Struggling to Understand - the Favre Leuba Zombie

Now before we go any further, I will admit a few failings that I have as a member of Watch Town's Fourth and Fifth Estates. When I first launched The Blog Formerly Known As Tempus Fugit, I had a desperate need to be liked by brand owners, to fawn and praise, often without any real belief in what they were churning out. 

I was there to cover Favre Leuba 2.0 when Thomas Morf puffed up the brand with what turned out to be some unrealistic expectations as to what Favre Leuba could (or in the end would) be.

So now the curtain has raised, not insignificant amounts of money have been channeled to PR firms and media outlets to promote "Favre Leuba III - The Revenge of the Value Proposition!" Oh, and apparently it is also now, among other things, a heritage brand... and in all honesty, gentle reader? I am now left in a quandery as to just what Favre Leuba is now.

Courtesy of Favre Leuba

In fairness, the new pieces look nice enough. They utilize movements from La Joux-Perret. While they make a very respectable movement, I don't know if that alone correlates to the somewhat ambitious prices that are being proposed.

So who has their hands on the tiller of the good ship Favre Leuba? One Patrik Hoffmann. I have read an interview published in Monochrome, and well... let's just leave it at that. 

In a secondary splashy video interview with Revolution, it would seem that the basis of Favre Leuba is a "value proposition"  (I thought that Hodinkee had copyrighted that phrase), which I heard so frequently I ran out of fingers to count on. I found this descriptor somewhat curious as (if the Monochrome interview is to be taken as gospel) a tourbillon is planned for next year... "A value proposition Tourbillon..."

The price points (if I am being brutally honest) are not what I would call value proposition based. I suspect the folks at The Solist and Joma Shop have already raised their collective antenna. 

So ultimately the market will inform us as to what it will bear. But the sad truth is that Watch Town is currently over populated. There are already a shit-ton of brands, and those with the history (Longines) will likely come out ahead. 

But let's see how this develops. 

My Friend's Watch - And Why It's Great When The Good Guys Win!

One of the really great things about writing this bloggy-wog is the friendships that I have made over the years. And friendship is a funny thing, it can sometimes be more transactional when business is involved. But then other friendships are simply that. Friendship.

I first encountered Armand Billard stalking the halls of BaselWorld in (if my memory hasn't totally pooped out) 2018. He was a real presence, wearing a custom jacket (of which, I believe, he had two).

And the watch he was promoting was the Sartory Billard SB02 -

It is hard to believe that it has been six years! In fairly short order, Armand's brand has evolved.  He is now a highly sought-after independent watch maker, who I am proud to call my friend. And Sartory Billard has grown from a project two friends put together to celebrate a milestone birthday, to one of the hottest independent brands in the world.

Today Armand has a keen focus on bespoke work, but in all honesty I am an even bigger fan of his "ready-to-wear" items. In particular, this blue dialed time machine -

Courtesy of Sartory Billard

This is the SB04 BLUE GUILLOCHÉ.

The case is of stainless steel and measures 40 mm in diameter. The dial, which let's be honest, is amaze-balls, is a beguiling blue guilloché, with applied indices. And most importantly - at least in my opinion, it bears the Sartory Billard name just below 6 o'clock. Of all of the "off the rack" options, this is my favorite.

Courtesy of Sartory Billard

The movement is from La Joux-Perret, the G100.

In this day and age, you don't really need a watch. So if you're going to have one, it should be one that you really want ; )

And even though he is a Watch Town superstar, he still has time to for his friends, as you will read about in a few weeks' time.

Stay tuned!

The Transfer Window Opens...

At Arnold & Son.

Per WatchPro -

https://www.watchpro.com/arnold-sons-replaces-ceo-bertrand-savary-with-his-vp-of-sales/

It would seem that Bertrand Savary will be pursuing other professional interests. In a move that probably came as a surprise to some,
Pascal Béchu will be running the show at Arnold & Son / Angelus with immediate effect. Let's hope this goes better for Arnold & Son and Angelus customers than it did for all of the brands who got the fuzzy end of the lollipop (not to mention rather blunt "requests" for payment for a watch show that never happened) when BaselWorld went pear-shaped. In fairness, it was one Michel Loris-Melikoff who was calling the shots, and the less said about Mr. Loris-Melikoff, the better.


So Pascal Béchu, we wish you the best of success in moving forward, and Mr. Savary we wish you Godspeed.

The Lip T18 Original - All the Details!

So back on Friday we had a little amuse-bouche from Besançon -

Courtesy of Lip

And now it's time for the plat principal (that's main dish, to you)!

As previously mentioned, this is a reintroduction of the Lip T18. It is a very exciting step for Lip, as it brings forth the idea of a watch not only designed and assembled in Besançon, but one with a movement conceived and assembled there as well. 

Courtesy of Lip

Per Lip - 

"The components of its movement are machined in Switzerland by the La Joux-Perret factory and assembled in Besançon by the Humbert-Droz company. The casing and inspection are carried out in the LIP workshops in Besançon."

Courtesy of Lip

This is a very, very limited release of 180 pieces. So if it's in your wheelhouse, I suggest you move with a purpose before they are all gone!

Courtesy of Lip

Here are the pertinents -

Watch reference
676000

Movement
Exclusive mechanical movement from the Lip brand, entirely finished and assembled in Besançon with 118 parts from the Jura watchmaking arc, it has dimensions and specifications identical to the very first T18 from 1933. Barrel shape - Size 18 x 28.5 mm - Thickness 4.05 mm - frequency: 3 Hertz or 21,600 vibrations per hour – 21 ruby - 40 hour power reserve – precision –12 seconds to +12 seconds/24h

Case
10 micron gold plated steel (1st layer of 5 microns 18 carat gold, 2nd layer of 5 micron 24 carat gold). 

24 mm wide x 34.5 mm long. 

10 mm thick 

41.5 mm from lug to lug

20 mm lug width

Case back -
Display back fixed by 4 screws

Water Resistance -
30 meters

Dial
A reproduction of the T18 model offered to Winston Churchill in 1948. Gunmetal colored hands, with an off-center second hand at 6 o'clock, gunmetal colored applied indexes, with Arabic numerals

Crystal
Domed sapphire with anti-reflective treatment, thickness of 2.35 mm

Strap
Black, genuine alligator leather, 20 mm lug width, produced by the Sibra company in Besançon

Buckle
Gold-plated steel deployant

Warranty 

2 years

Made in France - Besançon

€2,490.00

Tax included

Something Alarming from RGM

What is great about RGM is that there is always something interesting, and always made with care.

Courtesy of RGM

Not so very long ago they announced that they would be offering (on a very limited basis) an alarm watch again.  And this is one of them.

This is the 110-A Automatic Alarm.  The case is stainless steel and measures 38.2 mm in diameter.

The movement is new old stock that was rescued from obscurity and now powers these very limited offerings.

The above is an alarm date, and the one below is alarm and GMT -

Courtesy of RGM

Here are the details -

Movement Caliber: RGM- AS 5008/ La Joux-Perret 5900 - Automatic, 31 jewels, 28,800 vph. Rhodium  finish - Cote de Geneve lines and perlage.

Functions: Hour / Minute / Date / Alarm,  110A-GMT also has a GMT function.

Case: Polished and Satin Brushed Stainless Steel. 38.2 mm X 12.8 mm, Sapphire crystal. 20mm lug width and water-resistant to 5-ATM.

Icarus Revisited

Point of full disclosure -

I made the decision over a year ago not to cover Bremont.  Those reasons are my own, the folks at Bremont know what they are - we keep a respectful distance from each other at BaselWorld and JCK.  I am writing about Bremont and the recent events below, but I want to be clear that in writing this post this evening, I will only be writing about the events of the past week or so.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Now for most of the folks who read the various forums, blogs, etc. the news of Bremont's recent misadventure have been aired-out for all and sundry to see.  In all fairness, this is something that even befell the mighty Tag Heuer. And for those of you just tuning in, here are the "basics":

With a great deal of hoopla (and to quote the late, great Mr. Plimpton), ballyhoo, Bremont announced, and formally released their latest limited edition - the Wright Flyer.  Bremont went so far as to say that this would be a doubly great release as the watch would house Bremont's… wait for it… first "in house" or "manufacture" movement - the BWC/01.  

But a funny thing happened on the way to the release.  Word started to swirl on a certain UK based watch forum asserting that Bremont's new "in house" movement was about as English as Napoleon.  This got people talking, talking led to doubt, doubt led to assumption - and unfortunately for Bremont - the assumptions in the end were proven to be true.

Essentially, what Bremont had placed in the new Wright Flyer was a movement that had been designed and manufactured by that well-known British brand….La Joux-Perret, and the caliber BWC/01 turned out to be, in fact, the La Joux-Perret caliber 6901.

And here is where, at least for me, the rubber met the road.  

Bremont's first response was that a disgruntled employee (former or current, we may never know, but a sort of "Boris Badenov" type) had absconded with the "blueprints".  And frankly, whether this was true or not, I find this to be a bit disingenuous.  It's a bit of "the dog ate my homework".  

A few days passed, more "chatter" filled the blogs and forums, and Bremont informed us that an important message (i.e. response) was coming.  And much like celebrities will turn to Oprah to regain their standing in terms of favorable public opinion, Bremont was featured on a video produced by Hodinkee.  And in fairness to Hodinkee, their role was simply to give Bremont an opportunity to share their side of the story - and Hodinkee is to be applauded for that.  Hodinkee in many ways sets the standards for the rest of us, and their diligent follow-up to the story is a good example of why they are so well (and deservedly) respected.

And the second "much awaited" response from the "good-looking English brother" essentially was not unlike Hugh Grant batting his eyelashes after getting caught with a call-girl.  By golly, he sure looked and sounded earnest.  If you have not had a chance to view the video, you can do so by visiting Hodinkee and viewing it here:

http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/video-bremont-co-founder-nick-english-responds-to-questions-about-new-movement


Pals and gals, let me speak plainly - Mr. English's explanation of  "We were naive" in terms of understanding the "terminology" of what exactly a "manufacture" movement meant was…
CODSWALLOP!  American translation - I'm calling bullshit.

Giles and Nick English did not just fall off of the turnip truck, and for them to say that the "poop-storm" that they are currently navigating is a matter of "semantics" is beyond the credulous.  

1.  They announced a new release of a watch that contained an "in house movement" that they warranted to be:
In House

2.  Word leaked out that said movement was indeed manufactured "in house", but that the "house" in question was one time zone and several countries away.  A country where the "house meal" was more likely to be fondue as opposed to shepherd's pie.

3.  They offered up a video that really managed to do even more damage to the notion that this was all an honest misunderstanding.  Essentially saying "You misunderstood us, and it's not our fault because golly, all this watch language stuff is so confusing".  


Now in fairness to Bremont, it is very clear that there was someone out there on a few forums and blogs working intently to do them and their business very real harm.  I think we can all agree that is a shitty thing to do and should call into question the veracity of the person's claims.  Sadly, the claims that the movement was not, in fact created (designed, crafted, etc.) by Bremont turned out to be true.


But ultimately watch fans, it is up to you.  I'm not buying it, but in fairness that feedback and a few bucks will get you a cup of coffee!

Enjoy your watches - and don't believe everything you read  ;  )