Seven Days with the Archimede 1950 - 4

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I Love LA! The Camp Malaga Red

"Santa Ana winds blowing hot from the north, and we were born to ride!"

Randy Newman, I Love LA

Courtesy of Camp Watches

Having spent many years Los Angeles adjacent in Santa Barbara, I was excited to learn (belatedly) about Camp Watches and their Field Timer. 

But back to the matter at hand -

I love LA, but those who know me also know I love an enamel dial, and this little wrist rocket ticks all of the Henki boxes:

Hand winding, enambel dial, unique typeface, and for me just as important - a small (likely to grow) brand with small production - to quote the Dynamic Duo at the Wrist Check Podcast - "When you know, you know."

Camp Watches is the baby of Justin Jakobson. He mentions that his first watch was a Swatch Yamaha Racer. As one of mine was the Swatch Calypso Diver (bought at May Company in the  Midway Mall in Elyria, Ohio back in August 1985) I already feel a bond!

So per the website, it appears that all conception, design, sales, and marketing rest with him and Camp Watches in LA. The watches are assembled by Reglatronic SA in Ligornetto, Switzerland - that's the Ticino region for those of you unfamiliar. On a side note, I highly recommend a trip to the region if you are so inclined, but save Lugano for last. Ticino is beautiful, and an under-appreciated hub of Swiss watchmaking. 

Courtesy of Camp Watches

If I have read correctly, the Camp Malaga comes with three straps, my favorite being the Bonklip bracelet - I'm just funny that way. But it also comes with a leather strap (above), and on in Cordura nylon (below) -

Courtesy of Camp Watches

The movement is Sellita's SW210-1b which is a hand-wound caliber.

Courtesy of Camp Watches

And it is attractively priced at $900 US.

I realize that for many possibly reading this, The Camp Malaga is not a "new" item, but then again I often find myself at the back of the "Conga Line" -

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide infoweb

Here are the pertinents -

Specifications

• CASE: Brushed + polished 316L stainless steel 
• WATERPROOF RATING: 100m/330ft
• DIAL: Berlac stove enamelled lacquer, 15 layers, 1.3mm thick
• DIAL TYPEFACE: 1940 Ford Coupe numerals
  
• FEATURES: Swiss Super LumiNova on hands + numerals
• MOVEMENT: Sellita SW210-1b manual winding, 28’800 A/h (4Hz) with an accuracy of +/-12 sec/day, 18 jewels, adjusted to 2 positions, fully customized train wheel bridge
  
• CRYSTAL: Top hat double dome sapphire with internal AR coating
• CASEBACK: Flat sapphire exhibition window
  
• CASEBACK TYPEFACE: Aeronaves, designed by Mans Greback
• CASE DIAMETER: ø 39mm
• LUG-to-LUG: 47.2mm
• LUG WIDTH: 20mm
• THICKNESS: 10mm including boxed sapphire
• FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes, seconds
• POWER RESERVE: 42 hours minimum, 45 hours average
• STRAPS, 3 Included: Full-grain Italian leather, Cordura nylon, Steel Bonklip-style
  
• BUCKLE: MIM 316L stainless steel
  
• WEIGHT: 66g/2.3oz with leather strap
• PRODUCTION: 100 pcs

Now to put you in the mood -

Yes, Randy Newman was the original, but in terms of pure audio quality I prefer OMC's take ; )

The Heritage Hand-Wound Redgold

 From Circula -

Courtesy of Circula

This is a nice idea that several brands (particularly German) dabbled with but never really managed to make happen. Utilizing a P.U.W. Caliber 561 hand wound movement, and wrapping it in a modern sized case (39 mm). I have to be honest, I'm sorta' digging it.

The price is also enticing - 714,29 € which if the site info is up to date, includes shipping.

The case is a three piece construction, secured by 4 screws at the back. It is of 316 L stainless steel which is Red Gold (PVD).

Courtesy of Circula

The movement is admittedly the star of the show -
P.U.W. 561 (new parts) from Pforzheim, German hand-wound movement. The only concerning point for me is the advertised "rate" of -15/+20 Sec/Day.  I have to be honest, that is not great, especially considering that the movements are NOS and have been "restored".  But, as the owner of an Angular Momentum equipped with a NOS FHF mvt., I can say that for better or worse, NOS movements are always going to have that Frank Lloyd Wright appeal - looks really cool, and Frank Lloyd Wright irritation - doesn't work 100% correctly. As the man who commissioned the Johnson Wax Building would attest, he took to keeping an extra garbage can in his office to put on his desk in case of rain, because as beautiful as the building was, it leaked. I have had my Angular Momentum worked on by the best in the business in both the US and Switzerland. And like a vintage car, you will only be able to coax so much out of it.

To be fair, I am only acquainted with Circula "virtually", but would point you to this review -

http://www.thetimebum.com/2020/03/circula-heritage-hand-wound.html?m=1

The Time Bum tends to be fair and honest, and he had a very favorable take on the Heritage Hand-Wound model. 

Needless to say, I am somewhat beguiled, and I am glad that Circula is out there, making some interesting pieces.

Something Surprising At SOWA

Okay, in fairness every city seems to have it's cool little enclaves.  When Wendy and I moved to San Francisco at the turn of the century, it was SOMA (South of Market).  And we've come to find out that Boston is no different with its SOWA (South of Washington) district.

During the winter months, there is the SOWA holiday fair which provides two weekend opportunities to come and check out local goods and food stuffs.  During the summer it expands to a weekly get-together complete with food trucks - and for the record, I LIKE FOOD TRUCKS!  While interesting, a lot of the booths are pretty predictable and some we have been seeing the same products for the past three years.  But today was different.  Today Wendy and I discovered Merchant Watch Company -
https://www.merchantwatchcompany.com

Now I personally had never heard of Merchant, or seen the straps produced by the owner, Kyle Moise.  But as I have often said before, I've led a bit of an unexamined life.  The straps made by Merchant Watch Company were quite impressive, and well priced for the amount of detail work that went in.

One that caught our collective eye was the Vintage Blue Italian Calf -

Courtesy of Merchant Watch Company

Now at the risk of sounding dismissive, there are a bunch of guys (and I suspect gals as well) in the US who are making custom and handmade straps. I've seen plenty, but these were pretty special.

But then something caught my eye, and that was the watch that Mr. Moise was wearing -

I tried not to pry to deeply as he had customers looking at straps.  But suffice it to say the straps (if I understand it correctly) are what pay the bills.  But in fact, what he is really devoted to is making a watch - case, crown, dial and hands (and yes, obviously straps) himself!  The movement is a manually wound Peseux.

Courtesy of Merchant Watch Company

I will reach out and see if I can get some more details on this, and any other watches that he might have up his sleeve, so stay tuned!