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.

Where It All Started - Wrapping Up a 90 Day Essay and Finally Talking About Seregin's Watch Club

I had never lived in California before moving to San Francisco from Europe in 2000.  Having said that, people from LA, Sacramento, the 805 and other regional hubs would argue that I still  hadn't lived in California - let's just say San Francisco is, in many ways, a special place unto itself ; )

Courtesy of Meister Singer

Seregin's in San Francisco is probably the most responsible party for my love of watches. It is also where I first discovered MeisterSinger back in 2003. Paul Seregin has been operating in the downtown area for quite some time.  He specialized in pre-owned watches, and the diplomatic way to put it was that Seregin's didn't waste money on interior decorating, but he always had the deepest, best collection of watches pretty much anywhere. Unlike the other stores that would put big pictures of celebrity pals up on their walls, Seregin's was really more of a secret club that didn't go out of their way to self-promote. While back in the early part of the century everyone knew Shreve, if you were to check the wrists of members of the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Raiders, the Giants, the A's or the Warriors (that's Golden State, not the fictional New York City gang) you might be surprised that almost all of them were members of the Serregin's "Watch Club". 

The Warriors

And it went beyond that.  Walking into Seregin's on a Saturday morning to look at watches I did a double-take that nearly broke my neck as I am fairly certain I was face to face with the player who would be named MVP that year.  Who was it?  Well that was part of the code at Seregin's. You didn't blab about your brushes with the famous. You didn't bother these folks when they were "out of the office", and you certainly wouldn't dream of trying to sneak a selfie (which admittedly would have been much more difficult with the technology of the time). I have on more than one occasion discussed the pros and cons of Breitling with future hall of famers - I came down on the con side, and remain there to this day ; )

What did these stars buy?  Well, a lot of it could be expected - Rolex, Cartier, a fair amount of bling, which was "blingier" back then. But there were always some outliers as well. And I will always remember one Thursday afternoon in August that I had off from work, and popped into Seregin's after a walk through Union Square. I was wearing my Meister Singer.  This was back before there was really a Meister Singer collection. I walked in, a few pleasantries were exchanged, and a member of the Screen Actors Guild who may or may not be someone you have heard of (again, first rule of Seregin's Watch Club - you don't talk about Seregin's Watch Club) started chatting me up about my watch:

Famous Person:

"What is that, an altimeter?  Like, are you a skydiver?"  

Me:

"No, I suffer from vertigo and can't really handle going beyond certain heights".

Vertigo

I then had to explain that vertigo was in fact what inspired the name of the movie, not the other way around.

Famous Person:

"So it's a watch?"

(editor's note - no, I am not spicing this up for ironic sarcasm, this is literally how the conversation went).

Me:

"Yup".

At this moment, Francis Zanetti (old friend and the watch savant who coined the phrase: "The Shit That Killed Elvis" as an honorific for watches) broke in and presented the MeisterSingers (all three of them) in the three different color ways. There might have been more options, but that is what they had on hand.

I do not know which model "Famous Person" bought as I had to hustle home to get dinner ready for Wendy, but I do recall getting asked by someone in line at Starbucks 3 weeks later and asked -

"Isn't that the watch 'Famous Person' wears?"

So that you know, there was a hot minute back in 2003 where MeisterSinger almost became the "It Watch", and like Forest Gump, I was there.

Courtesy of MeisterSinger

It's been an interesting 90 days, made even more interesting as it was during what we will in the future refer to as "COVID Times".  While I've always liked MeisterSinger, missed my first one from 2003, and enjoy the one I currently wear I have become somewhat obsessed with the bronze Metris (above).  It really  captures a lot of the spirit of "slow time" has come to mean for me. And being bronze, it will take on the patterns of the wearer's memories over time.  

As I get older, I realize that time has taken on a bit of an accelerated pace.  2003 seems like it was just a few years ago.  Francis Zanetti sadly passed away (prematurely) the year Wendy and I moved to Santa Barbara (2006).  I worked for DOXA for 3 years and some change, and Tempus Fugit's odometer hit 10 years recently. I have fallen in and out of love with the world of watches so many times now that my Facebook Relationship Status should read:

"It's complicated".

But love and angst are frequently inextricably linked, and these past 90 days with MeisterSinger has definitely reminded me of how much there is still to love.

Enjoy your watches.  And take your time doing it ; )

The BR V2-92 Military Beige

From Bell & Ross -

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

This one for me is pretty special.  It combines a lot of different Bell & Ross elements together and unites them into one comprehensive piece.  Looking at it gives me the feeling that the designers at Bell & Ross climbed inside my emotional memory bank and tapped into 3 key visceral memories and combined them into my ideal watch.

Memory number one is the idea of a diver style watch that DOES NOT have a black dial.  As a (decidedly) younger man, I was very partial to diver style watches, but to be honest?  EVERYONE had a black or even a blue dial.  I wanted something different, but could never really find one that fit the bill.  White was nice enough, other colors while intriguing felt a little "too" different.  Around that time, I was a regular habitué of Seregin's in San Francisco, and the legendary Francis Z was the resident watch nerd.  You could count on Francis to find that piece that had that extra little something, and it bears mentioning that he is the man that coined that now infamous phrase amongst the watch cognoscenti -

            The Shit That Killed Elvis!

Francis was a devotee of one specific flavor of Bell & Ross, and that would be the beige dial.  He was not averse to other color dials for other brands, but for him beige was what made Bell & Ross tick.  Francis walked me through several trades, upgrades, and was my wife Wendy's accomplice when she bought a watch for me for Christmas one year that required Francis to use some truly remarkable acting skills.  Following that we were friends, bonded by an action that was born of kindness.  Francis's favorite watch was this one -

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

The BR 123 Original.  Wendy and I had moved to Santa Barbara from San Francisco and I had returned back for a business visit and popped into Seregin's only to be informed that Francis had passed away after a brief but intense battle with cancer.  I'd like to think that the BR 123 was with him when he left for his next adventure.  Suffice it to say, he would have loved the BR V2-92 Military Beige.

So that is two.  Emotional trigger number 3?  It's gotta' be the strap!

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

To quote my friend Francis?  It IS the Shit that Killed Elvis!  There is more to this third emotional element, but that dear reader is a story for another day ; )

You can certainly get this time machine with a stainless steel strap if that is your inclination, but for me the strap just pulls the whole thing together quite nicely.

So a sincere thank you to Bell & Ross for reminding me about why I love watches.

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -


Movement: calibre BR-CAL.302. Automatic mechanical.

Functions: hours, minutes, seconds and date.

Case: 41 mm in diameter. Satin-polished steel. Bi-directional rotating steel bezel with anodized black aluminum ring and 60-minute scale. Screw-down crown. Sapphire case back.

Dial: beige. Black painted numerals and indices. Metal skeletonised Super-LumiNova®-filled hour and minute hands

Crystal: ultra-curved sapphire with anti-reflective coating.

Water-resistance: 100 metres.

Strap: elastic canvas strap or satin-polished steel bracelet.

Buckle: folding for metal bracelet.