I am, admittedly, a huge Swatch fan. And as much as I love the wild and whimsical, the one that really kicked it all off was actually pretty plain - black and white!
I appreciate that if you are reading a watch blog, you are probably hoping for something a little more high brow, but in many ways, that original black and white Swatch was a powerful salvo in the way we looked at and thought about watches. Unless you were REALLY into watches, they were utilitarian, and not that interesting. Hayek the Elder changed all of that with a relatively modest purchase price of $35 or so. And let's be honest, when compared with the MASSIVE price escalation of other watches out there, it is quite comforting to know that you can still lay hands to a Swatch for south of US $100.
Now obviously Mr. Hayek is the one we all remember, but there were some other important players involved in the birth and growth of the Swatch, and if you want to go deeper, here is (my opinion as fact) great article -
I love my Mondaine Stop2Go. I don't claim to know or understand what is currently motivating Mondaine's approach here in the US, but having spent enough time in Switzerland I can say that I find
it a reassuring quantity there. The Stop2Go is based on the same motion as the Swiss Rail clocks and (if I am not mistaken) in the lobby of certain portions of Boston Logan airport. The second hand sweeps around the face of the clock, pausing or "stopping" at 12:00 o'clock before the minute hand advances.
With the purchase/acquisition of Luminox, Mondaine seemed to lose its luster to the owners. Apologies to one and all if that seems unfair, I can only go by what I saw at the last BaselWorld I attended (LOTs of Luminox, and about zero Mondaine).
The other thing I've noticed is a decided de-emphasis on the Stop2Go. And in some ways I get it. Compared to the other pieces in the collection, they are not inexpensive. And as I have to remind myself, I am not the only consumer out there, Mondaine makes watches for A LOT of people, not just me ; )
Now again, for those of you unfamiliar, the Stop2Go gets its name form the pause of the second hand just prior to the minute advancing. In essence, it stops. The minute hand then advances and the second hand resumes its sweep around the dial.
My particular Stop2Go is the Gottardo 2016, with a green bezel derived from the door of a train, as they were painted green back in the day.
I managed to pick mine up in 2018 - and it was NOT EASY!
COVID has changed a lot for all of us. For the second year in a row, I find myself in my New England home rather than riding the rails across the cantons in to visit dear friends and search out new stories. Let's hope that our collective "STOP" is nearly over, and we can all "GO" in the not too distant future. You will know me when you see me - I'll be the Northern Youth standing in the station, coffee in one hand, camera in the other. I hope to see you all there soon.
Well, after a few weeks of "watching and wondering" I thought it might be worthwhile to look at a new/recent release that actually did offer something that was wonderful - the Slimline Monolithic Manufacture.
As mentioned previously, Tempus Fugit is now a "review free" zone. But there are some folks out there doing great work as watch reporters who are very worth your time and attention. And one of them is Michel On Time, and I highly recommend his piece onhttps://www.lecalibre.com
Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -
SLIMLINE MONOLITHIC MANUFACTURE FC-810MC3S6
MOVEMENT: FC-810 MANUFACTURE CALIBER, AUTOMATIC, HEART BEAT, SILICON MONOLITHIC OSCILLATOR, DATE ADJUSTABLE BY THE CROWN.
CASE: POLISHED STAINLESS STEEL 3-PART CASE. DIAMETER 40 MM. FRONT CONVEX SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL. SEE-THROUGH CASE-BACK. WATER-RESISTANT UP TO 3 ATM.
DIAL: SILVER COLOR DIAL WITH GUILLOCHÉ CLOUS DE PARIS DECORATION AND PRINTED BLACK ROMAN NUMERALS. HAND-POLISHED BLACK HANDS. DATE COUNTER AT 12 O’CLOCK. OPEN HEART SHOWING THE OSCILLATOR AT 6 O’CLOCK. STRAP: BLACK ALLIGATOR LEATHER STRAP.
