The Montecristo Monopulsante

From Pilo -

Courtesy of Pilo

To mark 25 years, Pilo has releasted the 

Montecristo Monopulsante. A quartz mono-pusher chronograph.

Courtesy of Pilo

Here are the pertinents -

• Case: 316L Stainless steel case, 41 mm wide x 10.4 mm thick

• Case finish: polished / satin-brushed on the sides, branding engraved on the back

• Dial: world map, sun guilloché

• Glass: Domed scratch-resistant K1 crystal

• Movement: 255.241-ETA Quartz chronograph

• Bracelet: 316L Stainless steel 7-link bracelet, 18 mm wide

• Clasp: butterfly

• Water resistance up to 50 meters

• Functions: central chronograph seconds, 30 minute Chronograph (6 o’clock), Hour / minute hand

PRICE: CHF 699

From Fidel, to Gina, to...

Wennenes auction house will be handling several items from the estate of Gina Lollobrigida on May 28 and 29. And one particular item caught my eye -

Courtesy of Wennenes

This is, as you can tell, not the infamous Rolex that Fidel Castro was frequently photographed wearing. No, this is a rather curious piece.

Per Wennenes -

SEIKO MEN'S TITANIUM WRIST WATCH FIDEL CASTRO WATCH

37x41 mm titanium case, 'to Gina with admiration' personalisation, 'Fidel Castro', LCD dial, quartz movement, titanium strap. 

So how did one of Italy's most famous film stars come to have a digital Seiko watch with a personalized engraving from "Miami's Most Wanted"?

A great article explaining their meeting and how the watch came to her wrist can be found courtesy of the Guardian -

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/12/gina-lollobrigida-fidel-castro-watch-auction

Long story short? When her acting days had come to an end, she embarked on a second act as a photojournalist. And it was in that capacity that they met (for a second time) when she was granted an exclusive interview. Apparently it went well, as Castro removed his watch and gave it to her. He later had it engraved.

Should You Ever Visit Japan

If memory serves me correctly, I first encountered Oceanus in the somewhat short-lived Men's Vogue (US Edition).  At the time I was sorta' pissed off because I had worked like the Devil to get DOXA included in the "Worn/Re-Worn" special section at the front of each issue.  For all of my effort, we got the one page and were grateful.  Had my boss not insisted on trying to jam 5000 factoids into that one page it might have had a bigger impact, but I digress.

Anyway, on the pages opposite, there was a flood of words and facts about a quartz watch with a goofy name - Oceanus!  I got an earful about how come they got so much "language" and we didn't, with instructions to make the people at Vogue (you know, the people who actually gave us the feature without demanding payment) aware of the displeasure my boss felt.  I opted to ignore those instructions. And in truth, I didn't give much of a second or third thought to Oceanus, and like Men's Vogue (US Edition) it was come and gone from these shores in fairly short order.

Fast forward 10 years and I was part of a press junket for G-Shock in which we were briefly introduced to the rest fo the Casio product family.  Fun fact - Casio is BIG in the overhead projector and desk top calculator worlds.  And there almost ignored were a few samples of the Oceanus model -

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide info-web

And for one Ohio retailer and myself, it was like when peanut-butter met jelly!  These are really good looking watches, and while they are quartz they prove the theory that there is nothing dumb about quartz.

This is the Casio Oceanus OCW-T200S-2AJF Bluetooth.  And before you scoff and say "Basic quartz with date", allow me to educate you.  Bluetooth is one of the key, operative words.  As I learned from the G-Shock I picked up on that trip 2 years ago, the Bluetooth function links to your cell phone, guaranteeing that your time is correct.  Change timezones?  So long as your phone is with you, it's no problem!  And solar!  So those frequent battery changes will be (for the most part) a thing of the past.

What I've learned during my time as a watch dog is that while mechanical is sexy, and haute is "haughty", it represents a very small portion of the market.  Mechanical watches were simply the result of the technology that was available at that time. Yes, many millions of dollars are invested in improving mechanical technology, and I am just as guilty of appreciating a mechanical movement. But if I am being honest with myself? I am more and more appreciating things that are well made that do not require so much effort. I love Apple products for this reason, my car has an automatic transmission, and I bought a K-Cup machine for my school because although it's not as sexy as some of the more expensive options that let you play "Kitchen Barista", I can honestly say after my tour of duty as a Starbucks manager, it's not something I dream of doing several times a day when I'm in a hurry.

Now unfortunately, as the aforementioned Ohio retailer and I discovered back in Japan, the Oceanus is not available here in the US. But there are outlets in Japan that sell and ship, and if you're looking for something that will look really good, be bang on perfect in time keeping, and not cost you several hundreds of dollars every few years for serving - I would highly recommend the Oceanus.

The Tourer GMT/Triple Calendar/Three Hand

From Straton -

Courtesy of Straton

These are the latest releases and as always, Straton has strived to offer variety and options to its dedicated customers.

Owing to that, the Tourer is available in three different versions:
GMT
Triple Calendar
Three Hand

And is also available in different sizes and colors.  But they go a bit further.  They are offering different movement types as well.

The current pricing is pre-order, and is currently at its lowest level.  The price will adjust upwards as the number of available watches decreases.  As Straton puts it:

Proud to launch the Straton Tourer GMT, Triple Calendar and three hand watches. By pre-ordering early you are saving up to 30% on retail prices. The prices will increase by $50 every month until it’s retail price is reached so ordering as soon as possible guarantees not only the lowest price but also delivery, price includes delivery. Each version of the Tourer is limited to a first production of 300 pieces per variation (example GMT Automatic limited to total of 300, GMT Quartz limited to 300, etc.

Courtesy of Straton

The Tourer GMT is available in a 43 mm version (Strap only) for $499.  $519 will get you the bracelet, and $539 will get you both the strap and the bracelet.  

It is also available in a quartz version either in a slightly smaller 40 mm version, or in a 43 mm version.  This one is $299 on a strap, $319 on a bracelet, and $339 with both strap and bracelet.

Courtesy of Straton

The Triple C Automatic is 43 mm and is priced at $499 on a strap, $469 on bracelet and $489 with both.

The Three Hand Automatic is available in 2 sizes - 40 and 43 mm. It is currently $399 on the strap, $419 on the bracelet, and $439 with both strap and bracelet.

As is often the case with Straton, you also have some choice in terms of color ways -

five to be precise!  Black, Blue, Gold, Green and Rust/Brown.

We will update with news and developments as Straton gets closer to delivery date.

Stay Tuned!

Deja Vu All Over Again

Am I the only one who remembers the 70s and 80s?  

With the latest results from the FH, I am more and more convinced that maybe myself and a handful of other people are the only ones who do.  Right now according to the FH and some of the reporting from some very fine (sincerely) and respected writers in the industry it would be easy to keep sipping the Kool Aid and assume that everything is fine.

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide info web

Sometimes it is easy to go for and accept the simple answer without really looking in depth at what is hiding just below the surface.  So allow me to yank this particular band aid off.

To quote that other great commentator on the watch industry, Lily Tomlin -

Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse

FACT 1 - Exports do not equal sell through.
Anecdotal evidence from several sources that I tend to put a lot of faith in report that the sell-through in Hong Kong has plunged in some stores by 80% over the past 8 weeks. Now the easy argument would be that this is the reason for the downturn in exports. But if you look at the graph from the FH over the past YEAR, you will note that the export numbers have consistently been trending DEEP SOUTH. That's right pals and gals, long before the protests started in Hong Kong. Now recent events have firmly planted the accelerator to the floor. So sorry great watch authority from Outlet X, you're not looking at the whole picture.

This is real boys and girls, and it will have a massive impact on future shipments over the next 6 to 12 months.
FACT 2 - The fewer watches you manufacture, the fewer you can sell (whether through authorized outlets or our old friend the grey market).
Based on the Swiss Federal Institute of Statistics and the Swiss Watch Federation the Swiss Watch Industry exported in 2014 28,582,190 MILLION watches. Now add to this quantity what was sold in the Swiss domestic market (which is estimated to 1.4 Million) and we're at around 30 million. 

Now for the Pepsi Challenge -

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide info web

Let's compare this to the current reporting of the Swiss Watch Federation. We are projecting to be slightly over 1/3 less in terms of manufacturing. 
Now, before you assemble a care package for your favorite CEO who treats you to that tasting menu each year during your visit... oh wait, that's right! You are NEVER going to be feted at one of these press carnivals.  Sorry...

At any rate, the CEO is covered, it's cheaper for the brand to keep paying him or her to do nothing. The sales manager and heads of pr and marketing will not have to start driving used cars or shopping at the Salvation Army. But let's talk about the people actually making those watches in (most typically) assembly houses, and some who work for the big brands. Believe me, those folks will get the axe long before brand x cancels their America's Cup partnership, their Wine Country press junket, or their brand ambassador from the Marvel Universe. You might not hear too much about these people in terms of the Swiss employment statistics. Why? Well also curious to relate, a lot of the people who assemble your watch in Switzerland are not, by actual definition, Swiss. Italian and French citizens cross the borders every day to work for Swiss companies making Swiss watches. It's not to say that they don't count, but in terms of Swiss employment figures, let's just say it tends to skew the graph plot.

As one Swiss insider stated, "the tissue is melting away!" But according to the Swiss Watch Federation, and the reporting of some tail waggers out there, things are even better now than ever before because, wait for it, the export value is increasing! 

Now I am 51 years old, and in fairness, I was not exactly engaged in the watch business at 11 years of age. But I do make a point of trying to understand the past and how it has influenced where we are now, and I also try to pay attention to where we're heading.

FACT 3 - And the one reality that should have the management at the SWATCH group up late nights and shitting themselves? Low priced Swiss watches where the big volumes are in production and (it stands to reason) sales are dramatically dropping again. While Hublot Big Bangs and Vacheron Constantin Overseas are sexy, they are not exactly owned and worn by the masses. And the Swiss watch industry is, well, industrial - meaning it involves thousands of people with thousands of jobs making (ideally) millions of watches. But just like 40 years ago there have been, and continue to be, warning signs that are being ignored.

Think about this basically, we‘re talking about millions of pieces that are not manufactured and assembled anymore. This inevitably leads to thousands of jobs lost already and thousands more that will be lost in the near future.
The shit's about to get even realer.

Wrapping up the QLOCKTWO

Why we like a watch is often a very inexplicable, very visceral thing.  It is often something that can't be logically quantifiable.  It is emotional, sometimes bordering on the irrational.  And the watch companies that can harness that sort of subconscious desire and marry it with high quality manufacturing are onto something.  

Such was my experience with the QLOCKTWO.

Before I dive into the usual stuff you'd expect in a review, I have to delve back and share a personal story -

Way back when dinosaurs were roaming the earth, my grandfather decided that the one thing that every 10 year old needed was an LED watch.  So a very large, very chunky LED watch arrived and was given to me.  I LOVED that watch, hitting the buttons incessantly.  It worked for all of a week before malfunctioning.  We sent it back to the folks at Texas Instruments and were told to wait a month.  Only to receive a BRAND NEW identical model less than a week later, swiftly followed by the original "repaired" model a week after that.  Spoiler alert - both watches died within a week of arrival.  

So it was more than a stroll down memory lane for me to wear the QLOCKTWO this past week.

So as you've probably figured out, the QLOCKTWO is a battery powered watch.  But it is a far cry from the LED watches of my youth, the ones favored by Millennials attempting to be ironic.  No, this is something for the grownups.

As you can see in the picture above, the QLOCKTWO is square in shape with letters (and dots) engraved into the watch face.  And that is how it looks until you engage the button to read the time.  

You will note, no numbers, just words.  As you can see, the time is 4:40, or twenty to five.  The watch face is programmed to light up the time in words.  This is how we typically say the time, and in a world of cell phones makes this a somewhat kinder and gentler way to experience the passing of minutes.  

Want something more precise than time in 5 minute increments?  Not to worry, QLOCKTWO has you covered!  

You will note at the bottom of the watch face a single dot is illuminated.  You will also note that there are four dots at the bottom of the dial.  Each dot represents 1 minute.  Meaning that you simply add the number of illuminated dots to the time indicated above.  If it is a quarter to four - 3:45, add 1 minute to that?  3:46!

So if you engage the side button once, you get the time.  Engage it twice?

You get the date.

Three times?

Seconds!

The watch is even more intelligently designed as there are setting indicators for AM/PM, the month and the year.  This ensures that the QLOCKTWO will not need to be adjusted for pesky little things like months that vary by 1 or 3 days from the typical 31, and also account for leap year.

The construction of the watch is first rate.  Assembled in Germany, the finish and the overall quality was outstanding.  And it is important to keep in mind that this is a review of a used watch, not something brand new out of inventory.  This to me is even more valuable an assessment because it gives you an idea of just what this watch will look like and perform in a few years.  And the watch performed flawlessly.

So let's get to details per Biegert & Funk -

Details

1.38 x 1.38 inch (35 x 35 mm) case made entirely from brushed stainless steel
Innovative long lasting LED technology
Timepiece with 114 illuminating units
110 letters gently etched out of a thin valuable metal plate
Milanese bracelet with adjustable length
Display of seconds and calendar day

Water-resistant 5 ATM      

The QLOCKTWO has been wonderfully comfortable to wear. The size is suitable for pretty much any size wrist.

The Milanese bracelet was quite tactile and strong. The finish was smooth and balanced.  The clasp was not like the usual sharp and jagged, tinny ones used on other Milanese style bracelets.

And beyond everything else what was most telling was the amount of questions I got from friends and complete strangers about the QLOCKTWO.  I have worn and reviewed a LOT of watches over the last seven years.  This one, BY FAR, got the most attention and the most positive feedback.  And that feedback came from both watch and non-watch folks alike.

And I think that is a lot of the appeal of the QLOCKTWO - it is downright charming.  It took me back nearly forty years to that wonderful (albeit, malfunctioning) gift that my grandfather gave me.  And now I know what it would have been like if that watch had actually worked ; )


So before I close this, a few observations.  This is not a watch for everyone, you have to adapt a bit to the display, and also remind yourself that you have to engage the button to get the time.  But once you get past these two things, it is a joy to wear.  It is also quite a fun notion to have the watch on your wrist without anything indicated.  Not unlike having on a Reverso with the crystal side "reversed".

                                                     

The Seastrong Diver 300 Chronograph Big Date

From Alpina -

Courtesy of Alpina

This is the latest member of the Seastrong family.   Here are the details -

      

Reference                               AL-372LBBG4FBV6

Case                                       

Stainless Steel with Black PVD coating with uni-directional turning 60min black diving bezel with 

beige luminous markers 44 mm diameter

Scratch – resistant sapphire crystal

30 ATM/300m/1000ft Water-resistant

Engraved case-back

Screw-in crown and caseback

Movement                               

AL-372, High precision swiss quartz movement

13 jewels, 48 months battery life

Dial                                             

Black dial with applied beige luminous indexes

Date window at 6’ o clock

Beige luminous hours and minutes hands

Strap                                       

Black rubber 

Functions                               

Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Big date, 1/10^th of seconds chronograph, ADD  and SPLIT functions

Something for Her in Camouflage

A little something to slip under the tree for her.

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

For whatever reason, we don't tend to get tons of news about women's watches, but luckily Bell & Ross has taken up  the gauntlet and offered a ladies watch that is at once clearly for her, while also clearly following the codes of Bell & Ross.

Here are the Pertinents -

BRS-CAMO-ST

Movement:  Quartz. Calibre BR-CAL.102.

Functions:  Hours, minutes and date.

Case:  39 mm in diameter. Satin-polished steel. Steel bezel.

Dial:  Grey camouflage patterned mother of pearl. Metal appliqué numerals and indices. Metal skeleton Superluminova®-filled hour and minute hands.

Crystal:  Sapphire with anti-reflective coating.

Water Resistance:  100 m.

Strap:  Grey satin.

Buckle:  Pin. Satin-finished steel.