Why The Mach 2000 Matters

I am constantly surprised by what is remembered as iconic. And with rumors running high that Lip might be returning to the North American market, I am ready to embrace the future while reveling in the past. And the best part about the Mach 2000? It is here, now!

Courtesy of Lip

The Mach 2000 is the very first watch that many watch fans identify Lip with. Needless to say, Lip has a deeeeeeeep catalog, but with that said, for €449.00 it is an affordable piece of Lip, and dare I say it, French watch making iconography.

Lip, and French watch making writ large were at the forefront of innovation in watch making. They embraced quartz well in advance of the rest of Switzerland. And in fairness, as several people have stated - if quartz was a technology available to Abraham-Louis Breguet, he probably would have embraced it.

So for those of you ready to reach out and grab a piece of watch making, and design history, you can grab it direct from Lip!

Including €0.02 e

The Mythic Titanium

From Lip -

Courtesy of Lip

I am a child of the 70s. I know what you're going to say, and I agree with you - nobody misses double-knit polyester, the Ford Pinto, or Watergate scandal. 

On the other hand, I do have very fond memories of the Presto Hot Dogger - and this is coming from a guy who really did not (and for the most part still does not) like hot dogs. Anything that requires that much mustard and diced onion to be made palatable is maybe best left alone ; )

And in terms of design, there were indeed some efforts that are best left in the dustbins of history... along with the beloved 33s of our childhood.

But let's get back to the matter at hand -

Courtesy of Lip

I know the owner of Lip a little bit. Pierre-Alain Berard and his father took over Lip a few years back. And let's just say that fate threw a few curve balls right at their heads. I had just gotten back from my second visit to Lip, and one of my all-time favorite cities, Besançon, when COVID19 began to rear its ugly head. In a few conversations at the height of the pandemic, Pierr-Alain was clearly focused on keeping the company going, and keeping his people employed. And not unlike another storm that Lip went through in the 70s, they came out the other side even stronger. 

The proof is in their new product offerings, not the least of which is this wonderfully different wrist-bound bijoux. The Mythic Titanium is a twist on the earlier release the Big TV Titanium, a revival of a classic Roger Tallon Lip design. The dial is a wonderful departure, requiring a different perspective to read the time, but one that makes the experience a bit more personal.

Courtesy of Lip

It's Hip To Be Square!

The Mythic Titanium is - you guessed it - crafted of titanium, with a display back. It measures 35 mm x 35 mm. The movement is the MIYOTA 82S0 - automatic. Water resistance is 50 meters. And the price is a wonderfully affordable one - €899.00

The Big TV Titanium

From Lip -

Courtesy of Lip

I haven't been to Besançon for nearly four years. That is a situation I am going to have to remedy. This is the latest offering from the folks at Lip.

Courtesy of Lip

Roger Tallon saw the Portavia 111 portable television, and saw something more. 

He saw what would become the TV and Big TV.

Courtesy of Lip

That was another time, of course. Lip went through some not great times since the heady days of the original TV and Big TV.

Enter the Berards -

Lip is finally heading back to where it belongs, at the forefront of design. Although I did not receive a press release, my understanding is that Pierre-Alain Berard has been working on this new version of the Big TV for some time. And it has definitely been worth the wait.

Courtesy of Lip

This is a fairly fresh release, and is currently an "on request" item. It is priced at €899.00

Here are the pertinents, straight from Besançon:

Watch reference - 671657

Case
brushed titanium, dimensions 35 mm x 35 mm, thickness (glass included) 12 mm

Case Back
translucent revealing the functioning of its movement

Dial
black with white indexes, minute and hour hands, black and white second hand with luminova finish

Glass
sapphire

Strap
titanium

Buckle
titanium butterfly deployant

Movement
automatic MIYOTA 82S0

Weight
116g

Waterproof
50 meters

Warranty
2 years 

Made in France - Besançon

Things I'd Love To See In 2021 - A Mechanical Mach 2000

Growing up a Northern Youth, I found Sundays were typically spent daydreaming. I would imagine leaving my small Ohio town and seeing the world. I would pour over books about Japan, Finland and Sweden, and imagine what it might be like to visit, or even live in such places. 22 years later, I can answer those questions. But I still wonder about things not yet seen, or things that went away that I wish would come back.  

This past year Swatch miracled many of us with a reissue of Keith Haring Swatches in partnership with Disney. But having spent some time in France, and Besançon in particular, I keep hoping for one specific watch to come back in a mechanical or self-winding format, and that would be Roger Tallon's iconic creation, the Mach 2000 from Lip -

Photo kindly shared by a collector who prefers to remain anonymous

This is an example of the "original" version. It sports 
the red, yellow and blue color code that is now synonymous with the Mach 2000. Under the hood is a manual winding Valjoux movement.

Now point of full disclosure, although I have visited the Lip HQ and factory in Besançon, I do not have any "inside info" on any possible reiteration of the Mach 2000. The team at Lip play their cards very, very close to their vest and as far as I know, the hope for a new mechanical/automatic Mach 2000 is probably just my own late winter Sunday daydream. But wouldn't it be cool?

Now I realize that we are living in different times than the 1970s, and the cost of a Valjoux chronograph is far loftier (when allowing for inflation to current prices) than it was back when the Mach 2000 made its debut, but my hope is that the team at Lip will find a way to bring back a mechanical/automatic Mach 2000 and offer it at a price that stays true to the ethos of Lip - great watches at a fair price.  Here's hoping that 2021 will flip the script on 2020 and we'll have some positive surprises!

For now, there is still a great option that in many ways perhaps out-Tallons the original -

Monsieur Tallon was, at his heart, a modernist.  And when we go back to the birth of the Mach 2000, a quartz movement was like water from the moon. A Valjoux chronograph made a great deal more fiscal sense. But I suspect that being a modernist, he would have been interested in the latest technology.

Sorta' funny how things change! In many ways, I suspect that the current model is what he would have designed and what Lip would have made if it would not have been so shockingly cost prohibitive. That's just my take on it, but there you go.  

At any rate it's Sunday, and I'm going to return to my daydreaming ; )

Enjoy your watches!

Summer Repeat - The Silver Master Mach 2000

From Lip -

Courtesy of Lip

This wonderfully fun chronograph was the result of Roger Tallon's design back in 1975.

Courtesy of Lip

There are still some of the originals with mechanical movements to be had, but I am profoundly grateful that Lip is offering this in an affordable quartz version.  Priced at just south of 550 Euros it is something that offers a lot of fun for not a lot of money.

But more than anything else, this watch hit what I sometimes call a "memory nerve".  Have you ever experienced that sensation that viewing something, or a long forgotten smell can take you right back to a place and time far away?

Courtesy of Lip

Just for a moment it was 1976 again, and I was back in Oberlin, Ohio wandering around the Art museum.  It is at once nostalgic while at the same time of the moment.  If I'm honest, this is the kind of watch that just makes you happy.

Courtesy of Lip

Back in 1975 this was no doubt a bit much for a lot of folks, but in all honesty, I'm digging it.

Courtesy of Lip

Per Lip these are assembled in Besançon - France 

And here are some details -

The case measures 42 mm by 40 mm.

The movement is Ronda's quartz 5030 D.

The strap is Grey Rubber

Ultimately a watch is a device, an object - but isn't it wonderful when it becomes more than that?  When it can take you to a special place and time?

It's hard not to be romantic about watches.

I WANT ONE!!!

The Dark Master

From lip

I was in Besançon a few weeks back and finally got to see one of Roger Tallon's lip creations up close and "on the wrist".  I had not been 100% of the size, look and feel.  You will note that is "past tense".

The Mach 2000 is a wonderful size and fit, and the seemingly strange design was not come upon by just trying to be "quirky".  Legend has it that Mr. Tallon found the normal shape of a watch to be somewhat challenging to wear while working as it would interfere with the movement of his hands.  So the flat side and somewhat "shifted" focus were (if the legend is true) an ergonomic choice.

It works!

Saving my Euros now ; )

Here are the "particulars":

Courtesy of lip

Roger Tallon
1975 revised 2008

Watch reference
189 25 12

Strap reference
M size lenght 230 mm / 100 191

Buckle reference
150 153

Battery type
394

Caseblack / s. steel / 50 meters / 42X40 mm

Dial - Black

Strap - Black / black lining / rubber

Movement - Ronda 5030-D

Gender : man

Style : contemporary

Display : hands

Strap Material : rubber

Strap Color : Black

Dial Color : Black

Case Color : Black

Movement : Quartz

The Silver Master Mach 2000

From Lip -

Courtesy of Lip

This wonderfully fun chronograph was the result of Roger Tallon's design back in 1975.

Shamelessly borrowed from the "InfoWeb"

There are still some of the originals with mechanical movements to be had, but I am profoundly grateful that Lip is offering this in an affordable quartz version.  Priced at just south of 550 Euros it is something that offers a lot of fun for not a lot of money.

But more than anything else, this watch hit what I sometimes call a "memory nerve".  Have you ever experienced that sensation that viewing something, or a long forgotten smell can take you right back to a place and time far away?

Courtesy of Lip

Just for a moment it was 1976 again, and I was back in Oberlin, Ohio wandering around the Art museum.  It is at once nostalgic while at the same time of the moment.  If I'm honest, this is the kind of watch that just makes you happy.

Courtesy of Lip

Back in 1975 this was no doubt a bit much for a lot of folks, but in all honesty, I'm digging it.

Courtesy of Lip

Per Lip these are assembled in Besançon - France 

Courtesy of Lip

And here are some details -

The case measures 42 mm by 40 mm.

The movement is Ronda's quartz 5030 D.

The strap is Grey Rubber

Ultimately a watch is a device, an object - but isn't it wonderful when it becomes more than that?  When it can take you to a special place and time?

It's hard not to be romantic about watches.

I WANT ONE!!!