The One That Got Away - And Came Back Reborn

I am convinced that the Four Noble Truths were originally penned with the watch-obsessed in mind. And although I am a semi-functioning Buddhist, I accept my imperfections, not the least are that I eat meat, and I like shiny things that keep the time.

Enter the MeisterSinger Edition Primatik 365 -

Courtesy of Meister Singer

Clapping eyes on this last month at the Wind-Up show, I was reminded to try and keep control of my longings and desires, or as was written (albeit originally in Sanskrit), Taṇhā. 

The Primatik 365 is a wonderful time machine. The case measures 41.5 mm and is of stainless steel. The movement is Sellita's SW270, which has been modified to suit the needs of MeisterSinger's single handed functionality. It also includes both a date and power reserve function.

But more than anything else, I was captivated by the look and feel of the Primatik 365. It is clearly legible without being spartan. It is colorful and fun without being garish. It is, at least to my eye, very nearly perfect. Your mileage, of course, may vary ; )

It is limited to 100 pieces and is very reasonably priced at just North of $2,500 (if my memory serves me correctly).

So I am going to hit the pause button and ask you to hop in the Way-Back Machine with me. We're heading to those thrilling days of yesteryear, specifically 2003. 

Now at that time, I was living in San Francisco. I had just gone through a fairly major life shift. Wendy and I had moved to the US after 8 + years overseas (Japan, Portugal, Finland, UK), and I had been relieved of my duties at my first big-time job. I then slugged it out as a Starbucks store manager in a pretty ragged-out location which boasted, among other things, a fairly aggressive rat population. I would get up at 4:00 AM, walk across a still (mostly) sleeping downtown San Francisco, and open up the store, each time grateful I had not run across a predator. I would work my (usually) 10 hour shift (don't worry Howard, I'm not going to get litigious about all of that unpaid overtime), and after that I would grab my suit bag, and hot-foot it over to Tourneau. I would take a quick "hooker's shower" in the men's room, slip into my suit, and work the floors of a very small store, and hopefully sell a few watches. I would get home about 9:30 and share an hour of conversation with Wendy before going to bed to get up and do it all over again. 

And then the sun came out again (at least professionally) and I got a job at a college, re-entering my "field". And after a month, I saved up my lunch money and wandered into Seregin's. This was back when they were behind the big Macy's on Union Square. And that is when I became acquainted with a new (to me) German brand, MeisterSinger. They had one model in 3 different colors. I chose the one that this current one is based on -

Courtesy of Meister Singer

Francis Zanneti was working for Paul Seregin back then. And if ever there was someone who would have rocked a watch podcast it was Francis. He was the one who coined the ultimate watch descriptor:

"The Shit That Killed Elvis!".

Francis explained that I was the first person in San Francisco to buy one, and it was likely I might be one of the first owners in the US full-stop. And that watch meant a lot to me. It reminded me that life, inevitably, moves forward. No matter how bad things might get, those moments of failure, of doubt, of fear? They are temporary. As, it would turn out, is watch ownership. A good friend really admired my MeisterSinger. He was going through a bad time, and I was pleased to see my MeisterSinger go to someone in need of a confidence boost.

Flash forward literally 20 years (and I kid you not, nearly down to the day), and we were wrapping up our booth at the Wind-Up show in New York. I am getting wine and beer for our fellow exhibitors and I look up and realize that I am pouring for Rainer Eckert, the Co-CEO of MeisterSinger. Needless to say, I felt compelled to share my MeisterSinger story with him. And thinking back on it, I am reminded that life is a journey, there really is no set destination - and wouldn't it be boring if there was? 

Nothing is permanent in this life, whether we are ready to accept it or not. But we will always have memories, both good and bad. Time will march on, with or without us. So take those moments to reflect back, to look forward, but most importantly? Take time to enjoy the present.

A Fusion of...

So...

We are back to the topic of celebrity partner / endorser.  Want to know why Breguet doesn't have any problems with the celebrity clients they used to mention in their advertisements like Napoleon and Churchill?  Simple, most of them are dead.  Sounds a bit harsh, but with the news breaking of celebrity partner Lapo Elkann's unfortunate mishap in New York City this past weekend, the question comes to the surface again - are celebrity partners worth the risk?  For those unaware, according to the New York Times (among other outlets) Mr. Elkann was in New York City when following a night of fun, frolics and antics he was believed to have made a false police report.  Britain's Guardian put it a little less subtly -

Lapo Elkann, scion of powerful Agnelli family, charged with faking own kidnap

What pretty much every other outlet I have read has agreed on is that Mr. Elkann was reportedly with an "escort" and that there were drugs involved.  Which is, in fairness, neither here nor there.  The problem arose when he contacted his family, let them know that he was being held against his will and needed $10,000 to gain his release.  I refer you to the reporting from the Guardian.

Needless to say, $10,000 for an Agnelli is a bargain even in this economy.

Part of the fun of working for a watch company that has a following of any sort is that you get to meet some famous and interesting people. And there are few people as interesting as the grandson of L'Avvocato.  But just as celebrities come with entourages, they also come with baggage.  

The people at Hublot are not fools.  There are plenty of bright, savvy people who I suspect give a fair amount of consideration to risk vs reward when it comes to their celebrity partners.  There have been some home runs - Usain Bolt, Pele and others.  Some have been a wee bit controversial like Diego Maradona (although I still say at his peak he was a better player than Pele).  And some were just not good ideas - Floyd Mayweather was perhaps an ill-advised roll of the PR dice.  And that is putting it as delicately as I can.  Luckily the "Black and Blue" Bang never saw the light of day.  Now if we could just convince them to walk away from FIFA we'd really be onto something ; )

And now we come back to Elkann the younger.  Hublot was, of course, counting on his celebrity, enthusiasm, and potential to provoke attention.  Well, when viewed strictly in those terms he has delivered.

So the big question is - was this a PR "black eye" that Hublot was unwilling to suffer? 
Well, maybe, because it appears that perhaps this was a bang too big for the folks in Nyon because as of 7:00 AM Eastern Time, any attempt to find Mr. Elkann's visage on the Hublot website or to select the Italia Independent watch was greeted with:


Our website is under maintenance,
Sorry for disconvenience.

 

Now before you get too snarky, it bears mentioning that although disconvenience is not a word that could be said to be in "common usage", it is actually a word.  Albeit not one regularly used for several hundred years.  So strap on your "Big Bang Sundial" while I educate you, courtesy of Oxford Dictionary Online:

Disconvenience

noun

rare

• 1historical
  Lack of accordance or correspondence; = disconveniency. Compare inconvenience. historical and rare after 17th cent.
• 2Inconvenience, disadvantage; (as a count noun) an inconvenience, a disadvantage. Now rare.

Origin

Late Middle English; earliest use found in Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie. Originally from (i) Middle French disconvenience disagreement, incompatibility.

 

The Gavox Aurora - Why I Bought it

When you write a watch blog, even one that caters to a small readership such as Tempus Fugit, you get to test drive a lot of watches. And when you stop worrying about satisfying advertisers and stroking egos, you get to be honest.  This past spring I got to review the Gavox Aurora and to say that it made an impression on me would be a great understatement.

As I have said more than once, I am not a person driven by gadgets or the latest technical whimsy. I suspect whatever thirst for knowledge of the horological minutia of micro mechanics I might have once had got beaten out of me during my time at DOXA listening to armchair blowhards wax on about their superior knowledge (yes, that is sarcasm) of the fine points of the ETA 2824-2, or other sublime topics.

So the question is, what made such an impression on me?  Simple Complexity.  Yes, the Gavox Aurora has some pretty cool and sophisticated functionality, but all of the functions can be controlled even by a brain as "un nimble" as my own. 

But the other thing I really liked about about the Aurora was that it didn't just roll on its back like a faithful puppy waiting for you to rub its tummy.  No, if you wanted to check out or use the functions, you actually had to engage your brain, and the watch, by way of the crown/central pusher.  It makes the entire experience a bit more personalized, a WHOLE LOT MORE interactive.  It makes a complicated watch fun, without being an exercise in "haute behavior".  

So yes, this watch made a big impression on me, and hence I found myself in New York, cash in hand, to pick up my own and visit with Mr. Happe.

To a large extent, a watch is a watch is a watch.  And maybe it is just where I am emotionally, spiritually and intellectually in this world of watch fanatics of which I am a  member, but I want more than the latest innovation.  I want something that registers on a human, an emotional scale.

Something that provides a warm and fuzzy feeling.  And that is what the Aurora provides me.

When you find that special watch, well it is a love affair of sorts that you indulge in form the beginning of the day, until the sun sets.

So as the kitchen calls and I go to rattle a few pans to make dinner, remember that watches should be fun, as well as functional. The two are not mutually exclusive! So now I've got mine, and I am a happy guy!

I hope you find yours, whatever it is, or whoever makes it.

That's all for now - enjoy your watches!

F.P.JOURNE Exhibits Its Collection “STEEL TIME” At The Forbes Galleries, New York

The largest historic collection of gunmetal watches from mid to late 19th Century

From 21 April to 15 September 2012

After Geneva and Tokyo, the renewed Forbes Galleries in New York at 62 Fifth Avenue will host the exhibition Steel Time, featuring the largest historic collection of gunmetal watches – burnished steel - a remarkable display of 200 watches made between 1850 and 1910. Each piece is unique in a variety of styles and techniques, but all have echoed in the wristwatches produced today

.

The industry of laminated iron was one of the greatest adventures of the 19th century. Produced in large quantities as of 1845, the material was used in railways, bridges and towers. As the price of steel fell, it replaced iron in most industrial applications and it made a dramatic entrance with the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1885, and the building of the Eiffel Tower in 1889. The metal thus became familiar to the general population, and widely accepted. The fashion spread to all walks of life, and not the least horology.

Gun metal watches developed shortly after the war of 1870 and painted a captivating picture of a new type of watch that was both egalitarian and fun! There was a considerable price

difference between steel watches and those in gold, which gave steel watches the possibility to circulate freely without being subject to heavy taxation. The watch thus became generalised to all classes of society and led to the birth of the proletarian watch. This production was also greatly encouraged by the growth of the French metal industry, which resulted in the development of new methods of production and treatment of steel.

Numerous styles were designed in gun metal watches, sometimes with a plain case, sometimes adorned with two gilt metals applied on the bezel and to the edge of the case back. The dials could be in white or colored enamel, simply marked with the word Regulateur, or embellished with numbers painted on round flinqué enamel cartouches of various colors, and often depicted a locomotive, a ship or a car. Depending on the price, some offered a more complicated movement, with chronograph, alarm setting or striking mechanism, and others could offer world- time indications. In creative hands, steel did much to popularize watches.

For many years, François-Paul Journe, a passionate and knowledgeable collector brought

together this collection of singular gun-metal timepieces. He is the privileged guardian of this

historical heritage and is proud to share this unique collection with the American public at The

Forbes Galleries. The NAWCC (National Watch and Clock Museum) in Columbia, PA, is

supporting this exhibition.

This magnificent collection was previously exhibited in the salon of F.P.Journe’s Manufacture in Switzerland and at the Embassy of Switzerland in Tokyo. It leaves the visitor with countless

thoughts about the measurement of time and its evolution. It also helps understand why

contemporary watchmakers like F.P.Journe continue to develop watch making as a science.

“STEEL TIME” the book, is published by F.P.Journe

F.P.Journe keeps this exhibition alive through a book entitled Steel Time, written by two

cover the origin of these creations, sometimes going back to the 17th century. One seldom sees  outstanding experts, Jean Claude Sabrier and Georges Rigot. More than 300 fascinating pages  such a vivid and complete approach to quality watchmaking in precious-metal watches.

The Limited English Edition signed by F.P.Journe will be available for sale at US$ 250.