Revisiting Something Awesome

Now in fairness, this piece of horological drip (that means dope, which means tight, which... gentle reader, means good) came out some time ago -

Courtesy of Eterna

I go to a LOT of watch events/shows.  Typically, I am not wandering around gawking. I am manning the tables, talking about the brand I am representing, listening (more often than not) to yet another devotee of all things Rolex go on and on and on and on (sorry, just wanted to give you the flavor) and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about their reference -"ireallygiveashitxjy32skeedoo - you know the one Steve McQueen was wearing while he was taking a bath with his first wife. No, not the one with the Hanhart! No, not the one with the Tag Heuer, the ROLEX one!!!"

The scene, invariably, is Brooklyn or some other similar environ. Ironic tattoos and beer that you didn't want to drink when you were in high school flood your senses with a visceral overload instilling you with an unshakeable conviction that you are truly an alien in a foreign land. COVID-19 is scary enough, don't get me going on Millennialitis!

But I digress...

I think, invariably, we all are looking for something that we identify with. And for better or worse, a strong part of my personal watch identification, my "horological looking glass self" if you will, is intertwined with the Eterna Kontiki. 

Courtesy of Eterna

And this bronze green goodness continues to haunt my waking dreams. But I promise, I will not corner you at a watch gathering wearing a trucker hat with Pabst Blue Ribbon in one hand, and droning on endlessly.  I'll let the watch do the talking ; )

Should you be of a similar mind, here are the pertinents -

MOVEMENT
Calibre Maison Eterna EMC 3902A, power reserve 65h, 28’800 v.p.h, 30 jewels, 1 ball bearing

 

CASE
All brushed bronze, rotating bezel with green ceramic ring, case back secured with screw, sapphire crystal opening in stainless steel
 

CRYSTAL
Scratch-resistant, anti-reflective sapphire crystal
 

DIMENSIONS
∅ 44 mm / 14.05 mm
DIAL
Green, matt structured
 

STRAP & CLASP
Brown waterproof leather strap, bronze pin buckle
 

FUNCTIONS
Hour, minute, second

The Anti-Tudor

The North Flag -

Courtesy of Tudor

Regular readers will know by now that I am nothing if not contrarian. I was a Tudor fan from way back. Now to be clear, not in the growing a beard to be ironic (I grew mine to camouflage a weak chin), wearing "heritage brands" (who the hell can afford brand new Red Wing boots, and have you ever tried to walk more than a mile in work boots?) or pouring over historical data so that I can seem clever and witty at the next "meet up".  Yeah, I gotta' be me ; ). 
Editors note - if you ever see this author at a watch enthusiast "meet up" wearing a "trucker" hat, drinking a "budget" beer and trying to one-up those gathered on arcane, esoteric watch knowledge (particularly anything about mvt. references) you have the express permission of Tempus Fugit to smack him.

I am the guy who nearly pulled the trigger on a circa early 90s Tudor Sub back in Turku Finland in 1997, swapped an Omega for a vintage Tudor Prince and probably is not really swayed by the Black Bay collection with the exception of the GMT (probably because most of these "born again purists" poo-poo it from the comfort of their Brooklyn hangouts).

Courtesy of Tudor

I got introduced to the North Flag at BaselWorld 2015.  And it's ironic to look back, because at that time, it was the darling of the fair. But like that catchy pop record that rules the airwaves over the summer months, once September rolls around it is consigned to the odd iTunes "Shuffle" rotation.

Courtesy of Tudor

But for me, this one is still deep. A manufacture movement, a contrarian design - not a dive watch! And it is still The Shit That Killed Elvis!

Here are the pertinents -

• 

  Guarantee

  Five year guarantee
• 

  Case

  40 mm steel case with satin finish, open back with sapphire crystal
• 

  Movement

  Manufacture Calibre MT5621 (COSC)
  
  Self-winding mechanical movement with bidirectional rotor system
• 

  Power Reserve

  Power reserve of approximately 70 hours
• 

  Winding Crown

  Steel winding crown with TUDOR logo in relief
• • 

    Waterproofness

    Waterproof to 100 m (330 ft)
  • 

    Bezel

    Double bezel in steel and matt black ceramic
  • 

    Dial

    Black
    Power reserve disc at 9 o’clock
    Date at 3 o’clock
  • 

    Crystal

    Sapphire crystal
  • 

    Bracelet

    Steel bracelet with folding clasp and safety catch

Lip

An important note to this story - in the time since my visit, my partner Rick Marei and I have been in discussions with Lip to represent them in North America and sell them through our soon-to-open online store.  So while everything I am writing here about Lip is absolutely from the heart, it is important to disclose to you, the reader, that I am in discussions to make that relationship more of a business one, so I am biased, and I do have a potential business interest.  They have not paid for this content, it is my own.  Both Rick and I are looking forward to bringing Lip Watches to North America.  Stay tuned!

I have held off on posting this because I was still taking some time to digest my visit to Besançon this past November.  

I feel it is safe to say that if you are looking for technical content, or brownie hounding then Tempus Fugit is probably NOT the outlet for you.  

But, contrary to what some brand managers out there might think, I do have feelings, and sometimes my heart will draw me in what I would honestly say are unexpected directions.

And this past Thanksgiving week, I returned to Besançon pretty much four years to the day that I first visited.

And while there were some touristy things that I did, the most important part of this one-day stop was to visit Lip. 

Lip has become something of a cult figure here in the US.  Not for nothing, the Mach 2000 is something of a anomaly in the world of watch fans.  If we are honest about it, in its current format is essentially, a quartz chronograph.  But this is a watch that demonstrates that a watch is far more than the sum of its parts.  Think I'm kidding?  While in France I received a Facebook message from a fellow watch journalist stateside asking me to pick one up while I was there and bring it back for him.  There are certain watches out there that hit visceral nerves, and for me Lip has a few models that speak to me on levels I can't really quantify.  They are emotional as much as pragmatic.  Lip, at its very heart, is as much a feeling as it is a brand.

I refer you to an article by Adam Sofineti -

http://www.watchpaper.com/2020/02/02/lip-nautic-ski-hands-on-review/

A part of Lip's history is a "passing around" of the brand.  When I visited four years ago, Lip had been living sort of a diluted life, really treated by the (then) owners as a label to brand watches under, and not the watch brand that they truly were.  

Enter the Berards - Philippe and Pierre-Alain.  In the time since my last visit, they have taken ownership of Lip, and reinvigorated it.  I am not here to criticize the previous owners.  I am, however, here to applaud the Berards, and the entire team at Lip.  

How do you manage a legend?  Curious to relate, Lip stirs a LOT of emotions in not only watch fans, but in the French consciousness.  But prior to the Berard's, that emotional connection was more of a sense of nostalgia.  

Since the Berard's?  I hate hyperbole, but walking around the streets of Besançon, Paris, and the offices and workshop at Lip, I really felt the energy, the passion, I really felt why some brands connect on the level that they do with fans and the public at large.

It would be easy to do a Blancpain and "start from year zero", but the team at Lip live in the real world, one where you don't manufacture history.  To that end, they have a rather unusual (in today's watch world) department that handles vintage Lip questions, assessments, and if I understood correctly, possible restoration (but my French is lacking, so I will need to get clarification on that point).

And while it would be easy for the Berards to simply have bought the label and turn to a white label company for everything, it was very clear to me that Lip clearly represents something special to them, and I got that same feeling touring around the new facilities that they have installed for mechanical watches.

It is not enormous, but it is not insignificant either.  And I think what is encouraging about it to me, is that it represents the first step forward.

It also bears mentioning that Lip has stayed true to its roots.  

While it would be easy for them recreate themselves as something that they are not, and never were, they have held the line on pricing.  In a world where brands both big and small jack up their prices only to jettison their unwanted stock to the grey market where it is discounted down to the bare bones, Lip offers something novel - a great watch at a fair price.

Now I realize that everyone wants to go to Switzerland to visit the historic Maisons, and that's fair enough.  But if you are really a fan of watches, history and culture?  Get yourself to Besançon and soak up all of the history and charm that this wonderful city has.

and pick up a Lip watch while you're at it, either here, or the City of Lights.  You don't have to be a Hipster to be a Lipster ; )

Just Because You Can... Doesn't Mean You Should.

Omega is a great brand with a lot of great products.  They do a lot of wonderful work with charity.  I own two Omegas and still miss my 1969 Speedmaster Professional.  

Having said that...

Courtesy of Omega

This latest effort is a bit of a squib.

And the text provided with the images is enough to make you want to avoid any hipster that you encounter -

Thanks to its reliable design and superb anti-magnetic properties, the original OMEGA Railmaster of 1957 was perfectly suited to a role in working-class life. Today, the updated collection is proudly paying tribute to that industrial past with a new denim-inspired model.

Although they are now a fashion item, denim jeans were once manufactured purely for the benefit of hard-working laborers in the American West. For a long time, the robust cloth was the choice of miners, factory workers, farmers, and of course, those on the railroads. Their sturdy trousers or overalls would have gone hand-in-hand with the watch on their wrist.

To link the iconic material with this new Railmaster, OMEGA has created a vertically-brushed “blue jeans” dial that features indexes and hands with light-grey Super-LumiNova. There is also a beige lollipop central seconds hand and transferred Railmaster indication that are both reminiscent of the colored stitching found in denim jeans.

Most uniquely, the model is beautifully presented on a genuine blue denim NATO strap with brown leather used on the underside and for the keepers. The same model is alternatively available on a stainless-steel bracelet.

Courtesy of Omega

And if you have your heart set on this watch, I would opt for the bracelet version, you won't look like such a goof. 

The message seems to be:  "you don't have to get your hands dirty, but next time you put on your Redwing boots and "faux-vintage" Carhartt work wear, we've got just the watch for you!"  

I find it a stretch that Omega (and pretty much any other brand out there) is actually too fussed about celebrating the rugged integrity of the hard working men and women who actually performed honest toil for below-poverty-level wages.  It's fair to say that I could be wrong.  Having said that, I am pretty confident that the majority of the 30 somethings out there that this item is targeted at do not likely have just south of five grand ($4,900 suggested retail) to drop on an homage to the laborer.   They've spent all their money on student loan repayments and tragic tattoos.  And the amount of tips that baristas are making is not going to put a dent in the sticker price of this one.

I can almost hear the pitch meeting for this one now:

"Hey!  The really cool people featured in the the instafamous feeds we spend so much money on?  They all dress like hobos!"  

"Yeah, you're right!  What we need is an Omega for the trucker hat wearing, Pabst Blue Ribbon drinking, American Spirit smoking trendetarians out there!"

So does this mean that the two Crawford-Gerber ambassadors do the next Omega photo shoot dressed like Box Car Willie? 

Time will tell ; )

Me too, Time's Up, Floyd Mayweather!

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide infoweb

Hublot will take great pains to tell you how they are "different".  In absolute fairness, Jean-Claude Biver did something pretty remarkable with a slightly under-developed brand when he became involved in its purchase from Carlo Crocco.  It was done with a combination of insight, product awareness, and some pretty dramatic marketing pieces.  And to their credit, Hublot has done some very impressive charitable work. 

Hublot has enjoyed a fair amount of success in what the hipsters in their pork-pie hats refer to as - "disruption".  Of course, these "edgy" boys and girls know about getting attention, but they tend to have nearly zero knowledge of relevant demographics and very real lack of understanding about any demographic out there that does not make its purchases based on ironic detachment - let's be honest, there is no other way to explain "trucker" hats and Pabst Blue Ribbon in a day and age where there is so much good design, and about a million different beers out there that don't taste like they've been filtered through a cat's urinary tract.

But back to today's topic.  I have banged on and on about Hublot's choices of "partners" in the past.  Some have been very good, and very positive.  And some?  Well, not so much.

So in the midst of Me Too and Time's Up, Hublot has made a very odd (and sorry to say, tone-deaf) decision to spend time and money promoting a gentleman with a very troubling past history of alleged domestic violence.

Courtesy of Hublot

Pugilist, raconteur and noted feminist - Floyd Mayweather.

In a partnership that baffles many of us who cover this stuff, Hublot continues to partner with Mr. Mayweather, despite the somewhat overwhelming reporting on Mr. Mayweather's less-than courtly behavior in terms of "dispute resolution" with some of the women in his life.  I cite a very good piece penned by
Soraya Nadia McDonald and  Lonnae O'Neal-

Why Floyd Mayweather can still box after beating women

No photos, no central authority and black victims

This originally ran on August 23 of last year in the Undefeated.com.  And it one of the most intriguing pieces of coverage on the topic that I have come across. 

Now, in fairness, Hublot has the right to choose whoever they wish for partners.  And I am fairly confident that if an idea got floated through the LVMH halls about potential marketing/PR ideas, if it was sourced back to yours' truly?  The idea would probably be binned right away on general principle ; )   But having said that, I think you get to make mistakes in business, because quite often those mistakes were the result of good intentions and a not completely thought out idea.  But I also think when you continue to do something that offends a large group of people, you are no longer being provocative.  

You're just being sorta' clueless.

But, so that we have a little balance, here is the press release exactly as I received it from Hublot -

The Best Ever
BIG BANG UNICO TMT
A chronograph for the undefeated
Champion of the Noble Art
“Everyone knows I’m crazy about mechanical beauties, especially sparkling watches. So I’m truly proud to see the letters TMT x Hublot glittering on top of my watch. This timepiece means a lot to me, it symbolizes my career, my unbeaten 50-0 record and my last fight when I made history!” 

Floyd "Money" Mayweather, Hublot Ambassador
Five-time world champion Record holder in his discipline with 50 straight wins

“It’s an honour for us to be associated with the Noble Art’s legend of legends. A champion who, in taking his 50th victory, holds the discipline’s record. “The Best Ever”! 50 victories, no defeats, absolute mastery of an art that requires fighting spirit, bravery, self-transcendence, a sense of honour and keen tactical sense. Avoiding punches, and landing precise, clean and powerful ones, without any doubt, round after round, fight after fight. It’s the perseverance that makes all the difference. A champion in our image “first, unique, different!”
Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot

Twelve-time, five division undefeated world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather is boxing’s gold. The champion of champions, who reigned supreme for more than two decades, amassing a 50-0 unsurpassed ring record, joined Hublot executives on Saturday in Las Vegas to unveil two new watches created in collaboration with the luxury watch company. “Money” unveiled the Big Bang Unico TMT, an abbreviation of “The Money Team” and symbol of the powerful and highly visible logo of Floyd Mayweather’s lifestyle brand!
Hublot Crystals Boutique I Las Vegas I 10 February 2018
On 26th August 2017, Floyd Mayweather, the superstar of boxing, entered the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in style. His black shorts studded with gold displayed “TBE” and “HUBLOT”, two words expressing a single state of mind and one of absolute victory. A creation designed by Sophie Whittam, Director of Fight Label, the ultimate luxury boxing shorts and clothing brand. The talented designer chose black and gold to symbolise the athlete’s iconic and timeless character. She created an illustration representing Floyd on his own $1 million note. Cut out of gold leaf, the design was applied by hand onto matte-black lambskin. The belt cut out of suede and brilliant black python is embroidered with Swarovski crystals.

Shorts symbolising connections and a record!
Hublot x Mayweather; the story of this “knockout” partnership began in 2015 at “The Fight of the Century” pitting Floyd against Manny Pacquiao. For the first time, Money sported the name of the brand on his boxing shorts. In 2017, for “The Money Fight” against Conor McGregor, Mayweather wore Hublot on his belt once again. 

These shorts have become the emblem of the legend of legends,
sealing his 50th straight win! Shorts that naturally became the focus of the design of the Big Bang Unico TMT, Hublot have even used the setting where the fight took place to unveil its two limited editions. 


BIG BANG UNICO TMT – The Game Changer – “The watch of all wins”
The Big Bang Unico TMT adorns its winning outfit with a strap in black calf leather enhanced with python and gold studs, transposing the codes of the famous shorts worn by Mayweather during his latest fight. The boxing champion’s gold appears in the details of the two watches. For the first time, 3N-gold-incrusted carbon fiber dresses the watch from its case to its bezel. This is a unique composite material; gold powder is manually inserted into the carbon fiber layers before being compressed. At 12 o’clock, the watch proudly displays the 3 letters TMT in appliqué. The sapphire case back bears the champion’s ultimate inscription,

 

TBE, “The Best Ever”. Released in a limited edition of 100 pieces, the Big Bang Unico TMT is also available in 10 numbered editions set entirely in 3N gold. The flange, bezel, case, counters, index and three golden TMT letters sparkle beneath the light of 48 baguette-cut diamonds and 378 brilliant-cut diamonds for a carat weight of 4.85. 

Two invincible watches delivered with a boxing glove signed by the all-time champion. 

Big Bang Unico TMT! What’s your next challenge?

Courtesy of Hublot

 

Why Settle for Ordinary?

I have been a big fan of Angular Momentum / Manu Propria since even before I started Tempus Fugit.

And I have written about Martin Pauli's work a fair bit.  In truth, the point of this blog is not to write about my personal collection, but there are three items of his creation that I personally own and continue to get great joy from so I thought I would share them.

Holding pride of place is the  Splendor Sangre -

This is from Mr. Pauli's Splendor collection.  The case measures 43 mm in diameter, the movement is a NOS hand winding movement. The dial is red lacquer and it is stunning.  It is warm, passionate, vibrant. And truly not every one's baby, but I adore it. And no, it is not political ; )

Apologies for the dust on the crystal, but that is what it actually looks like when it is actually on my wrist and actually being used.

A few years ago, Mr. Pauli diversified his offerings and began crafting pens.  And before you ask, no, these are not your typical pens.

Now it is important to understand that this is one of the earlier efforts - which I think is fantastic!  But like any true artist working with his hands, Mr. Pauli is constantly in pursuit of perfection and owing to this, he continues to push the envelope providing even more beautiful offerings with each pen he creates.

His latest creations can be found here -

http://www.manupropria-pens.ch/welcome/Collection.html

And the last item is another story altogether. We have all heard of "wicked stepmothers" thanks to the folks at Disney, but I'm here to tell you that they do exist, although not necessarily in far off lands, but as near as Jackson, TN.  A pocket watch of museum quality that would make a wonderful addition to any institution's permanent collection that will probably never see the light of day again.  Promised to others it is held on to with grasping, clutching, unyielding hands, it will sadly likely end up in a pawnshop, hocked by a needy hillbilly relative of the aforementioned step mother. 

But sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns and create some new traditions. So step one was to find a pocket watch - which I did. A NOS model from the 70s/80s, branded Bucherer (as in the jewelry store, not the brand of today).  I showed it to Mr. Pauli at BaselWorld in 2014. I wanted something with the Martin Pauli aesthetic, but a bit "different".  And together we came up with the idea of doing the dial in blue with stainless steel indices and hands. And the result is truly unique, truly wonderful.

So this one will be passed on to a future member of "Team Henki", and will hopefully not end its days next to a tin of Skol in some backwoods meth lab.

Clearly, I'm not bitter ; )

I really treasure these three pieces because they remind me that this is the way things used to be, and frankly the way that they could still be.  Back before "sincerely authentic" heritage stores popped up and "fauxthentic" became the norm with hipster-hucksters trying to sell us a nickel for a dime.  And perhaps I am tired of all the bullshit being foisted on us in the name of "authentic" when I have no proof to balance against that claim.

The world needs more Martin Paulis out there, doing real things with their hands, creating mechanical treasures powered not only by gears and springs but by imagination. Taking the time to create unique, wonderful, timeless - and DURABLE watches and pens that will last more than just one lifetime. And I for one hope he keeps continuing to make wonderful things that have true quality, true beauty and true value. It helps balance all the "artisanal hyperbole" originating closer to home.