And the Frederique Constant Goes to...

Jennifer Ibaven!  

Jennifer's name was selected at random by the IAPF from all of the names of people who donated $50 or more to the IAPF during the Tempus Fugit Initiative.  

And the second name pulled at random who will receive an Oberlin Pen Company fountain pen -

Joshua Munchow!

THANK YOU EVERYONE for your participation!

What If? Update Number 8!

And a BIG THANK YOU goes out to MARVIN for joining the Tempus Fugit Initiative!

We are starting to get some momentum going here, Marvin is lucky number 13!

Our "Band of Brothers and Sisters" has grown to 12 with RESSENCE joining forces with Girard-Perregaux, JEANRICHARD, A. Manzoni & Fils, Kobold, Aquadive, ISOfrane, Xetum, Jardur, Gavox, the Oberlin Pen Company, SAVOY and Marvin!

What if?

Dear watch companies,

What if?

What if each one of you could take even $5,000 from your annual budgets and donate it to a common cause?  What if the mighty SWATCH, Richemont, LVMH, ROLEX, Sowind, Audemars Piguet, Patek Phillipe, Ulysse Nardin… what if you all came together with a reasonable contribution with the sole goal of trying to fix an "unfixable" problem?

What if 100 watch companies in the world each contributed $5,000 - or more - to fund rangers to protect elephants and rhinos from poachers?  What if based on that, we could then go to people with even more money?  What if your KINDNESS and willingness to do something that was totally selfless then triggered people like Phil Knight of Nike, or Oprah Winfrey, or Bill Gates - I mean, let's aim high here!  What if that all got so much money - and so much attention, that it would be better financially for a father to become a ranger, rather than to become a poacher?  

And what if that action, created a groundswell in China and Vietnam to help people understand that maybe, just maybe the preservation of a species is more valuable than a dubious aphrodisiac?

So, let's name some names - Biver, Hayek, Hoffmann, Sofisti (THANK YOU!), Stern, Marini, Raffi, Stas and all the rest of you -

Are you really interested in doing something great - or is it just talk and PR?  

What am I asking for?  $5,000 if you have it - for some of you big brands, that is WAY less than you spend on a month of advertising.  And as the saying goes, if you can't afford $5,000, give what you can!

Do you really want to make a mark in the world and not just talk about it?  Here is a chance to do it!

Who is in?

What If? Update Number 6!

And the good folks at SAVOY have signed on to the Tempus Fugit Initiative - joining forces with Girard-Perregaux, JEANRICHARD, A. Manzoni & Fils, Kobold, Aquadive, ISOfrane, Xetum, Jardur, Gavox and the Oberlin Pen Company!

And because it never gets old -

What if?

Dear watch companies,

What if?

What if each one of you could take even $5,000 from your annual budgets and donate it to a common cause?  What if the mighty SWATCH, Richemont, LVMH, ROLEX, Sowind, Audemars Piguet, Patek Phillipe, Ulysse Nardin… what if you all came together with a reasonable contribution with the sole goal of trying to fix an "unfixable" problem?

What if 100 watch companies in the world each contributed $5,000 - or more - to fund rangers to protect elephants and rhinos from poachers?  What if based on that, we could then go to people with even more money?  What if your KINDNESS and willingness to do something that was totally selfless then triggered people like Phil Knight of Nike, or Oprah Winfrey, or Bill Gates - I mean, let's aim high here!  What if that all got so much money - and so much attention, that it would be better financially for a father to become a ranger, rather than to become a poacher?  

And what if that action, created a groundswell in China and Vietnam to help people understand that maybe, just maybe the preservation of a species is more valuable than a dubious aphrodisiac?

So, let's name some names - Biver, Hayek, Hoffmann, Sofisti (THANK YOU!), Stern, Marini, Raffi, Stas and all the rest of you -

Are you really interested in doing something great - or is it just talk and PR?  

What am I asking for?  $5,000 if you have it - for some of you big brands, that is WAY less than you spend on a month of advertising.  And as the saying goes, if you can't afford $5,000, give what you can!

Do you really want to make a mark in the world and not just talk about it?  Here is a chance to do it!

Who is in?

A Bit of Shameless Self-Promotion

As many of you know, I do some work for different watch and pen companies.  I try very hard to keep that separate from what I write about here because it can leave the wrong impression.

So this is a ONE TIME use of the space here at Tempus Fugit for a bit of shameless self-promotion.

I am the owner of the Oberlin Pen Company -

The Oberlin Pen Company was the result of a lot of inspiration that I have received from many of the brands that I have written about.

From Beat Weinmann of ochs und junior I have come to appreciate the importance of transparency - of knowing exactly where the products come from that you buy - even the luxuries.  So to that end, I have partnered with the Edison Pen Company of Ohio to produce the first series of pens.  All of the pens are made in Ohio, with the fountain pens using high quality German nibs.

From Samuel Naldi of Edelberg, I have learned the importance of having an attractive product, and having a stylish presentation.

From Lisa Delane of Tigerlilly Skye, and Yasmina Pedrini of Frederique Constant/Alpina I have learned the importance of trying to give something back to a charitable cause not because you should, but because you want to.

And from my interactions with Jean Claude-Biver, I have learned the importance of sharing the story.

The Oberlin Pen Company is an experiment in communication. There will be no big budget, no paid advertising or product placement. Whether this venture will live or die will be completely up to those people who choose to support it.

So what's in it for you? A very cool limited edition. But there is more to it than that, because one of the guiding ideals of the Oberlin Pen Company is to try and do something good. So to that end, a percentage of every pen sold will be donated to charity.

If you are interested in learning more, or in purchasing one of these limited editions, please contact me directly. The price for the Roller Ball will be $200 US plus shipping. For the Fountain Pen it will be $250 US plus shipping.

CONTACT OBERLIN PEN COMPANY