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.

What If We Controlled the Means of Production... And Distribution...And Consumption?

I promise, this won't be political ; )

Shamelessly borrowed from the worldwide infoweb

News arrived at the North Shore HQ of Henki Time that was, well, a pretty big deal. A small little watch maker you may or may not have heard of whose name starts with an R and ends with an X made the decision to purchase a small little chain of mom & pop watch and jewelry stores known as Bucherer...

Well, needless to say that across the globe there is a collective tightening of sphincters of already established Rolex retail partners. We'll let them stay puckered this evening, and be back to you lovely people with some prognostications tomorrow ; )

Why You Should LOVE The BR 05

Black Steel & Gold -

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

Bell & Ross came out with the BR 05 some time ago, and there have been several iterations. With that said, the one that truly stands out for me is the Black Steel & Gold model.

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

Way back at the turn of the century, Hublot was sorta' cool, somewhat under the radar, and not so (insert word that describes your feelings here). I sold Hublots at Tourneau and I have to say that I really dug them. And at that time, I sold something like 5 of them in the month of January - which was a lot back then for our little pocket of a store.

What was cool was that it was gold, possibly steel and gold, and an integral rubber strap that smelled pleasantly of vanilla. Nowadays that doesn't seem like such a big deal, every brand is trying to slap something together. But in truth from the mighty Audemars Piguet on down the line, none have really done it justice. Then Bell & Ross dropped their take on a steel/gold case with integrated rubber strap, and in doing so, they dropped the mic.

Now if you absolutely must go "full metal", B&R has you covered -

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

But for me, it's gotta' be the rubber strap. As I get ready to hand over the keys to Tempus Fugit, I am struck more and more by visceral memories. I know that sounds somewhat counter intuitive to the practice of writing about inanimate objects. But the BR 05 Steel & Gold with the rubber strap takes me back 19 years ago, when I would work all day managing a Starbucks, then dash to Tourneau and slip into my suit. I didn't need the money, but I loved hanging out and talking about watches - basically getting paid to talk about my hobby. The BR 05 brings back that feeling, that love of something special and out of the ordinary.

Should you be feeling that romantic pull as well, here are the pertinents -

Movement: 

calibre BR-CAL.321. Automatic mechanical.

Functions: 

hours, minutes, seconds and date.

Case: 

40 mm in width. 18 ct rose gold and satin-finished and polished steel. Screw-down crown. Sapphire case-back with a 18 ct rose gold plated 360° oscillating weight.

Dial: 

black sunray. Rose gold gilded applique numerals and indices filled with Super-LumiNova®. 18 k rose gold gilded skeletonised hour and minute hands filled with Super-LumiNova®.

Crystal: 

sapphire with anti-reflective coating.

Water-resistance: 

100 metres.

Strap: 

black rubber or bi-material 18 k rose gold and satin-finished and polished steel.

Buckle: 

folding. Satin-finished and polished steel.

The Traversetolo

Now I know that this might seem like an odd parallel for some readers, but when I think of Panerai and in particular the runaway insanity that the Luminor wrought amongst San Francisco's watch cognoscenti circa 2003, I am reminded of a moment that I had while manning the counter of the first iteration of Tourneau involving Panerai and the Eberhard Traversetolo. A customer came in and said:

Customer:

"I'm looking for a watch, I can't remember exactly but it sounded Italian."

Me:

"Ah, you're in luck! We just got this Panerai into our pre-owned!"  Needless to say, I was already counting my commission ; )

Customer:

"No, that's not the one..."

Me:

"Well, we also have Anonimo!"  

(author's note - this was back when Anonimo was actually made in Italy.)

Customer:  

"No..."

I took out my trusty copy of the Wrist Watch Annual and started leafing through the pages, and there in Eberhard's entry was the Traversetolo.  

Customer:

"That's it!  That's the one!"

Courtesy of Eberhard

(Editor's Note - this is the current Traversetolo, very similar, but not exactly the same as the Traversetolo of 2003).

Well, gentle reader, this is where a fast sale went down the tubes.  

"Well sir, I do apologize but we do not carry Eberhard...but I can see if we have one in the Tourneau inventory in pre-owned."

Every Tourneau was consulted, no avenue left unexplored, and the following Saturday we had not one, but two Traversetolos sitting in the safe.  

The customer came in, examined both the black dial and the white dial versions we had brought in -

Courtesy of Eberhard

And looking at his two daughters who had come in with them, bought them both! 

What this reminds me is that in a world that all might be swimming in one direction, there are a wonderful handful of people who know what they like, and can make up their own minds.

Enjoy your watches!

Teenage Romcom - When Brands Forget Who Asked Them To The Prom

Consolidation is the inevitable future that the denizens of Watch Town are facing. The smaller brands out there are struggling more and more for oxygen, and unfortunately most of the big brands have sucked up most of it. And that is the inevitable outcome of a free and open market.

But for every brand that is feeling the squeeze, multiply that by 10 and you begin to understand how the independent retailer is feeling these days. Every brand needs a few different champions - but the one that seems to be forgotten more often than not is the need for a retail partner. Funny word, "partner". More often than not, like so much of the language of Watch Town it clearly has different meanings to different people.

Just as "My friend" (real meaning when spoken to you by a brand manager: "You f*%#ing asshole.") means different things to different people, the word "partner" is as flexible as the morals of some of the leading citizens of Watch Town. So that's why it is always baffling when a longtime partner is told their "partnership" is now "surplus to requirements".

The big question that from the outside seems so unfathomable is, at its heart, also the easiest to answer -

WHY?

Well, by way of explanation allow me to share a short bit of Henki history. As noted previously, I worked briefly at Tourneau in San Francisco back at the turn of the century. And at that time, the one thing you absolutely had to have as a watch store if you wanted to be able to piss in the tall weeds with the other big dogs was Panerai. If I had a quarter for every customer who walked through the doors looking for a Panerai in a given week? Well, let's just say I wouldn't be worried about parking meter change for the rest of my life. But there was a snag - Panerai was the domain of Shreve & Co. Now at the time, Tourneau was still growing in San Francisco, but we were selling A LOT of watches. Those of us on the sales floor begged and pleaded with our manager, district manager, anyone who would listen. Two of us actually bought pre-owned Panerais at our own store, paying full asking price for them. But the answer was always the same - "Sorry, but Panerai is with Shreve & Co.". It also bears mentioning that about this time, Breitling moved out of Shreve & Co. and became the sole domain of... Tourneau, San Francisco. Neither Shreve or us were happy about not being able to sell something, but we respected the situation.

There are very good reasons for brands to end partnerships. When I was with DOXA, we closed two very high profile doors. Our reasons were actually pretty straight-forward:

1. One of the stores was deeply discounting every watch they sold.

2. The other store's owner would pose as a customer, attempting to purchase a watch at a discount through our direct sales channel to sell it on to his own customer, rather than simply go through the order process with his sales rep (as that would take a few weeks). I suspect that even if he only made 10% on the sale, he felt it was worth it in order to make sure that the customer bought from his store rather than us.

In both instances, neither retailer could get their head around our decision to close them, because back in 2008/2009 they could snap their finger and every other brand would come running. But the doors were closed, and that was that.

So that, at least in my opinion, is a fair reason to end a partnership. But let's talk about the opposite situation, when a retailer does EVEN MORE than what is asked of them by the brand, builds them up, sells them briskly and is their devoted champion? Or what I like to refer to as the "Prom Night Dump". Just like the geeky, awkward kid who asks the most popular, attractive girl to the prom, these retailers have done the equivalent of renting the tuxedo, making reservations at the nicest restaurant and hiring a limo. And then the call comes - "Billy asked me to the prom just now, and I was really hoping he would ask me, and he did... sorry!"

We see it pretty much every other week - a new brand bobs to the surface. Every other retail store owner turns up their nose, but just like the unpopular, unlikely kid in the teenage romcom, one retailer sees something and takes a chance. And through that partner's efforts (and CASH) that brand grows in popularity and demand.

There are a lot of brands now that everyone seems to think were always "hot", but they weren't. They flailed and struggled, and nearly didn't make it here in the US, but through the work of partners, those brands were supported with the oxygen they needed to finally catch on. It wasn't some genius move from the brand's HQ, it was one or two retail partners becoming the evangelists for the brand. And it seems that lately, those are the first relationships to get cut once times are good.

Put more bluntly, it is disappointing when some retailers are closed but for no other reason than a "more attractive" date has called the night of the prom.

Drop It Like It's Hot - Or What The Sneaker Hustle Could Teach Watch Town

As a Man of Oregon, I am fairly certain that agents of Uncle Phil (Phil Knight, and a lot of us who attended the U and benefitted from the donations made by Mr. Knight and his wife Penny always refer to them as Uncle Phil and Aunt Penny), probably put something in the water in Eugene that mysteriously altered my DNA to desire more pairs of Nikes than I will ever be able to wear. 

To this day, at the tender age of 52, I check the Nike Sneaker app more frequently than the international news... and I check the international news an awful lot.

One of the really cool things about the business of sneaker launches is the concept of the "drop".  The drop is not unlike a watch release, but in truth it is far more democratic, and tends to garner a LOT MORE interest and enthusiasm. The word spreads through several different mediums - Instagram, Facebook (less and less these days) not to mention the big dogs - High Snobiety, Sneaker News and Nice Kicks among others. But beneath these obvious layers where I suspect a LOT of dollars flow from Beaverton (Nike), Portland (Adidas), Boston (Puma and Reebok) to keep relationships nice, there is the sub culture. And the denizens of the sneaker subculture are more and more becoming the drivers of FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out.

Now the word influencer and ambassador gets, if I am honest, misappropriated and is greatly misunderstood. There is a misplaced belief in Watch Town that a poorly worded article bordering on what Google Translate would spit out that flashes for 5 minutes in the top section of Outlet X (which boasts a readership larger than that of most fashion blogs, excuse me while I die laughing, but I guess it's true if you count all of the click farms) that the brand paid anywhere from $500 - $1,000 for will reach more people than one thoughtful, sincere article written by a "true believer" as opposed to a gun for hire. 

Editors note - yes, as an English teacher I am very aware the preceding was a run-on sentence to end all run-on sentences.  

And this is where the sneaker world takes a different view. 

Now in Watch Town, these folks are often (and  rather uncharitably) referred to as "Fan Boys". But as I mentioned, the world of sneakers takes a different approach.  Rather than spurn these people, there are cadres of folks in Beaverton, Portland, Boston and elsewhere who have ONE brief in their job description - FIND EVANGELISTS! And really, that seems to be something that Watch Town could truly benefit from.

Trying to "court" those of us in the Fourth and Fifth Estate using the current approach of paying Outlet X, Y and Z to run your release, then sending the same release 72 hours later to everyone else is a losing proposition. Because not unlike the working men and women plying their trade down at the Port Authority, $20 dollars is the hourly rate (not including the cost of a hotel room should you want some privacy), and it in no way, shape or form means that you have an actual relationship. One recent example I can think of is Brand A who sent out a press release written by outlet X along with "sweeteners" to the other large sites and got huge coverage for their announcement.  Curious to relate?  They sent another release through the tubes about a month or so later and got... bupkis   I guess true love is only true if the check clears.

Now I've heard (in not so gentle tones, sometimes offered with a veiled threat) from some of the Pay-to-Date writers that I am naive. Well, maybe, but even if I was born yesterday, I stayed up all night and I am fairly confident that the actual payoff gained from the payola formula is not nearly what those plying the pay-to-play journalism model would have the brands believe. 

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide infoweb

But let's get back to the evangelist model.

Let's be real for a few minutes - Rolex, Patek and Cartier do not need ambassadors. They are known pretty much at every level.

But when we look at other very worthy brands that can't seem to gain sustained traction, despite tens of thousands of dollars wired to the bank accounts of Outlets X, Y and Z and no small number of product placements with the athlete, actor, singer, "influencer" du jour?  These are the brands that should actually start reaching out and identifying their ambassadors. It's a lot less expensive, and it guarantees honest, sincere promotion from a true fan, a true believer.  More and more, I actually really like the idea of brand ambassador or brand evangelist. And truthfully, I don't think there is anything wrong with that person getting the odd freebie, getting invited on the next factory tour, or being recognized by the brand as a REAL friend of the brand.  

Watch Town has now really become more and more a locale for transients. People drift in and out depending on whether or not silver has crossed their palms. And what used to unify Watch Town, the annual shows and fairs? They are changing and losing their importance to retailers and (if I am honest) to journalists. Watch releases are now dropping all year long - not unlike sneakers. So the question becomes, how do you stimulate the same level of enthusiasm for the latest Omega James Bond model (I mean, honestly?  How many of these things can they shit out?) as the next pair of Air Jordans? I have yet to see people lined up in sleeping bags and lawn chairs to even get the latest SWATCH release, although maybe the Keith Haring / Disney mash-up will start a new trend. 

No, I don't expect to see corporate lawyers, neurosurgeons and investment bankers lining up in front of Tourneau or Watches of Switzerland for the latest drop, but I also don't see nearly the level of enthusiasm that there used to be when Simon Cudd spread the word about the latest release that was coming.

Like I said - I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up all night.

When the Music Stops - Reality Pays a Visit to Lucerne

Word reached the North Shore offices of Tempus Fugit this AM via Watch Pro and confirmed by some other outlets such as SWI (swissinfo.ch), that mighty Bucherer has told up to 370 loyalists to sling their hooks and take it on the heel and toe.

In the age of COVID-19, this is to be expected. For Bucherer (and let's be honest, nearly every other tourist focused retail store in Lucerne), it is going to be some time before the very, very large groups of Chinese tourists are roaming the city streets, credit cards in hand.



But closer to home, the purchase of Tourneau is probably starting to engender more than just a wee bit of buyer's remorse.  Tourneau, to their credit, have made a half-hearted attempt at online sales.  
But truth be told, a quick browse of the Tourneau website, it is just that, half-hearted. For better or worse, it is no longer a question of whether or not the future of watch retail is online.  The PRESENT of watch retail is online.  In the words of that other great commentator on the watch industry - Billy Beane as played by Brad Pitt in Moneyball -
"Adapt or die."

What Moves Me - Anonimo, Dino Zei and the 6000 Professionale

We're going to focus just on the watch today -

Courtesy of Anonimo

Okay, of the 10 watches that I wanted to own from the time I started Tempus Fugit, this is one of them.  If Anonimo had a Facebook relationship status, it would be -
"It's complicated"...

My first official dive into the watch business was behind the counter at Tourneau in San Francisco back in 2003.  And at that time, it is safe to say that our store was really anchored by 3 brands - Rolex at the back, Cartier all the way back to the far right, and Breitling.  If my memory serves me, Breitling had been exclusively at Shreeve across Union Square, but I guess someone said something, and Breitling slung their hook and came over to us.  We had bits and bobs of other stuff: Severin era Corum, Omega, IWC, Baume & Mercier and pre-Biver Hublot.  I take personal pride in being the one sales person during my tenure who sold several Hublots at full-pop, which was not easy back then.  But my other sweet spot was Anonimo.

Now those of you who were into watches back at the turn of the century will recall that, in fact, everyone had Panerai fever.  And I get it.  It was understandable because the brain trust at Panerai back then understood that it was actually a good thing to have a wait list, to have demand, to have scarcity.  They were not exactly easy to come by.

Shreeve, again, was an unwitting partner in my salesmanship.  I would actually stop by Shreeve every other day to do my own, discreet "counter count".  I would make a mental note of what was out on display, if some models weren't there, etc.  And as soon as I got behind my own counter, I would write it down on an index card.  And it was a safe bet that at least twice a day a customer would come in looking for one.  I would explain that we did not carry Panerai, but had they checked out Shreeve?  If they hadn't, and I knew already what was in stock, I would dial the store number, ask for a sales assistant, and pass the customer my phone.  I mean, c'mon, I'm not hurting my chances by letting the talk to someone who will tell them that they don't have what they want ; )

While they were on the phone, I would take a few of my sales props out of the display case.  When the customer passed me back the phone he (let's face it, it was almost always a he) would ask me, what's that?  And that's when I (gently) sprung into action.  I explained that, in fact, that while Panerai had at one time been made in Italy, sadly that was no longer the case.  I further explained that, in fact, Anonimo was by and large as close to the original Panerai as you could get without buying a very expensive model second or third hand.

A back and forth then ensued, more Anonimo lore was imparted, and better than 75% of those folks then bought one.  A few years later I spent a very short amount of time with a smaller store in San Francisco that had Anonimo, and it was there that I first set eyes on the 6000 Professionale.  It took a few months, but it finally sold.  I loved it.  I loved the soft yellow, loved the look and feel of it.  It was substantial, but it was not yet another black dialed hockey puck with a strap on it.

Like most people who write about watches, I am often asked what are my top ten? One important thing to know about me is that although I certainly know and understand reference numbers, and while I understand that people love to dive deep into the esoterica of a given brand, it's models, and the various versions of it.  And as I've said before?  My eyes tend to glaze over. I find it the equivalent to creating a score card for a potential girlfriend or boyfriend.  It's just not my thing.  

So to you readers out there, if you have a line on a yellow dialed 6000 Professionale?  Let me know, because in terms of the what's on Henki's wishlist? The 6000 Professionale is right up there! It's nothing I can explain rationally with statistics, serial numbers or movement references. It is much more simple to me. It moves me.

It's hard not to be romantic about watches.

Two to Tango

So I have to say that the past four days have been pretty fascinating.  And there is one set of bon mots from Hayek the younger that I find hilarious, and even more so when I consider the, well, earnest tone of some of my more well-heeled colleagues in the fourth and fifth estates as they fall into lock step.

I was halfway through a particularly tasty bowl of cereal on Tuesday when I was re-reading Mr. Hayek, quoted by another outlet, regarding the failures of the BaselWorld team.  Needless to say, I will be forever grateful that the milk had sufficiently softened the intertwined fibers of my shredded wheat biscuits, otherwise it would have doubtless "shredded" the tender portions of my delicate septum as it raced to find egress due to my unplanned fit of manic laughter -

"You must do something now. You don't have to act like you have been acting in the past: a little bit arrogant, a little bit snobby and not able to do something new."

I can only assume that Mr. Hayek has never been blacklisted by a particularly persnickety PR maven in his employ.  I also assume that he has never had to try to get a press appointment at some of the "Elite" SWATCH group brands without calling in about 20 favors?  And don't even get me started about the less than "warm and fuzzy" vibe given off at the Blancpain, Breguet and Jaquet Droz booths.  I'm sorry, but I've been on this beat now for nearly 10 years, and I'm not saying that I'm "the nuts", but I'm not buying Hayek's "man of the people" shtick. 

Do I think he was right to stand up to the fair organizers?  Absolutely!  But let's not kid ourselves.  This was not a decision quickly arrived at.  Surprising news for the rest of us to read about it, but I can't help but suspect that this move was in the offing for some time.

Mr Hayek is a SUPER smart guy, a tough negotiator, and is a truly good steward of his father's legacy.  And I have absolutely no doubt that he is making decisions that are in the best interest of the group's brands and the group's shareholders.

Having said all that?  Let's get real here.  The watch industry is not exactly booming (I know that I will always be viewed as "that guy").  There is a vast difference between exports and actual sales.  I walked around the two biggest watch retailers in downtown Boston the other day and it did not exactly inspire confidence in the resurgence of the watch business.  I'm not saying that the industry is dead, or anywhere near it.  But as we say at Tempus Fugit HQ - you can put a boot in the oven, but that doesn't make it a cake.

What I've Learned

Despite some pretty dubious watch coverage (i.e. you pay, we'll cover you), I still really enjoy Esquire and I am a big fan of their "What I've Learned" interview segments.  So given some recent interactions I've had both in person and online, and considering that if I count back to when I first stepped behind the counter at Tourneau in San Francisco, I've been "in the game" for 15 years now, I thought it might be fun to put out my own "What I've Learned" piece.  So, gentle reader, here is some of what 
I've learned -

While it is true that Hayek saved the Swiss Watch industry, Jean-Claude Biver would have still kicked ass with Blancpain and would have lived happily ever after either way.

I was there before Hublot became what they would become.  
I am still here now that it is a somewhat bumbling PR gas factory that, apparently, also makes watches.  Although I know that I have the ability to highly irritate him, I have a great deal of respect for Jean-Claude Biver.  But now is the time to start thinking about legacy.  About what happens when he is no longer there.  Jean-Claude Biver is a very, very impressive man.  He has done some very amazing things. Here's hoping it doesn't get washed away.

When a brand manager or CEO asks you "How are you my friend?"  The translation of that is - "how you doing, asshole?"

Brand managers, CEOs, PR people?  By and large,they are not your friends.  Don't delude yourself to the contrary.  You might get lucky with a few - and I have, but the true friends will reveal themselves over time, and they are the ones you should always make time for at BaselWorld.


Having said all that - sometimes you will, despite your compulsion to serve up cold cups of coffee, find some true friends and supporters in some very unexpected places.

You will learn to see when people are genuine.  Hold onto those people like a non-treatable social disease.  They have every reason to dislike you based on what you write or say, and yet they are your audience.  And they are your friends indeed.

Rich, famous, important people - are a lot less interesting when you finally meet them.

Little known piece of Henki lore, my father was a country club manager.  Translation?  He worked so that the more well-heeled could play.  I worked in the locker room of the club, my first job working as a shoe shine guy.  Believe it or not, in the 70s and 80s, there was an actual industry based upon shining the shoes of rich people while they walked around a park-like environment, drinking beer and whacking small white balls.  Rich people, famous people?  They are people.  George Steinbrenner was a titan of industry and master manipulator.  I can tell you from personal experience, his shoes smelled just as awful as an orthodontist, dermatologist or mid-level auto executive's.   The one thing all four of these guys had in common?  They were shitty tippers.

I have met some of the big swinging dicks of the industry.  It is all too often underwhelming.

When anyone tells you how amazing you are and how "just as soon as you take advertising, we're in!"  this person should be taken with about as much seriousness as you would take the drunk person asking for $3 on the commuter train so that they can "buy a healthy snack".

We all say a lot of highly dubious stuff when we've been drinking.  That's why your wife/husband/partner learns over the years to apply the bullshit filter.  Make sure you do the same, it will spare you a fair amount of heartache.

When you have made it clear by your actions, your writing, and your passion that you are predisposed to write nice things about a brand, and said brand treats you with a fair amount of indifference?  Take it on the heel and toe.  Love needs to be reciprocal.

I am still somewhat miffed by my interaction with a certain member of the SWATCH group.  I gave up a Thanksgiving holiday, spent several hundred dollars of my own money to interview their CEO, and then watched as the outlet that they were on retainer with got so-called "exclusives", review opportunities, etc., and I got the cold shoulder.   To this day, I have no doubt that the North American brand manager of SWATCH GROUP brand X just thinks that I am a difficult person.  But in fairness?  If someone is willing to give you so much for NOTHING?  You can spare a little time and a little effort.  And for what it's worth?  In speaking with retail partners of SWATCH GROUP brand X, they are not exactly selling like the waffle's sexier cousin - the hotcake.

Brands are made up of people.  The brand does not exist without the people.  If a brand has good people - I will do ALL that I can.  If a brand has people that just don't care?  Why should I care about them?

I get the odd comment - "I thought you were a fan of Brand A".  Well, I have come to learn that brands are made of people.  It's not as if the founders of Girard-Perregaux are going to make a special appearance in the physical world to tour me around the factory.  The brand?  The brand is the people who work there.  So put it in another context - do you like spending time with people who treat you poorly?  Of course you don't.  Molly Ringwald's entire career was based on this notion.  A watch is an inanimate object.  It can't speak for itself.  A brand is not simply products.  A brand is the people who make those products, and share that message.  

Brand ambassadors are about as worthwhile as what you wipe your backside with.

There is a reason why Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot are not mentioned as customers of Brand X.  

Churchill, Napoleon, Lindbergh?  All flawed, all now "ambassadors" from the great beyond.  Well, they won, didn't they? They were all flawed, all had baggage. But they are a whole lot more palatable. 

Question - do you think that the Mario Batali Ernst Benz is a big seller right now?  

Sorry, too soon? 

A brand ambassador will not be there with you when they turn out the lights.  A former brand that was "ALL IN" can attest to that.

Remember everyone you meet when times are good.  You will see them again on your way back down.  

It is inevitable to fail.  The trick is not to make a habit of it.  More importantly?  Don't be a jackass when times are good.  Sooner or later, it is likely you will fail.  By and large, most of us want to help people and offer our support.  That is, of course, presuming that person behaved, well, like a person when times were good ; )

Don't fake the funk 

Because in the immortal words of that other great commentator on the watch industry Daryl Dawkins:
“When everything is said and done there is nothing left to do or say.”  

Alas poor Tourneau, I knew them Horatio...

Yes, the clock finally struck midnight for Tourneau and their mail is now being forwarded to Lucerne, Switzerland.  Tourneau's search for a buyer has not exactly been a closely kept secret in the watch industry.  The biggest problem is that with the watch business in the current state it is in, there might not have been too many takers.  Let's be honest, I'd have been writing about this some time ago if there had been.  And as an alum of Tourneau U (albeit a very short tenure), I feel I am in a somewhat different position to lend some feedback on this.  

Tourneau, as it exists right now, is not in great shape.  While I have not seen the books, I have certainly spent enough time in several of their retail outlets to have observed a few realities:

1.  Traffic -
The traffic is low.  I have been in several locations on both coasts and the traffic just isn't there.  

2.  Location - 
Another sticking point could be what could be considered "unusual" location choices.  Here in the Boston Metro area there is a beautiful location on the Copley Center.  The only problem is that the Copley Center is not exactly easy to locate and navigate.  Which means that it needs to be a bit of a destination.    That certainly isn't the worst thing in the world, but the concept of Tourneau is not that of a destination.  The concept is "Here we are, easy to find".  The second location in Massachusetts is out in Burlington at the Burlington Mall.  While this is certainly a destination shopping center (if you are interested in clothing and less expensive lifestyle items), it is clearly catering to a different demographic. 

3.  Selection and Presentation -
I have been on both sides of the display case, and I know that sometimes it is challenging to work with what you've got to sell, but it is made even more challenging when you are in a less-than sexy environment.  With sales figures down, it is understandable that it is tough to justify tidying up the store with new carpet, etc., but it is important to work with what you have.  And unfortunately, some of the locations just aren't that inviting.  

Back in the day, Tourneau was the Elephant that you were desperate to bag.  You needed to be in there if you wanted to piss in the tall weeds with the other big dogs.  And that usually meant some pretty extreme terms including memo, fairly hefty co-op advertising costs, etc.

And as the brand owner?  You were often willing to go to those lengths because back in the good old days, being in the display case at a Tourneau was perhaps even more beneficial than being featured on the "Instafamous du jour" social media feed.  But times change.


One other important thing to consider is staff.  Simply put, retail, at pretty much any level, is not always considered a "career choice" here in the US.  It is often viewed as more of a "career settlement", one that is hoped to be short-term by the incumbent.  If you ever go to a jeweler in Switzerland you are going to have a very, very different experience.  Well groomed, professional, engaged.  And KNOWLEDGEABLE.  It will be interesting to see if this esprit de corps trickles down.  There are some phenomenal sales people in the US watch retail business, but it is a dying breed.  

But then again, maybe this could be a turning point.  There is an opportunity to do a few things:

A.  Put the Tourneau house in order.  Make some tough decisions about what is working and what is not in terms of locations.

B.  Stop looking for short-term solutions with a revolving door of staff.  Focus on recruiting, retaining and developing high quality team members.

C.  Adopt some understanding from the Bucherer model.  Make the shopping experience special at ALL of your locations.

We shall wait, and we shall see, but Bucherer will need to accept the reality of the situation with their shiny-new purchase.  Because if they leave it as it is, it is a tragically wasted opportunity.

Remember Singapore?

Apparently the FH has already forgotten ; ) 

Try to remember, that kind of September...
To refresh your memory about last month's results -

Looking Back with Anonimo

I am, at present, somewhat torn about Anonimo.  I have, in all honesty, not held back on some of my criticism.  But I thought it might be worthwhile to look back on some highlights.

Part the first - the Tricolore.  This first ran in 2012

Keeping it Real - A Favorite Anonimo

Courtesy of Anonimo 

Perhaps some of my favorite memories working for Tourneau was when I would get a customer coming in looking for a Panerai, and I got to tell them the story of Anonimo.  At that time we had the Millimetri, the Three Glasses, and the other "early" models.

But this one to me has always been special. The Anonimo Tricolore.

It is based on the Millimetri and is not part of the Dino Zei Collection, but with Mr. Zei's involvement.  There were only 150 of this model produced. The Tricolore was designed to honor Italy's 150th anniversary (1861 - 2011).

And in addition, I would have to say that one of my favorite interviews was with Mr. Zei. The usual interview is ME, MY ACHIEVEMENTS, etc. but I can say that Mr. Zei was a revelation. Sincere, and a very lovely person. I was lucky to meet him at BaselWorld this year - albeit briefly. It is a memory that I treasure. I keep looking for one of these - I hope to find one someday. I deeply
respect what the founders of Anonimo did, and with that same level of respect, I truly appreciate what the current owners are doing to promote and expand on Anonimo's brief, but rich history.
Thank you Anonimo - for keeping it real.


www.anonimo.com

As it is International Women's Day

I thought I'd re-heat two posts.  Let's hope the industry (yes, that is you middle-aged white men) will start making a greater effort to recognize some of the very talented, very qualified, and all-too-often overlooked women in the industry.  So part one -

The Sapphire Crystal Ceiling

So over the past few months here in the US there has been much debate about what is commonly known as the glass ceiling.  That invisible, yet very real barrier that prevents women and those not noticeably white from advancing in business, politics and pretty much any other endeavor.  This is a blog with one very simple editorial rule, a post must be written in between the time I have the coffee made to the time I have to head out the door to go teach.  So needless to say, the glass ceiling is not a topic that I can even attempt to broach in this limited space.

But in the watch industry there is another, very real barrier that I have decided to call the sapphire crystal ceiling.  Think I'm full of it?

Then riddle me this - how many CEOs of the major Swiss brands are female?  And any major watch players who have skin that might be considered a shade darker than Southern European?  Women, as we all know, tend to make up the Public Relations, Communications and in VERY rare situations might be in Marketing.  In fairness, that is a stereotype.  But as we know, most stereotypes are based in some prior reality.  Aletta Stas-Bax of Frederique Constant/Alpina remains a very welcome presence as a member of the senior management team.  Sadly, she is a rare example.  With Fiona Kruger hanging out her shingle, we will hopefully see more and more women get involved at more significant levels, actually creating their own brands.  And here is a wild suggestion to the old white boys - take the time to talk to the women in your team and force yourself to imagine that maybe, just maybe they might be as good, and in some instances even better than the men you so frequently, typically, and foolishly defer to.  I realize that if her last name is Hayek you don't really have a choice, but try to imagine that a woman might just actually know just as much, if not more than the 25 year old snot-nose you just dispatched to the US to "complete his training".

And what of color?
Well, it would seem to be a paler shade of white.  Now in fairness, there are some Swiss companies that have been purchased in part or in whole by Asian investors.  And in those situations you will see non-white (Chinese) senior management.  But apart from that, I would defy you to point to any significant representation of people of color other than people in advertisements or the paid brand ambassadors.  I have visited three major watch brands HQs and, sorry, it is a "white out".  HR offices can actually do the wild and crazy thing and try to find under represented groups.  And moreover, there's a wonderful training program being offered by Tourneau that is training young, at risk youth (many of them who are not exactly white), and this would be a PERFECT recruitment source for you!  The talent is out there, you just might have to try a little harder.  You certainly have the resources ; )

So Swiss and German and Japanese brands - get your heads out of your asses, it's 2017!

When the Going Gets Tough...

The results are in for January, and like Wiley Coyote trying to get out from under the falling ACME anvil, there does not really seem anywhere for the industry to go where it won't get bruised.

Courtesy of Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry

This is not new news, but it will give more than a few retail store owners pause before they write up big orders over the next few months.

The irony in all of this is that while the game has indeed changed, the brand leaders refuse to accept or admit it on a level that actually addresses the issue.  They still play the game in the same way.

It is simple really - watches are not milk, fruit or any other perishable item.  It is time to stop treating them as such.  So here are a few ideas that (I am confident) nobody will like, but might actually work:

1.  Brands scale back production and the number of new SKUs that they are pushing out the door with the insistence that "This one will be different!".  Throw out the current budget because it is clearly based on unrealistic sales numbers which have been predicated on the desire to reach a sales number that will ensure a specific increase in share price, which will ensure a CEO bonus, which in turn will guarantee the bonus packages of sales managers.  It's time to nut up or shut up.

2.  Retailers need to stop treating watches like a perishable item as well.  I want to be clear that this is not how all retailers behave, but many of the big volume retail outlets have a policy of going "deep south" on pretty much any watch from the day it arrives in the store to ensure that cash flow remains high.  The belief that many retailers have is that if a watch is still in their safe after 30 - 60 days they have had it too long.  I appreciate that from the retail store's point of view they are "hosting" the brand, but that is a short-term view.  Do you want a quick fix/smaller gain or a long term/larger gain?  Short term solutions seldom pan out in the long run.

3.  Brands need to end the practice of MEMO - because in all honesty a memo account does not a sale make.  And in most instances a memo account costs the brand more money than you might think.
Not only does the brand deliver the watches, but nine times out of ten the retail partner is not going to go out of their way to notify the brand when the watches have been sold.  So in order to get paid, the brand must dispatch people out to the store to do a safe count.  Only then will they be able to verify what the retailer owes them.  And even then, they will be looking at another 30 - 90 days before they will likely collect it.

4.  Several brands will have to die.  Sorry, but for too many years it has been survival of the "least fit".

5.  Accept that this is the reality for NOW.  It does not mean things won't go back to the way they were, but if the past year is anything to go on, there does not seem to be much sunshine on the horizon.

6.  If watch brands wish to run themselves like fashion or clothing companies, then they need to embrace the idea of the outlet mall.  That way the customer knows that they are getting something at a discounted price for a reason, and it just might thin the herd of the deep discounting retail stores.

7.  Watch brands need to stop the practice of ignoring the reality of "false retail".  The retail store that orders five times as many watches as say, Tourneau is not likely selling all of those watches in their own store.  As many that go in the safe, often twice as many go out the back door.

8.  Brands will have to stop selling directly to grey market outlets and undercutting and damaging their own markets.  The practice used to be more subtle, but now is so obvious it is painful.  It is hard to win the game when your own coach is actively helping your competition by spiking the Gatorade.

Or, things can continue as they are, bleeding a little bit more each month until the patient has completely bled out.

What Barry Hearn Could Teach the Watch Industry - 2

To paraphrase Mr. Hearn's second rule:

2.     Do not leave your brain in the factory parking lot

Many "sensible" people lose their way when they get into the watch business.  I get the press releases every day - "years of success and experience in industry X", "excited to join the exciting and glamorous world of Haute Horology"...

Remember Thierry Nataf?  His tenure at Zenith is a case study underscoring the importance of not leaving your brain in the factory parking lot.  He had been successful in the champagne business.  He looked the part - sharp suit, bright eyed and focused.  But as things progressed, the excitement of running a watch brand, the celebrities, the media attention, all of this proved (in the end) a major distraction.  Now to be very, very clear - in the "if it bleeds it leads" school of watch marketing, you have to give the Nataf era Zenith full marks.  It was EVERYWHERE.  But it was not sustainable.  

Despite what we would like to think, the watch business is in some ways no different than any other. Things do not happen overnight.  It takes time for them to develop.  But this oftentimes gets lost in the hype.

The watch business is a wasteland of people at every level (retailer, distributor, national brand manager, CEO, owner) who have built up business success in other areas, and managed to squander the company's, or family's money chasing the dream of being the next Tourneau, Hublot, Rolex or Omega.  The unshakable belief that the next celebrity partner, the newest boutique, the latest advertising campaign will make it happen.  It seldom does.

You have to be sensible - and make sure that you do not leave your brain in the factory parking lot.

What Barry Hearn Could Teach the Watch Industry

I am a fan of Men in Blazers, in one of their most recent pod casts they shared an interview with former Leyton Orient owner Barry Hearn that I found fascinating, informative and a lot of fun.  I encourage you to check it out here -

http://meninblazers.com/2015/12/23/mibpodspec-hearn/

Essentially, Mr. Hearn shares the 10 rules that he learned by owning a football club, but there was a great deal of it that I felt truly applied to the luxury industry as well.  So with full credit extended to Mr. Hearn for putting them into words, and for the Men in Blazers for sharing it, here is my modified set of rules for the watch industry, one rule at a time -

1.     Always remember why you bought the company in the first place.

The watch industry is one of those businesses that can stir a great deal of loyalty not just amongst the fans out there, but the people working for the brand.  From the top to the bottom, there is a personal identification that comes with working for a brand.  With that level of devotion comes a fairly large bundle of emotional baggage.  But whether you own it on paper, or you are a salaried employee, in one way or another you have "bought" the company.

And for many a brand owner/brand manager and (in some painfully obvious instances) CEO, the brand is something that they always wanted to have.  When you were working behind the counter at Tourneau, you sometimes fantasized about what it might be like to be the brand manager on the other side of the counter.  Beautiful suit, flawless manicure, expense account.  It all looked really good.  And when you made the jump to brand rep, and then to brand manager it all did seem exciting at the time.  But, and I will paraphrase what Mr. Hearn said - running a brand can be a lot like having a mistress - It costs you a fortune and you only have 3 good days a year.  

Now when I say that it costs a fortune I don't just mean in terms of money, although the money side of it is very evident to you when you are the brand owner, the CEO or even the rep who is counting on incentive bonuses based on sales.  But there is a bigger "cost" -

• Time away from family 
• Your health - in this instance physical owing to constant travel, poor sleep and even poorer diet
• Your relationships - and no, that is not just with your family
• Your mental health

So one way or another, you are paying a cost - this is, by the way, just like any other business.  But what makes the watch industry so unique is the amount of passion it stimulates from those who work in, or hope to work in it.  The only similar industries I can think of are automotive and fashion.  Do you think toothpaste, air conditioners or peanut butter fuel this level of enthusiasm?  

So if we stick with the mistress analogy, this makes the watch brand a bit of a cruel mistress.  

But you got into this business for a reason.  Moreover, if you recently joined a different brand in the past months, you did so for a reason.  Whether or not it was the right reason, only time will tell.  

What I think gets lost in the morass of a downturn the likes of which we are experiencing is the fun, the enjoyment - the reason you got into this business in the first place.  The reason why you "bought the company" in the first place.

I got into the business on a full-time basis in 2007 - just before the last big downturn.  And it was one hell of a ride!  It is safe to say that I was so new to it at the time, that I probably didn't know enough to be worried or unhappy.  Every day I was asked to take on new and different challenges and responsibilities.  Long days, and a lot of effort went in.  There was a real team spirit and we were all pulling together.  And we emerged on the other side intact.  This was perhaps one of the great benefits of being a smaller operation - you could be nimble.  There were many other folks from bigger, richer brands who are now in different industries.

But looking back on it now, we never questioned why we got into the business or "bought the company" in the first place ; )

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar

I worked at Tourneau in San Francisco shortly after they opened in 2002.  I got to meet a lot of the "big swinging dicks" of the Tourneau backroom as they often came to San Francisco to help nudge our little fledgling store into existence.   I was blessed twice - I had someone who saw something in me - Javier Perrigo.

Courtesy of Audemars Piguet

And a second time with a group of extremely knowledgeable sales reps who came in to give info.  The Baume & Mercier rep was perhaps the nicest, most knowledgeable and patient reps I have ever met.  And the Rolex rep coined the phrase that still in many ways rings true:  In response to the question -  What is the one thing that Rolex does so well?  "It's not the one thing we do so well, we do EVERYTHING so well!"  They were all fine exemplars of their brands.

Rolex Awards for Enterprise - Saving Amur Tigers

It seems sometimes to go without saying - Rolex does pretty much everything right. When I was working for Tourneau in San Francisco I remember a coworker asking the Rolex rep at the time:

"What is Rolex's secret? What is the one thing that they do better than anyone else?"

The representative smiled and said:

"It's not that we do one thing well, we do everything well."

And when I think about charitable initiatives and what I would call - "the right way" to do something, it would seem that this sales manager was right -  Rolex sets the standard.


The Rolex Awards for Enterprise are perhaps the very best example of not just giving a prize, or
money and walking away, but creating something that fosters, nurtures and empowers people around the world to do AMAZING things.

So I will be sharing with you on a regular basis the stories of past winners of the Award for Enterprise and (as best I can) update you on how these folks are continuing to work to change the world for the better.

So let's kick it off with Sergei Bereznuk - the 2012 Laureate for the Environment category -

In the words of the folks at the Rolex Award for Enterprise:

A courageous man who believes that conserving the Amur tiger is possible through extended collaboration, awareness raising and education, Sergei Bereznuk has made his mark on the Russian Far East Province, the region where he was born.

Courtesy of Rolex

Bereznuk received a degree in engineering from Vladivostok’s polytechnic institute in 1982 before beginning work in the import-export sector. The upheavals in the Soviet Union forced him to rethink his career and, in the mid-1990s, he focused his longstanding love for the natural world on the challenge of saving the Amur tiger. He served as deputy director of Inspection Tiger, an anti-poaching group, from 1995 to 1999, before joining the Phoenix Fund and becoming its director the following year. Under his leadership, the organization has grown into a leading conservation NGO in Primorye province.

And here is a video on the project and  description courtesy of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise:

Race to save the Siberian tiger

It is one of the world’s most recognizable animals, thanks to its striped coat, but the Siberian tiger, which once roamed Asia’s forests in thousands is in peril. Sergei Bereznuk is valiantly battling poachers and public opinion to save the biggest of the cats. 

The tiger has a powerful grip on the human psyche, symbolizing a potent energy and the power of kings. But, in spite of this infatuation, this charismatic species is endangered – because of human rapacity and ignorance.

Just over 100 years ago, the global population of tigers in the wild was 100,000; today only about 3,500 survive, and the species’ prospects are grim. According to the conservation agency, World Wildlife Fund, three tiger subspecies – the Bali, Javan and Caspian – have become extinct in the past 70 years. The six remaining subspecies – Amur, Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, South China and Sumatran – live only in Asia, and all are threatened by poaching and habitat loss.

In recent decades, a host of organizations and individuals have taken a stand to halt the tiger’s extinction. Celebrity champions, including film stars and supermodels, donated US$1 million to a 2010 summit for representatives of the 13 countries where the tiger still lives wild.

But one of the tiger’s staunchest defenders is little known outside tiger conservation circles and the far east of the Russian Federation, where he lives. Sergei Bereznuk, 52, is battling poachers, hunters, planning schemes and forest loggers, as well as negative attitudes and extremes of climate, to save the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) and its habitat. Also known as the Siberian tiger, the subspecies is the biggest felid on Earth, weighing an average 200 kg and measuring about 2 m in length – 3 m if the tail is added. Russia’s Far East is home to 95 per cent of the remaining global population of this subspecies.

Thanks to Bereznuk’s tenacity and inventiveness, the recent history of the Amur tiger provides a glimmer of hope – the possibility that this tiger can survive.

Bereznuk’s first notion of a tiger is taken from a universal source, known to generations of children worldwide – growing up in Novosibirsk, Siberia, a region with no wild tigers, he read Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, famous for its story of the menacing tiger that abducts a little boy, Mowgli.

Thirty years later, Bereznuk, an engineer working in import-export, was forced to rethink his career due to the break-up of the Soviet Union. He found employment as deputy chief of Inspection Tiger, a department of the environmental authority of Russia’s Primorsky Krai (Maritime Province) region. In this new job, in the 1990s, his attitude to tigers and to conservation underwent a radical transformation. It was a turning point for Bereznuk: “From that moment on I decided to dedicate my life to nature and tiger conservation.”

An iconic catIn 2000, he won the perfect job. He was appointed director of the Phoenix Fund which had been set up two years earlier by foreign conservation organizations and Russian environmentalists to conserve the rich fauna and flora of the Russian Far East, in particular the Amur tiger and Amur leopard, another iconic cat at risk of extinction. In the 12 years that Bereznuk has run the Phoenix Fund, he has won deep respect from leaders of wildlife organizations in Europe and North America.

The main threats to the Amur tiger’s survival are poaching and habitat destruction. Bereznuk is fighting these obstacles with a winning combination of teamwork and government lobbying, new technology and awareness-raising.

As they criss-cross the Primorsky Krai region, an area four times as big as Switzerland, encountering heavy snowfalls and, in some regions, winter temperatures as low as -40C, the rangers gather information about tiger movements and the strategies of those who harm these elusive animals. They focus on four protected areas that are the main habitat for the Amur tiger. Phoenix workers have, thanks to the assistance of conservation agencies all over the world, equipped underpaid government rangers with a spatial management information system – known as MIST – to gather data on animals and poachers, as well as on law-enforcement, improving the rangers’ ability to confront poachers.

Sadly, the poachers embrace all levels of society, from the struggling poor to the rich. Criminals involved in targeted hunting and the purchase of poached wildlife pose a serious menace. Bereznuk recounts that four years ago one gang arranged for a revenge attack on a wildlife ranger from one of the four nature reserves. The assailants have not been apprehended, but “it was clear enough” that a rich businessman from the port of Nakhodka was behind that crime.

The rich hunt the thrill of the sport – sometimes accompanied by corrupt environmental law officers who guarantee their safety. Poaching is also carried out by poor villagers and by people who make a living from killing tigers, bears and other animals and then selling parts to cafés and restaurants. A tiger skin would bring more than an average year’s salary in the province, one of the poorer regions of Russia. And, despite some success in shutting down smuggling for the Chinese traditional medicine market, which attributes almost magical properties to every part of the tiger’s anatomy, it still excites much criminal activity and constitutes a major threat.

Corruption is one of the many problems that Bereznuk faces. The laws are flouted even at the highest of levels. As recently as the late 1990s, a former governor of the province presented a tiger skin to President Lukashenko of Belarus who was on an official visit. “This was a clear violation of Russian and international law,” says Bereznuk. But, despite an official inquiry, procrastination meant the statute of limitations could be applied and no action taken.

Fortunately, many other interventions have been successful. Bereznuk lobbies forcefully for action against illegal logging and to halt development that threatens the tiger’s habitat. In 2006, he protested against a Russian government, multimillion-dollar plan to build an oil pipeline across one of the natural reserves that are home to the endangered Amur tigers and Amur leopards. “We succeeded in ensuring the project designers rerouted the oil pipeline – they chose an alternative location of the terminal 200 km eastward from its initial plan.”

Battling poachers

As well as battling poachers and developers, Bereznuk is fighting negative attitudes. Devising imaginative material for kindergartens and schools, along with supporting Vladivostok’s annual Tiger Day festival, he is determined to ensure that future generations will value the tiger as much as he does. “The children here love tigers, and adults now see the tiger as a symbol of Primorsky Krai. The province and the tiger are inseparably linked.”

The Amur has come perilously close to disappearing from the province – in the 1940s, the tiger population dipped to a mere 30. The numbers fell again in the 1990s, but are now stable at 450 to 480, thanks in large part to Bereznuk and his colleagues.

The battle to save the Amur tiger is a long-term project and, with even a temporary drop in vigilance, it could disappear, like the three other subspecies.

With his Rolex Award, Bereznuk is developing materials to educate young Russians about the tiger, supplying rangers and environmental officers with equipment, fuel for their vehicles, bonuses to enhance their low pay, and, most of all, the information necessary to protect the animals and apprehend the poachers. Finally, he is lobbying all levels of government to reduce corruption and strengthen laws and development guidelines to protect Primorsky Krai’s flora and fauna.

“Russia was the first country in the world to ban the hunting of tigers, in 1947,” he points out. He hopes that that model inspires his nation to be the world’s greatest champion of the tiger.Edmund Doogue 

Published in 2012

- See more at: http://www.rolexawards.com/profiles/laureates/sergei_bereznuk/project#sthash.5DsDrFq0.dpuf

I thought I'd let the Phoenix Fund tell you about themselves in their own words:

Phoenix is a mythological bird, which rises anew from its own ashs after death, a symbol of everlasting revival. We, the Phoenix staff, strive constantly to revive our environment and conserve the unique natural heritage of the Russian Far East.

The Phoenix team is a successful blend of talented, committed specialists with life-long experience in law enforcement and/or environmental education and outreach; and younger enthusiasts who promote and advance team projects. In 2006 Sergei Bereznuk, director of the Phoenix Fund, received a prestigious Whitley Award for Nature for outstanding achievements in his nature conservation work. In June 2012, Sergei Bereznuk became a winner of Rolex Global Awards for Enterprise for his achievements and innovations in tiger conservation.

With a combination of backgrounds in education, law enforcement, public relations, ecology, and biology, the Phoenix Fund team collectively brings unique strength and insight to its mission to protect and halt the poaching and illegal trafficking of the endangered wildlife of the Russian Far East.

Phoenix is a member of the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance  (ALTA). ALTA is a unique alliance of Russian and western conservation organizations aiming to secure a future for wild Amur leopards and tigers in the Russian Far East and Northeast China. ALTA members include:

1) 21st Century Tiger,
2) AMUR,
3) David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF),
4) Helsinki Zoo,
5) International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW),
6) Moscow Zoo,
7) Tigris Foundation,
8) Phoenix Fund,
9) Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS),
10) Wildlife Vets International (WVI),
11) Zoological Society of London (ZSL),
12) Wildlife Alliance,
13) Minnesota Zoo,
14) Fondation Segre,
15) Dreamworld.

He and his team are still out there, putting themselves on the line every day, teaching, working and never giving up in their efforts to conserve the Amur Tiger.

So instead of slapping watches on the wrists of athletes, starlets and rock stars, maybe brands could take a page from Rolex's book and create something that will:

1. Raise awareness for global issues

2. Recognize those out there working to address and resolve these issues

3. Get a nice bit of tasteful (and dare I say), classy public relations out of it