TechnoMarine and Memories of 1985

Okay, I realize that the readership out there probably spans from Boomer, to X, to an as yet unidentified generation group.  That being said, I think I finally twigged on to why I am so fascinated by the TechnoMarine Cruise Steel that I have been wearing this past week.

For those of you who might not remember, there was a magic time not so long ago when a young man from Kutztown, PA came to New York and through his use of subway drawings made art more accessible to the urban masses - and made graffiti more accessible - and hopefully understood - to the suburban commuters!  With the commercial success of  "The Message" an emerging music trend gained traction.  And SWATCH was just starting out.  And Madonna had begun the transformation from dancer  to singer/world phenomenon.  It was the 80s.

In 1985 I was a young man, having just moved out on my own living in the northern part of Ohio.  Yes, we had hair gel and U2 tapes - but the SWATCH was a completely new and fairly foreign idea.  My two friends showed up fresh from their summer vacations - one with a SWATCH Yamaha Racer, the other with a SWATCH Calypso Diver.  Needless to say, I had to have one.  I saved up my pennies, and off I went to the May Company at the local mall (local being a 45 minute drive away) and made my purchase.  The Calypso Diver.

For those of you not familiar - Squiggly Swatch has a fantastic archive of SWATCHES:

http://www.squiggly.com/us/en/swatch/calypso-diver-gm701.htm

The sad history of my Calypso Diver is that it got, well, crushed in an unfortunate moving mishap on my way to the University of Oregon and was never quite the same...

While this is, of course, not the Calypso Diver - I have to say that this Cruise Steel has made me smile several times every day.  The counter-play of the black dial with the light blue sub-dials and inner bezel - combined with the strap take a large, solid watch and made it fun.  And most of all, I do not fear for this watch's physical health should it take an unfortunate knock.  Thank you TechnoMarine for putting a smile on my face!

You Can Go Home Again

A bit about me.  1n 1985 I was seventeen years old, getting ready to start my final year of high school.  My father had remarried and the polite way to reflect back on that time would be to say that his new wife was not a fan of the family that came with her new husband.  Owing to this I moved back to my hometown and was spending the remainder of my summer working at the now (I am assuming) defunct Selenti's Pizza (Oberlin), living on my own and (not always successfully) trying to take control of my life and my future.  And about that time, two of my friends came back from summer vacation with some pretty nifty SWATCH watches.  And I became fairly obsessed.  So I saved up some pizza money, returned some soda bottles, and off I went to the Midway Mall (another long forgotten relic to another time) and did my best to choose.  And I chose this one -

Shamelessly borrowed from Squiggly

The Calypso Diver.  You can, I believe, still purchase an original Calypso Diver from the good folks at Squiggly in the Netherlands.  SQUIGGLY SITE

Spoiler alert - I managed, despite my best efforts, to graduate Oberlin High School in 1986.  From there a misfire at Slippery Rock University, then off to the University of Oregon.  And that Swatch Calypso Diver made the journey with me.  It saw me through high school graduation, it traveled to the Marshall Islands, and made sure (as best it could) that I got to the majority of my classes at U of O on time.

Somewhere along the way, that SWATCH was lost.  And I got older and my tastes evolved to other watches.  A Tag Heuer F1 (red and green rubber), a yellow Omega Speedmaster Schumacher, and perhaps my all-time favorite - an Eterna Super KonTiki 50th Anniversary.  Plenty of other SWATCHES came to me as they are fun, and my wife Wendy has a great eye for picking out a fun SWATCH.  But I always felt a bit of wistfulness about the absence of the Calypso Diver.  It had, in many ways, marked the beginning of my adult life.  It saw me through the type of dramatic highs and lows that only a particularly self-absorbed person can experience ; )

And then, 32 years later, SWATCH has brought out this sweet 
baby -

This is the Hamarace from SWATCH.  And yes, gentlereader, you can go home again. 

But more and more, I have come to learn that home is not necessarily a question of where you're from, it's a statement about where you're at.

Enjoy your watches!

Behold - the SISTEM51!

Okay, now as much as I rail and rant about some of the Big Dogs of the watch world, you have to give credit where it's due.

Courtesy of SWATCH

Visceral Memories with the Mühle Glashutte Sportivo Diver

I am over a week into my time with Mühle Glashutte's Sportivo Travel GMT.

It's interesting how something brand new can hit you like a 2 x 4 and shake loose a memory strictly through visceral means. Back in October I was among the sea of humanity wandering around the Worn and Wound show in NYC. I had made a special point of saying hi to the guys from Duber Time (North American representatives for Mühle Glashutte), and that was the first time I clapped eyes on the Sportivo Travel GMT. I was instantly drawn to it.

Folks who know me will point out my love of color. Typically it is a bit more pronounced, but the Sportivo gives just the right balance, dare I say - nuance! The bright blue wonderfully accentuates the black and white of this GMT sport watch - but not in a remotely gaudy way.

It wasn't until it arrived last week and I put it on my wrist that I recognized the trigger -

Courtesy of https://watchcharts.com/

This is the Calypso Diver from Swatch. I picked mine up at May Company (if memory serves) in late August of 1985. More on my love affair with  that wonderful time machine can be found 

here - https://www.henkitime.com/search?q=swatch+calypso+diver

I have a few more days with the Sportivo Travle GMT, and will be posting the full rundown on Sunday - stay tuned!

Keith Haring and Mickey Mouse - I LOVE THE 80s!

Okay, you've no doubt seen this on other outlets, but here at Tempus Fugit we like to offer you something a little bit different - it's called passion!

Courtesy of SWATCH

Why is this new drop from SWATCH so important? Because it really connects on (at least) three different levels -

As a watch -

Courtesy of SWATCH

Simply put, SWATCHES like this are pure catnip to watch people. While many of us enjoy a SWATCH now and again, the Haring SWATCHes from the 1980s are still the holy grail for many hardened collectors out there. These are guys and gals with deep collections with rare and obscure pieces as well as 2 each of everything Rolex and Patek have put out for the past 3 years running. A new Haring SWATCH is HUGE to collectors.

As A Cultural Touchstone-

Courtesy of SWATCH

Keith Haring, in many ways, picked up the mantle from Andy Warhol and carried it forward. A young man from Kutztown, he came to New York following a somewhat abortive stint at the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh. Having decided that he did not fancy becoming a graphic artist, he enrolled at the School of Visual Arts in New York and never looked back.

This was a seminal time in art and culture, not just in New York, but the world. But in many ways New York was at the center of it. Not the bright shiny Times Square of today, but a darker, edgier, grittier place. There was a remarkable collision of artists both visual and musical - Kenny Scharf, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Madonna among others. The 80s truly marked another seismic shift, no matter how bad the fashions seem in hindsight ; )

As A Bridge -

Courtesy of SWATCH

Growing up a Northern Youth in a small Ohio town, I had NO idea who Keith Haring was, and I only discovered SWATCH in 1985 with my Calypso Diver. Needless to say, as I worked my way through my last year of high school (85 - 86) I never would have imagined having the money to buy ANOTHER SWATCH! 

So for some of us, it is another bite at the apple. But Keith Haring is in many ways a James Dean of modern art. Along with Jean-Michel Basquiat he died far too young, and we can't help but wonder what might have been. And in the years since, Haring has become a rallying point for several social movements not just in the US, but around the world.

So, I for one will be bent over my laptop on Thursday, hoping to get lucky and snag one of these timekeepers. While I know that my teens, twenties, hell even my forties are now in the rear view mirror, there is something beguiling about these pieces. And I am grateful that SWATCH did not do the obvious by simply reissuing the originals, but going for something new(ish).

Something To Look Forward To

Like probably every single person out there suffering from insomnia and therefore reading Tempus Fugit, I am tired.  Like you, I am tired of COVID and the startling way it has somehow become a political issue. Let's hope we all live through it. 

I was thinking about something that I said at the second annual (and final) gathering of the "Watch Expert's Network" at BaselWorld (the less said about that ill-fated effort, the better), where I asked the absolutely crazy question - "Do any of you actually remember why you got involved in writing about watches in the first place?"  Well, imagine a vacuum sucking all of the air out of the room at a startling rate.  More than a few feathers were ruffled, but Robert-Jan Broer, to his credit, understood that I wasn't trying to pick a fight with anyone, but I was a wee bit exasperated by the waste of an hour and a half listening to a lot of hot air during Sunday (the busiest day at BaselWorld back then).  But to Robert-Jan's credit, he understood what I was driving at - "What was the trigger."  In other words, what drove us all to be interested in something like watches in the first place?

Well, I remember my first SWATCH, the Calypso Diver. I could go into all sorts of crazy details, recount the story, but essentially I hopped into my 1978 Toyota Corona and drove to Midway Mall.  There in the May Company's jewelry case they had the Calypso Diver and the Yamaha Racer. It was back and forth between the two of them, but in the end I opted for the Calypso Diver.

Anyway, that is a long way of saying that I actually really miss those particular SWATCHs. Last week a reader forwarded me this website -

Paulin Watches

And once there, gentle reader, my eye fell on this time machine -

Courtesy of Paulin Watches

So I selected he black cordovan strap and solid case back option -

Courtesy of Paulin Watches

And I ordered!

As a side note, I do not think that they engrave case backs, but I will do that when it arrives.  I will keep you posted ; )

I am not one for hyperbole - I have not held one, worn one or spoken to anyone who has owned a Paulin Watches watch. But some things you gotta take on faith, and I am ready to place mine here.

For those of you who are curious, here are the pertinents -

Movement: 

Seiko NH35A (Automatic)

Lens: 

Hesalite box section PVC

Water resistance: 

5ATM

Case: 

316L stainless steel

Case diameter: 

38mm

Case thickness: 

11.6mm

Strap width: 

18mm

Warranty: 

24 months

The Best of Intentions...

I won't try to deceive you, I went to Switzerland with a mission, to buy ONE Swatch Sistem51

I decided I should take care of it early in the trip, so I found myself at the SWATCH store in Lugano, spent a few minutes and pulled the trigger.  Blue, to remind me of my long since departed SWATCH Calypso Diver.

Just When I Thought I Was Out...

Lip pulls me back in!

Courtesy of Lip

Okay, a few factoids about me (Henki), Lip, and Besançon.  Back in 2015, just before Thanksgiving, I visited Besançon for the first time. It was right after the Paris attacks, and I was truly moved by the energy and spirit of the people I encountered. I visited Lip's HQ, toured the facility, had a great lunch with the sales team and the owners - the Berards, and left with the feeling that Lip was about to do some really great things. I went back four years later, and great things were beginning to happen. And then COVID hit.

When it comes to the current owner, Pierre-Alain Berard, I must say that he is without a doubt one of the kindest and most straight forward people you will ever meet in the watch business. During lockdown we had a few conversations and I was struck by two things - his care and concern for his team at Lip, and his belief that they would come out of the other side with some renewed energy.

And the latest step in this evolution is the Nautic 3. A 39 mm diver that hit me square between the eyes with a visceral sucker-punch. The first watch I ever bought for myself was when I was 17 and I walked into May Company at the Midway Mall and bought myself a Swatch Calypso Diver. And it's like the folks at Lip dove into my subconscious and pulled this beautiful diver out!

Courtesy of Lip

It measures 39 mm in diameter, and is assembled in Besançon. Most intriguing is the movement. Under the hood you'll find what is described as:

Franco-Swiss analogue mechanical automatic HD G100 Manufacture Lajoux-Perret

And the price is particularly attractive - 

€1,099.00

There is more to come about this watch, this is just a brief introduction. But if this watch along with what I call the Titanium TV is anything to go by? Lip is about to be BIG!

The Pleasure of Waiting Patiently - RELIEVED!

So often we go for quick, even instant gratification.  In many ways, that is what the SWATCH was originally made for.  Well, not exactly for me.  In 1985 a Northern Youth, recently encouraged to leave home, scraped together the $45 to buy a SWATCH.  It was the Calypso Diver.  I spent nearly a month saving the extra's from my job at Selenti's Pizza to pay for it.  I went to school, then soccer practice, then work to - well pay the rent among other things, then my "luxury apartment" where I struggled through Trigonometry and other less daunting subjects until 2:00 AM.  Only to get up at 7:00 AM so I could do the whole thing over again.  In many ways, that SWATCH was a first kiss - a first taste of freedom.  But it also taught me that no matter how bad things got I could still make it on my own.

Well, today in Lugano I was re-acquainted with what I will consider the "grown-up" version of that SWATCH - the SISTEM51.  ONLY available in Switzerland, and then ONLY available through the SWATCH Store.  I've been dreaming about this one!

So welcome to BaselWeek Pals and Gals - and make it a special, memorable one!

Henki, checking in from Lugano.  More tomorrow!

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 ; )

Spending Time With The Mühle Glashütte Sportivo Travel GMT

All good things must come to an end, maybe...

Okay, before we go too far into this, I have to go back to where and when I first encountered the Sportivo Travel GMT. I was wandering through the booths at the Wind-Up show in New York this past October. I had briefly spoken with Damir Armstrong of Duber Time - the US distributor for Mühle Glashütte at the Watch Time event the night before, and as I waded through the masses of the Wind-Up show the next day, I was on a mission. I had to have a second look at something that had caught my eye and beguiled me. 

If you wanted to spend a quality minute or two on Saturday at the WindUp show, you had to commit to pushing through a throng of folks, three to four bodies wide, several wearing backpacks stuffed beyond a fully-prepped paratrooper just before jumping into Normandy. You had to show commitment ; )

Courtesy of Mühle Glashütte

So needless to say, after struggling past (I'm sorry, but in all honesty) some less-than fresh smelling folks, and dodging latte splashes and hurdling baby strollers (what the hell were these parents thinking?) I had Damir walk me through the the GMT Sportivo, and that more than anything else I saw in New York stayed with me.

So fast forward to "nowish" and the Sportivo Travel GMT found its way to the North Shore for me to spend some time with it.

Courtesy of Mühle Glashütte

Mühle Glashütte makes some fancier pieces, not least of which is my ALL-TIME favorite - the Robert Mühle Mondphase Limited Edition. And although what I am about to say may seem contrarian, this versatility is why I far prefer the offerings from Mühle Glashütte. And this is why I find the Sportivo Travel GMT such a perfect counter point to the (let's be honest) very high priced pseudo sport models offered by their neighbors in Glashütte.

So let's dive in, shall we? (see what I did there?)

Let's start with the basics - the case is of stainless steel, and measures 42.5 mm in diameter; with a height of 11.4 mm.

The level of quality in the case finish is of an impressive level - brushed and polished stainless steel. And yes, aesthetics are important. But just as important if not more so? The engineering that often goes unseen, and can be under appreciated or even taken for granted.

The Sportivo Travel GMT is rated to a depth of 30 bars - that's 3 ATM (atmospheres) or more specifically 300 meters.

Under the hood, the Sportivo GMT is driven by a nicely customized Sellita SW 330-2. How customized? Glad you asked!

The specs on the Mühle Glashütte website break it down -

Movement: SW 330-2 Mühle Version, automatic, Mühle version with woodpecker neck regulation, own rotor, characteristic surface finishes, stop-second, fast date correction, 56-hr power reserve.

And now here is where the NOMOS fanboys and fangirls will whinge - "But it's not a manufacture movment..."

Well, allow me to relate a few sad realities about owing a watch with a manufacture movement - service, movement failure, high service cost, long service wait times. This is the reality. So when we are talking about a watch that you actually intend to, I don't know, actually wear... well you might want to consider how you want to spend your money, and time ; )

The timekeeping of the Sportivo Travel GMT has been quite good, very steady, not real variances. And that's as it should be.

The strap is an interesting design choice, and clearly speaks to the actual intended use of the watch.  

It is crafted of canvas and rubber. The rubber portion is textured to ensure that the strap is breathable, not slippy, and most importantly in less wintery-weather? It won't be slimy.

The strap is similar to what I have seen from Hirsch. And as many of you know, Hirsch straps are not exactly inexpensive, and are highly praised for their quality.

Now all of these are important things, but ultimately you could have a perfectly engineered watch, but if it is uncomfortable to wear, it will either sit in your dresser, or be traded or sold for something else.

After several weeks, I can honestly say that it is one of the most comfortable watches I have worn in some time. 

But now I need to get a little personal. Because despite all of the wonderful craftsmanship (both artisanal and technological), the Sportivo Travel GMT hit (and still hits) me with a visceral sucker-punch. 

What do I mean by visceral?

Per Merriam-Webster:

1. : felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body : deep. a visceral conviction. 

2. : not intellectual : instinctive, unreasoning.

Visceral Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

When you work with and around watches, and most of your waking hours are spent trying to describe them, sell them, market them? It can become a bit like, well, work...

Courtesy of Watch Charts.com

The Swatch Calypso Diver is not exactly an horological marvel. It's a plastic cased quartz watch with a plastic strap that I think I bought at the May Company in the Midway Mall in Elyria, Ohio back in 1985. That watch strangely meant quite a bit to me, even more in hindsight. I had moved out of the family home, I was 17 years old and staring down the reality that I would have to work nights and weekends at the now defunct Selenti's Pizza, while going to Oberlin High School, haplessly chasing a soccer scholarship that the OHS coach spent zero effort to help me with. Let's just say that one year probably still resonates more with me than any one before or since.

More than anything else I remember about that time was that I wanted to do more, wanted to see more. I knew that there had to be more out there than Northern Ohio, and the dream of travel, learning a new language, living in a different country with a different culture? This started as an aspirational notion that evolved into an obsession.

When I wear the Sportivo GMT, it hits me on so many levels. Now I realize that the point of a watch review is to be objective, but sometimes things are more personal. And my feeling is that the right watch (which is different for each wearer) does more than tell the time. And for the Mühle Glashütte Sportivo Travel GMT is more - it is a time machine. 

The Mühle Glashütte Sportivo Travel GMT is very well priced at $2,999.00 on the canvas strap, and $3,249.00 on the stainless steel bracelet.

Here are the pertinents, straight from Mühle Glashütte -

Movement: SW 330-2 Mühle Version, automatic, Mühle version with woodpecker neck regulation, own rotor, characteristic surface finishes, stop-second, fast date correction, 56-hr power reserve

Case: Brushed/polished stainless steel, Bidirectional rotating bezel with black ceramic inlay, Double anti-glare sapphire crystal, Transparent case back, Screw-in crown, Water-resistant to 30 bars.

Strap: Waterproof canvas/rubber strap with stainless steel pin buckle or stainless steel strap with butterfly clasp

Dimensions: Diameter – 42.5 mm; Height – 11.4 mm

Dial: Black, Applied indices, Hour markers and hands coated in Super LumiNova