, or reaching beyond national boundaries

• an international reputation

Now this is particularly important when we consider that this competition is open to...

only Swiss brands!

Now I am not a geopolitical expert, but unless there was an overnight revolution in Switzerland, and Zug finally ceded from Switzerland in more than just operating policies, then this chronometry competition is about as International as the International House of Pancakes.  And while I am no expert, I am fairly certain that watches, and movements are designed and manufactured in countries other than Switzerland, but I guess the Germans and Japanese were not told that this was the International Chronometry Competition...

But as ever, I will let you read and judge for yourselves, here is the release in all of its "unique" language, straight from the source -

In 2019, the International Chronometry Competition
Amazing this competition launched by the Swiss City of Le Locle! The mere fact of being nominated is already a triumph! It is to watchmaking what a F1 Grand Prix is to the automotive world. Each watch at the start is already a pinnacle of precision.
Montreux, September 13, 2018, Stravinsky stage converted into a scientific platform open to the presentations of the Study Day of the SSC, the honourable Swiss Chronometry Society: in this leading watchmaking centre, Philippe Fischer, President of the Organizing Committee of the International Chronometry Competition, has just officially announced the 2019 edition. Faced with around 800 watchmaking professionals, he revealed the calendar, between March and December 2019, the new features of the regulations as well as the indisputable reasons for participating.

The precision tour in 80 days...
If a timepiece is taking the start of this Grand Prix, this contests, it is thanks to the fact that it has successfully completed the first precision test according to the ISO 3159 standard. What happens next is a mix between a speed and endurance competition, a mountain rally and a triathlon.
During 80 days, participating watches - registration deadline 31 March 2019 - will be subject to a battery of tests and validations: if the results of the first precision test allow it, the " nominee " status will be awarded and the name of the watch will be announced during the official launching ceremony of the competition. For the other timepieces, the rest of the operations and the transmission of the results will be done anonymously. Thus, despite the fact that these un-nominated watches remain real mountains of watchmaking know-how and expertise, the organizers are able to guarantee brands that no negative rumours will cause even a slightest damage to their image.

World-renowned Swiss precision: four accredited institutes
In 2019, only watches that satisfy the Swiss Made criteria will be eligible to compete. After the first precision test conducted by the COSC Office in Le Locle (the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing) the nominees' watches will be exposed at the Timelab Foundation in Geneva to invisible attacks by strong magnetic fields (ISO 764 standard).
From then on, and this time on a trip to La Chaux-de-Fonds, the competing watches will be embarked for 21 days in the intentional horrors of simulated accelerated ageing. This is the famous battery of tests epitomized by the Chronofiable® label, a protocol renowned for the harshness of its treatments. The pieces that will emerge unscathed are heroic watches. Moreover, a third and final chronometry inspection according to ISO 3159 will be conducted this time back in Le Locle, in order to evaluate the impact on the reliability of the "chronofiable" attacks suffered. The fourth accredited institution, the supreme authority, is METAS, the Federal Institute of Metrology, which chairs the Jury of the Competition.

One category, three distinctions
The final ranking will be determined by the results of the watches. Whether they are

Tourbillon, chronographs or similar to "simple" three hands, the winners will be divided into three shades of excellence each time defined by a lower threshold. This leading group will make the headlines, it will be used for years or even decades as a prestigious trademark. Because if the International Chronometry Competition is not a label in itself, its reputation as a title acquired through measurement and without any hint of human interventionism, remains the most indisputable of signatures. A phenomenon of radiance that begins as soon as the competing watches are announced.

 

The endorsement of History

As the heir to one of the most prestigious watchmaking traditions, this competition does not allow any human appreciation to interfere. It is the scientific expression of the science of chronometry, i.e. the ultimate quest for precision, the most subtle and successful calculations of which it expresses. Before quartz came to shake things up, these competitions were real highlights in the past. They were as promising as the Universal Exhibitions, which sometimes served as their showcase. Even today, brands still use their aura in their current advertising. They sometimes get thrilled at the exceptional value increases that such titles bring to their historical models in auctions.

 

The skills of the adjustment in the spotlight, thanks to Le Locle
What better place than the SSC, whose statutes include one of the last adjustment competitions open to students from all watchmaking schools in Switzerland, to launch the 2019 edition of the International Chronometry Competition? Because the precision of the precision is reached thanks to the calibrators, these watchmakers capable of magnifying exceptional calibres. When it started to relaunch this historic event in 2009, the City of Le Locle, City of Precision, was successful in promoting the ultimate virtues of the human hand.

A Grand Day Out - Minase 3

その部分の総和

(the sum of it's parts)

In the interest of full disclosure, I had to rely on Google Translate for this one, so I am not entirely certain of the linguistic nuance.  I will say that it was remarkable that after 25 years, I was still able to communicate at a fairly basic level, with enough semi-esoteric phrases thrown in to give the (very false) impression that I was even semi-competent in Japanese.  Buy a train ticket, ask for directions, order in a restaurant?  Absolutely no problem!  Just don't ask me to direct a light opera ; )

courtesy of Minase

So you may recall the "exploded" Divido image from our previous installment.  And I had a few questions about why Minase would go out of their way to make their bracelets and cases so complex.

どうして
(why)

This might not be the answer that you are expecting.  It's not to be complex for the sake of complexity.  The real reason is longevity. And just what does that mean?

Well, let's answer that question with another - 
What would you do if you bent/damaged the lug horn of your watch?  In most cases, the watch brand would offer to sell you an entirely new case, or simply shrug and give you the "deal with it" face.  In other words, in most situations where you damage a small part of the case or bracelet your only option is to spend a shit-ton of money to completely replace the item, or to shove the damaged watch in a desk drawer where it will slowly gather dust with the other forgotten items of your life.  But Minase felt that a watch shouldn't be a potentially disposable item.  It should be something for a lifetime, and the one way to ensure that was to create a watch that could be reconstructed, piece by piece.

Courtesy of Minase

Exhibit 1 - the Minase Divido - in it's complete form.

And in it's semi-disassembled state (above). 

The main point I wish to underscore is not"hard-core", let's examine every little inch of the movement and compare the intricacies of the mechanism.   As reported earlier, Minase does not make their own movements. But what is interesting here is the amount of depth and detail that goes into crafting the case, the bracelet, and how it all fits together.

But for those of you movement obsessed, let me assure you that the movement is contained under the dial and hands in the "case within a case" as pictured below -

Remember when I spoke about the people of Minase? Well the young man you are about to see is a perfect example of what makes Minase special. Try to imagine, you are a young watch maker, you've been at the company for awhile, and are certainly good at your job. You go to work on Monday and get asked to disassemble, then reassemble a watch. Okay, no big deal, you do that every day. 

 
Oh - one more thing - we want to let two foreigners into your workspace to watch, photograph, video and ask questions. 

大丈夫
daijoubu
(okay?)

Apparently the answer was-

はい 
hai
(yes) 

 
Think you get that warm and fuzzy reception when you visit the "big dogs" in Switzerland or Germany? Think again.  But I also want to clear up any potential misunderstanding.  I have absolutely NO idea what the atmosphere is like at Seiko, Citizen, etc.  So I do not want to convey the notion that this is a Japan vs. Europe thing.  I do not travel in the circles of writers & (more specifically) influencers who have visited the big watch dogs of Japan.  What I have heard is that they tend to have press junkets, where there is time to rehearse, plan and execute the same presentation that was given to the last group of journalists that came through.  And fair enough, when you're that big, and you have that many visitors, it's sensible to work from a script.  But the point I am making here is that I requested several different examples that bordered on full-blown presentations, pretty much on the spot, on the day of the tour.  and they ALL were accommodated with no questions asked.  No matter how complex or time consuming, the folks at Minase wanted to show what they could do.  Not because the boss told them to, but because of the pride that they clearly take in their work.

The Divido is in some ways a very complex puzzle, and while that adds a certain cool cachet, that is not really the point. The point was to have a watch that could last a lifetime, no matter what life dishes out to it.

You will note that the bracelet has been taken apart to show the individual pieces.  I realize that it is hard to see from here, but there are no visible pieces (i.e. pin & collar) or screws visible from the outside of the bracelet. 

So just how do you adjust the bracelet?
I have borrowed a photo from the Minase website to give you a look at the underside of the bracelet.

Courtesy of Minase

So if you look at the bottom of the link pieces, you will see a screw head.  To remove links, you unscrew that screw head which will then enable you to get at the pins to remove the links.  Now I will make a further (and important) point.  The reason for the design of the bracelet and the use of screws to remove links was not to create a "do it yourself" feature.  As noted previously, this is a fairly complex system and should you become the proud owner of a bracelet equipped Minase, take it to your watch maker to make any adjustments.  But the true purpose for the underside screw location is one of elegance as much as function.  No visible pins, collars or screws when you are wearing the watch.  But to ensure that the bracelet holds together as it should, they rely on something that pretty much every brand relies on (whether they admit it or not)...

Yes, that is Locktite (or something like it). They don't use a lot, but just enough to be certain that things are held together safe and secure.

Once the bracelet was reassembled, the next step was to put the case together.

And finally attach the bracelet. 

And there you have it!


So some reflections -

The Minase factory is not a shiny, space age, hermetically sealed facility. It is an open, lived-in work space where real people make real things with their hands. Does Minase have the same public recognition as say Grand Seiko? No, or at least not yet. But what they do have, for lack of a better way to put it, is "Minas sais quoi". My own little linguistic creation borrowing a wee bit from the French - je ne sais quoi. For those of you who did not benefit from a Gallic linguistic upbringing, it translates to something that is appealing, but you can't adequately describe or articulate what that something is. It is as much a feeling as a quality. And having spent some time at Minase and in Yuzawa, I can honestly say that while I can't completely articulate or describe it, I can honestly say that I get it. 

Interesting to relate, I popped into the duty free store to examine the Seikos (Japan market only, not available in the US) and Grand Seikos.  And while they were perfectly nice, they did not give me the same feeling that the Minase watches did.  Suffice it to say, the band of watchmaking brothers and sisters from Yuzawa made a real impression on me.

And although part of the story ends here, I encourage you to stay tuned for the next few days.  The folks at Minase were so confident of their watches, they asked me to do a review.  And before you ask, NO.  They did not go to the vault for a brand new, unworn specimen.  And they did not recall a watch from a retailer.  They felt that as I had seen the disassembly and reassembly of a Minase Divido, I should review the one I had observed in its deconstructed form.

So seven days with the Minase Divido begins now.