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About Time Magazine
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#6
 
Watch what happens…
Reprinted from About Time Magazine Issue #2
By D. Freemont McCready
In defense of quartz…take it from me, they command a great deal of
respect. We are in the real world today where the exotics only live
on the fringe of reality. More than just trying to keep up with
time, quartz accuracy is beyond exotica. We tend to associate
dollars with value. Take it from me there is a great deal of merit
in quartz and true value in watches so equipped.
I personally grew up with a 17 jewel Bulova on my dad’s wrist and a
half dozen Ingersols in my pocket. It wasn’t until the Christmas
before entering high school that I entered the world of real
watches. I opened the long box on Christmas Eve and there it was, a
Clinton 26mm square, 17 jewel with a genuine Swiss movement. What I
remember most was the care and feeding of the Clinton. I would wind
the watch every night so that it would be ready for the next day,
wipe the sweat from its back in the summer and lay it to sleep in
the winter next to the heat vent. Dad and mother, survivors of the
great depression, taught me to care for valued possessions…
sometimes all good intentions have unintended consequences.
Today, I recommend to all my customers – “Don’t kill it with
care”…Having had all of my Ingersols tinkered with most destroyed
with care, I was cautioned to never take the back off the Clinton –“
the forbidden fruit curse”. I delayed my curiosity to open the
Clinton until some future event that could over rule the curse and
let me inside the Clinton. The Clinton woke up one morning with
moisture fogging the crystal. Not a year had passed before the curse
was to be declared null and void. Wow! look at that… sparkling tiny
little blue screws, ruby red jewels and gleaming wheels so artfully
polished and engraved…I was dazzled. Several moments went by before
I could collect my thoughts about the reason for opening the
Clinton. Oh yes, the moisture… I clumsily removed the moisture, but
when I was putting the back on the Clinton, it lay dead in my hands.
I remember clearly the next day… the Clinton had to go to the
watchmaker to pay absolution for my violating the curse. Dad told me
that the penance for tampering with the Clinton was nearly eight
dollars, a sum equal to the more than 25% of the purchase price of
the watch. Now let’s move on to 2013 and you will begin to
appreciate my defense of quartz. The cost of labor hasn’t really
changed in proportion over the past fifty years and that’s precisely
why I am defending quartz. Your new $2000 automatic will need
service later or perhaps sooner if you have my level of curiosity
and that 25% labor issue is now $500 not eight dollars.
You can see where I’m going with this point of view. In today’s
world, even though I have produced thousands of mechanical automatic
watches, I am beginning to equate more value to quartz. I see more
and more notable brands investing in the quality of watch cases and
bracelets to house the quartz movement. I don’t mean to say that
quartz movements are not quality. It is only the perception and the
uncertainly that the battery will go dead the day before the
wedding. Most of the early maladies of the quartz are now history –
the accuracy is far beyond any mechanical watch. The thermo
compensated Swiss made quartz carries the COSC rating that is within
one second per year.
Still there is magic in the mechanical… I have to admit that they
are my favorites, but perhaps my time and your time are changed. I
get a great sense of pride to disassemble a 2824, caring and
calibrating it to keep up with time, and that is my reward. Perhaps
the reader’s reward is that his quartz will take a licking and keep
on “keeping on” without costing a cursing fortune.
The Healer
Hello Max, my watch is acting erratic
It’s running very fast, this old watch
Max studied the watch for a moment
“Age plays tricks near the end, we rush
It’s the twine of life”, says he
The spool spins faster near the end
Trying to fit all into the last of things
“Let the watch with me, we’ll see”
Max sensed the problem
He wound the spring
Like a cat chasing its tail it relaxed
Fighting for every second since the last
Max’s eyes did tear for the old watch
It recorded decades of the past
If only the watch could tell more
But it couldn’t even tell its own time
Now near the last it pushed the pulse
Wanting to spill out the record of its life
Desperate to reflect on its grandeur
Half suppressing its grief and anger
Wishing it could all last a little longer
Max put the watch to his ear, then to his eye
Looking closer to see deep inside
With care and compassion he cleaned away
The debris of the past and the magnetic
Influence of some evil spirits
Max wound the watch again
The pulse stopped its quivering
It began ticking and recording time again.
The watch responded to care just as we do
You seem to love this old watch, yes Max.
“Max, thank you, thank you
If only you could do this for men”
Max thought a moment and remarked
“Only God Can”
D. Freemont McCready © 2013
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Watch what happens…
Reprinted from About Time Magazine Issue #3
By D. Freemont McCready
Question? How many watches constitute
a collection…? Let’s try six. I took notice that on my dresser there
are six watches that tend to hang-out there. Consider that I have a
four figure inventory of new and pre-owned watches; wouldn’t it be
more likely that I’d have a larger assortment on my dresser? My
personal watches include d.freemont – Santorini, d.freemont Airbatic,
a Davosa Trenos, an old Brietling Shark, and a 1950’s Girard
Perregaux. And, you couldn’t have guessed this one in a thousand
years, an Armitron (quartz chrono-alarm).
Let’s stir this pot a little more… what about that Armitron – why?
Sometime ago I hurriedly left the studio and mistakenly picked up
the Armitron, thinking it was a d.freemont Acugraph, I put it on and
had to live with it the entire day. You can imagine that d.freemont,
who is devoted to mechanical watches, had to minimize this error and
carefully hide the watch from prying eyes throughout the conference,
a watch seminar. That Armitron lay on the dresser for about a month
before I wore it again – that day was to have some rough events, so
in an effort not to abuse my pet watches – the Armitron went to work
with me; it’s like an old pair of boots, ready for anything but
dancing.
So where am I going here… it’s human nature to protect your attitude
and status. Snob appeal abounds the watch industry – I have a
relative who has a “President” that hasn’t kept reliable time in
years… he wears it to enforce his smack appeal. Then there is the
old watch like my Breitling Shark, a watch I traded in on a new
Davosa; it was in pitiful shape. I liked its honest work,
semi-battered appearance; then taking one step at a time, I
installed a new movement (ETA 2824) like the original, repaired the
case tube and fitted a genuine lizard strap – WOW! A tasty watch to
be sure. You see the reasons are reasonless, just like picking a
mate; it seems like the Almighty is in charge of our peculiarities.
Let’s not dismiss any watch that works hard for you keeping up with
time…watches have a deep amulet value, almost like a St. Christopher
for the wrist. Therein is the meat of my plea – you will always need
a small collection, perhaps to ward off a variety of lingering
curses. I highly recommend that you confine your desires to watches
you can afford to own and not willing to sacrifice when money gets
tight. That philosophy points to pre-owned watches and modestly
priced new watches… that price range is the merit of this magazine -
$2400 and under. Consider the retail price of a new watch… $1500 for
example. That watch may be discounted to about $1200 then within two
to three years it will have a resale value of about 40% of the
original selling price or about $500. Here is where your collecting
will get its start. A good watch value for $500 that originally
carried a SRP of $1500, that’s collectible.
My first suggestion however, is to choose a unique watch that you
find fanciful, a watch that tells more than time, and perhaps
something about you – a companion of quality and enduring classic
style. This early leap into a good watch should embrace a classic
rendition… stay away from fad watches. Remember that the Swiss
standard ETA movements are difficult to eclipse at any price. They
are reliable, easy to service and parts are always available from
reputable watch repair persons. Once you have your first choice on
your wrist you can begin to explore the pre-owned arena– that’s when
the fun begins.
Did I say, “Fun”? Well, take a look at your automotive purchases –
how long did those once nifty vehicles remain in your stable? Like
anything else you must look at long term residual value. If you
obligate yourself to a $7000 watch, applying my previously
depreciation example… in just a few years you would be hard pressed
to get $2500 for it. Now, apply that $5000 potential loss to
purchasing pre-owned depreciated watches… Like magic you are a
collector. And what if you make a mistake?
I Believe in Mistakes
Miracles are generated by mistakes
The stuff of errors is also the meat of destiny
Would you sit by – idly while things go right?
Not wondering what could have been out of sight.
We are inheritors of the way of the sails
Isn’t it just that we go with the wind?
Or isn’t it more daring to tack in its face
I wish I would have taken the storm in my face
Too little planning is the stuff of great adventure
Organize your life and miss all its surprises
Marvel if you must that complex can be simple
Error in favor of adventure
But simple is the result of complexity
Condensed grains of sand and bits of wood
Calculations reduced to buttons
Understanding reduced to rubble
Are we now so modern?
Simplicity of addition subtracted
David Freemont McCready 2008
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Watch what happens…
Reprinted from About Time Magazine Issue #4
By D. Freemont McCready
Could this be the time for a paradigm
shift in the watch industry? The computer people are devising
wristwatch-like computers, while the bridge between Kmart and
Bloomingdales is being dismantled. It’s the economy stupid… there is
no shortage of buyers for the $10K watch, just as there is an
abundance of buyers for a $5 watch. It’s under that dismantled
bridge, I mentioned, that finds $3K buyers swimming against the
current of our economic times as their discretionary funds are being
swept away.
It’s no cliché to say “everything is economic”, I asked my grandson
to write a list of items for the grocery store while I looked over
the pantry. I asked him later for the list and he said he couldn’t
print a list from his IPod. Well then get a pen and write a list by
hand. “Grandpa, we don’t use pens in school any more”. “There is
hardly a man alive” in the Age of Aquarius, who doesn’t like
watches, pens, rings and cuff links. There are fewer and fewer of
them being bred that share this passion. Those of us between forty
and their call to eternity can see the shift to a wrist “COMPUWATCH”
Just like the shift from Pens to IPods – My survey indicates that
it’s right before our eyes; notice how our children are possessed by
their smart phones. This is the new bridge – the do everything, “compuwatch”.
Will it fill in under the bridge? Where does this leave the watch
industry, the watch enthusiast, the passion for innovations of
mechanical marvels?
I hesitate to answer these questions, but if the industry continues
to make the under $2400 watch with “something extra”, a sustaining
generation of enthusiasts will not be lost. I have encountered some
radical interpretations of current events that flatly believe the
wrist watch we now cherish will go the way of the “POCKET WATCH and
Pens” destined to be cast away into the drawer of time with other
inherited junk at the passing of generations. Notice there is a
common denominator under the bridge – a watch must do more than tell
time.
Over the decades the watch has been able to retain that elusive
“extra something” beyond time keeping. That “extra something” is
manifested in exquisite complex craftsmanship, adornment, special
purpose, exotic metals and gems. Most of these characteristics
resulted in prices affordable to only the wealthy. It was the modern
era that offered great precision at $5 each – that “something extra”
was a low price… a market that will persist. It’s going to take
innovation and imagination at the $2400 level to continuously bridge
the gap – that “something extra” supporting the bridge could be
related to commemorative, historic world event, tribute to famous
persons, and human values, woven into the reason for the watch’s
existence… this will keep the watch within reach of the human
psychic over the next few decades. I will leave the speculation and
point out that I see an important shifting within the pages of
AboutTime, that watch producers are beginning to understand reasons
for those “something extras” in their designs. If not, we will
forget how to write and tell time and if you consider texting –
perhaps we will no longer talk.
David Freemont McCready © 2013
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Watch what happens…
Reprinted from About Time Magazine Issue #5
By D. Freemont McCready
Did you see the last issue of “About
Time” Dec /Jan 2014?
The front cover features the new Boccia line, the back cover is full
of G-shock, but within the binding of that issue the reader is
dazzled by page after page of enlightened innovations of function
and style. Extraordinary leaps and giant steps burst from the pages
with color and contemporary class. That “something extra” I have
been championing over the years has hit a home run within the minds
of the younger energetic designers. These dedicated producers
stretched their imagination, embracing customization,
personalization and attached identifiers – giving the watch
aficionados a good reason to lust after watches that go beyond just
telling time. This is the stuff that our industry and watch buyers
need today with the doldrums of the global economic malaise. There
is that old saying, “need is the mother of invention” – let me
reinforce that concept with another old story that goes back in time
when a different need pushed a new industry into existence.
There was no enthusiastic marketing when the pocket watch was first
sold. It was the toy of the wealthy. About the time of the great
Civil War, a shipment of watches was abandoned at a mid-west
railroad station. The station’s telegraph operator failed to link
the consignee and the manufacturer, leaving railroad officials to
resolve the situation – so they put them up for grabs… the clever
telegraph operator bought them for the accumulated demurrage. Now,
think about this… the telegraph operator was connected to every
telegraph operator at every railroad station in America. This crafty
operator told all his associates along the line about buying these
fine watches. His price was low and the shipment was quickly
disposed of, with requests for more watches. It was Richard Sears,
none other than the Sears of Roebuck, then a lowly telegraph
operator. He ordered more watches and the rest is history. That
common ingredient was and is “communication” the telegraph was
comparable to the internet today. In the early days as the word
spread over the telegraph lines, people and travelers came to the
train station to buy watches.
Richard became so busy that he had to hire a professional watch
maker to help him with the orders. The telegraph operators had their
overhead covered by the telegraph business and their location was
right in the face of business activity.
That’s where history earns its respect… there is really nothing new,
just a twist in the imagination to make it fit today’s needs. The
internet is parallel to the telegraph of yesterday, and that’s my
point – The watch producers presented in About Time magazine are the
innovators of today; they are the champions of commerce that will
lead the watch industry into the future. These are the honest
people; there is nothing wrong with selling any quality watch
regardless of where it was produced but it’s less than honest to
pretend and mislead… remember, it’s that something extra based upon
truth, it’s catching that brass ring of risk, and it’s that boldness
of thought and imagination that has captured the young watch makers
of today. Bravo to you all!
David Freemont McCready © 2014
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Watch what happens…
Reprinted from About Time Magazine Issue #6
By D. Freemont McCready
Ok, have you noticed About Time has
half the magazine up side down? Well, did you know that is to
separate the “Functional Watches” from the “Fashionable Watches”?
Take a look and see for yourself… that’s not my topic for this issue
so please read on:
What’s the latest paradigm in the watch business? That word,
paradigm, reappeared in the language at the beginning of the last
decade. It seems that everything is shifting from old to new, small
to large, classic to modern and back again; however, I even
uncovered a paradigm – at the post office just yesterday; my counter
man was wearing his new Samsung wrist computer – what a dazzler: a
watch, a blood pressure and rhythm monitor, direct internet and
telephone, and GPS in a 38 x 48mm package – I asked “How much?”
“$300”, he remarked with an apologetic manner for being so
extravagant. Is it 1970’s all over again or are we entering a period
of paradigm paralysis? Remember when the quartz and tuning forks
struck a death blow at the mechanical watches? We are in the vortex
of a turning point paradigm tornado. I notice that Basel this year
has pointed the spot light on the classic watch – time and date with
tasteful styling and conservative sizing – The last issue of About
Time shows advertisers with more quartz and Oriental movements than
Swiss mechanicals, with the emphasis on style and quality case work
– I just love those bronze diver cases.
It seems that quartz is no longer a six letter word or that Oriental
movements considered lower then cast-off tuna can, I personally
endorse quartz in spite of my snobbish watch making history. But,
now I find myself wearing a quartz powered diver design with the
unheard of size of a mere 44 mm. Not only that, I wouldn’t
discourage anyone from an Oriental mechanical… Where did I go wrong?
How was I lead astray? Well, as I said, I uncovered a few new
paradigms staring me right in the face in the pages of About Time –
last issue. I feel vindicated from my paradigm paralysis - the
automatic syndrome that “springs” make the world go around. I
usually start at the back of a new issue to catch-up with what I’ve
been missing, and there they are - paradigm watches from a world
wide market. Even the cover stories about Vostok and Oakley are
standing tall with the likes of Sistem51. This all translates into
confusing the collector’s mindset. Now with the price of a good
traditional Swiss automatic you can spread your paradigm over a
larger collection and make a daily choice to fit your mood and still
not be apologetic about your wrist wear. There is even a watch that
tells the day, date and time for any place on the planet and reminds
you where you stand at that very moment.
A few more pages and I see that classic is making its way back with
the Grand Seiko leading the pack. I must be showing my age because I
find myself shedding the 44 magnum quartz in favor of a simple 40mm
time and date manual wind… especially if I am going out in public
where I need to keep my nose elevated. Money is too hard to come by
of these days to be squandered on expensive Swiss made toys intended
to keep your nose above water. The light at the end of this tunnel
is reflected off of the sapphire crystals of quartz watches. Now,
factor in the younger age of today’s watch buyer… inexpensive
maintenance, low initial cost with great styling – that’s the “watch
word” of today’s watch business and no one will have to apologize
for spending too much money.
I agree heartily with the sentiments I read in the letters to the
editor… “I love your brilliant new magazine for the watch collector
on a rational budget”
David Freemont McCready © 2014
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