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When polar ice melts, it harms habitats as far away When polar ice melts, itThis harms habitats as far away as Asiapolar and Africa. conservationist When ice melts, ityear, harms habitats as far(and away as Asia and Africa. This year, conservationist (andlead Christopher Ward Challenger) Tom Hicks will as Asia and Africa. This year, conservationist (and Christopher Ward to Challenger) Hicks will lead melt an expedition NorthTom PoleTom to measure Christopher Wardthe Challenger) Hicks willice lead an expedition to David the North Pole to measure ice melt rates for the Wildlife Foundation an expedition to theShepherd North Pole to measure ice melt rates for the On David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF). wrist will be the C60 Anthropocene rates for thehis David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF). On his wrist will be the C60 Anthropocene GMT. Able to monitor two time zones at once, (DSWF). On his wrist will be the C60 Anthropocene GMT. Able to monitor twoand time zones at once,dial that waterproof to 600m with a sapphire GMT. Able to monitor two time zones at once, waterproof to 600m and with a sapphire dial that recalls polar it can withstand whatever the waterproof toice, 600m and with a sapphire dial that recalls polar ice, it can withstand whatever the Arctic throws at it. Andwithstand with five percent from recalls polar ice, it can whatever thethe Arctic throws at watch it. Andgoing with five percent the sale ofthrows each to DSWF, it’sfrom playing Arctic at it. And with five percent from its the saleown of each watch going to DSWF, it’s playing its part in the fight against climate sale of each watch going to DSWF, it’schange. playing its own part in the fight against climate change. own part in the fight against climate change.
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Loupe. The magazine of Christopher Ward.
There’s a definite mid-20th century feel to this issue of Loupe. How could there not be with a set of watches as defiantly (and beautifully) retro as the Aquitaine Collection? And nobody had a more significant influence on the series than Jacques Cousteau – the deep-sea diver whose films and TV programmes on the wonder of the sea made him a worldwide celebrity. Read our profile on page 12. While Cousteau was exploring the ocean, back on dry land, a group of US campaigners were fighting for racial equality – while wearing some particularly smart menswear. A new book Black Ivy showcases these revolutionaries – see the photos on page 30. If the defining look of the 1960s was the Ivy League, then its signature sound came from Rickenbacker electric guitars. If you want to understand these magnificent instruments, then our interview with the author of a book on Rickenbacker will open your eyes – and your ears. Enjoy the issue!
Sacré bleu! … Et vert et blanc This 25th edition of Loupe (incredible to think it’s six years since the first) has a definite whiff of garlic about it. That’s largely because our featured watches belong to the new Aquitaine Collection, a range of chic retro-dive watches named after the beautiful corner of south-west France. The sophisticated design of the Aquitaines capture a touch of gallic savoir-faire that’s set pulses racing among those fortunate enough to have already experienced them in the metal. In fact, in the 18 years since we launched Christopher Ward, we’ve never had such an overwhelmingly positive response to a new collection. There’s something about the rounded sapphire bezel, the richness of the colours and the elegance of the design that’s utterly captivating. And if we had a franc (euros are so disappointingly un-French) for every time someone’s said, “This is my favourite CW watch,” we’d be living in a suite at the George V (and having caviar and champagne for breakfast). Loupe 25 demanded something a bit special. The Aquitaine Collection has delivered. Mike & Peter
Editor: Anthony Teasdale Art Director: Jamie Gallagher Designer: Sam Burn Photography: Peter Canning
1 Park St, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 1SL christopherward.com
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Contents Features 12 – 15
Monsieur Cousteau
The smarter they come
30 – 35
The incredible story of Jacques Cousteau
16 – 29
How mid-century black radicals gave the Ivy look a fresh twist
Eau so special How we created the new Aquitaine Collection
The ’backer beyond
36 – 39
The electrifying history of Rickenbacker guitars
Regulars 6 – 11
The Brief
O-pinion
The smarter they come
30 — 35
The ’backer beyond
36 — 39
Ken Kessler on the history of the dive watch
Timespan
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Mercedes Gleitze: the first woman to swim the English Channel
Cultural highlights for the season ahead
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16 — 29
Insight
46 – 49
Latest news from Christopher Ward and the wider world of watches
40 – 43
Eau so special
Great watchwearers Natalie Portman
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Latest news from Christopher Ward and the wider world of watches
Radical departure as company loses ‘Christopher Ward’ from all its dials
“Swish-only” dials from now on!
Christopher Ward has announced that it’s removing the name of the company from its dials. From the new Aquitaine Collection onwards, its watches will carry the ‘twin-flags’ logo only. CEO and co-founder Mike France, said: “Our twin-flags logo is one of the most distinctive and meaningful marks in the watch industry. So it’s really exciting it’ll have primacy of place on our watch dials in future.”
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Letter from Biel
The latest news from our Swiss HQ
Early test printing of the 'Swish' flag
When the logo – a combination of the Swiss and English flags, hence ‘Swish’ – was created in 2015, the plan was to move the brand name of Christopher Ward to the case-back and rotor arm. “Not only did this stylised version of the Swiss and English flags demonstrate the equally important dual heritage of the company,” says Mike France. “But it also seemed to reinforce the contemporary nature of the business and our digital roots. And then the lawyers got involved.” The legal team told Christopher Ward that because some high-profile – and litigious – Swiss watch brands could object to the use of the country’s flag, it might be better to use the logo in a secondary role. “They advised us we’d win any legal challenge,” says Mike. “But did we really want to be wrapped up in expensive legal red tape for years? So we decided to only
use the twin-flags logo as a support device to the Christopher Ward name for five years or so, by which time its usage would be irrefutably defined.” From now on all new Christopher Ward watches will be ‘Swish’ only – and over the next 18 months, existing models will carry the emblem (which in 2017 was awarded a D&AD ‘yellow pencil’ award – the highest prize in graphic design). Marketing director Francesca Robinson, says: “The logo is a significant step in the evolution of the brand. It’s instantly recognisable.” “Emotions run high when CW’s logo is discussed,” says Mike. “And while some fans have never been happy with the leftaligned ‘Christopher Ward’, most people love the purity of the Swish emblem.”
After the winter break it’s been allsystems-go here at the Christopher Ward atelier in Switzerland. And with the launch of the C65 Aquitaine it’s been especially busy. Whenever you make a watch there’s always a twist at the end that can hold you back, but everything’s been sorted and production is running smoothly. I’m so happy with the C65 Aquitaine: it’s completely different to anything else out there – I don’t see any watch that looks like it. Away from the Aquitaine there’s been a lot of discussion around an incredibly advanced watch that will be released in the winter. We’re optimistic about it, but there’s a lot to get through at the moment and it’s very complex – we’ve been looking at some old watch books for inspiration about how to solve some of the most complexing issues. The discussions have been between me and Frank Steltzer, the technical director in Biel, and Adrian Buchmann and Will Brackfield, the designers in Maidenhead. To me, this process is the epitome of the Swiss-English model – designers and engineers working together to create a horological masterpiece. And when you see it later in the year you’ll see – and hear! – why it’s been such a big undertaking. Jörg Bader Jr, product manager, Biel
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Surely this is a Windup? Christopher Ward has confirmed it will be exhibiting (and selling) at the Chicago and New York events of the Worn & Wound’s Windup Watch Fair.
The Chicago fair takes place between July 15th-17th at Venue West in the West Loop neighbourhood. Including Christopher Ward, over 30 brands will be present – and fans will have the chance to talk to CW staff as well as try on and purchase watches. Windup New York City takes place at the Altman building in Chelsea from October 21st-23rd. There’ll be even more brands on show and, like the Chicago event, Christopher Ward will have a booth for enthusiasts to visit.
Entrance to both fairs is free and walk-ins are encouraged. You can find out more by visiting windupwatchfair.com.
The list of CW collaborations continues to grow with news of a partnership with TradingView, one of the biggest online stockand crypto-currency trading sites TradingView’s James Maddison, an alumnus of our Challenger Programme, contacted CW CEO, Mike France, in summer last year with a proposal for a watch that would be available to the company’s three million subscribers. Like Christopher Ward, it has a refreshing approach to transparency and dedication to its customers. The outcome of their conversation is an innovative watch of just 500 pieces, available only to TradingView’s subscriber base.
“An idea floated by James over a coffee at a sunny pavement restaurant in London’s Marylebone will become reality this autumn” says Mike France. “In collaboration with James, we’ve managed to create another world-first design… For James, it’s a chance to turn TradingView’s philosophy into a tangible, beautiful object. “Time is measured in different increments by different people with different demands,” says James. “And when it comes to the world of finance
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and cryptocurrency, there are a few novel use cases we'd never seen incorporated in a mechanical watch before – but we desperately wanted to see. So it was awesome when Christopher Ward got as excited as we were and agreed to embark on this secret watch project with us.” The CW x TradingView watch will be released in autumn this year.
“Every single Aquitaine watch sold will make our oceans just that little bit healthier”
More CW support for Blue Marine Foundation In a move that cements Christopher Ward’s reputation as a supporter of environmental charities, the company has announced it will donate five percent of the sales value of every C65 Aquitaine watch sold to Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) – a charity that fights overfishing. CW and BLUE have been partners since 2019 with a number of initiatives raising more than £250,000 so far. “The work that BLUE does to preserve and protect our oceans is something we recognise as critical to the wellbeing of our fragile planet,” says Peter Ellis, co-founder of Christopher Ward. “It’s also a cause that many of our customers feel strongly
about. The new Aquitaine Collection gives another opportunity for us to support BLUE’s work – every single Aquitaine watch sold will make our oceans just that little bit healthier.” Charles Clover, co-founder and executive director of Blue Marine Foundation says: “At the heart of everything BLUE achieves for the ocean is the generous support of our donors like Christopher Ward – and those who buy its watches. We’re humbled to accept this donation from the extraordinary Aquitaine Collection, inspired by Jacques Cousteau, a pioneer who knew only too well how the marine environment and its wildlife needs protection.”
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“Bobby and Aaron will have the fight of their lives on their hands this year”
Team BRIT prepares for its biggest season yet
Christopher Ward is the official timing partner of Team BRIT, a racing team that uses motorsport to inspire and motivate people facing physical and mental challenges. Competing in three different championships, 2022 is going to be the squad’s busiest year so far. Here, Mike Scudamore from Team BRIT takes us through the season ahead. Hi Mike. Who are your drivers this season? Bobby Trundley and Aaron Morgan are our British GT drivers. Each race will see them share time in the driver seat, switching at strategic pit stops – in line with championship rules. We then have Andy Tucker and Luke Pound racing our Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 in the British Endurance Championship and Chris Overend, James Whitley, Paul Fullick, Tyrone Mathurin and Anji Silva-Vadgama in our BMWs in the Britcar Trophy.
How do you think you’ll get on? Bobby and Aaron will have the fight of their lives on their hands this year but performance to date shows they have every chance at securing podiums. Andy and Luke both progressed last season and are stepping up to the British Endurance Championship this year. Tell us about the McLaren 570S GT4 that Aaron and Bobby are driving It’s brand new and has been fitted with the latest version of our world-leading hand controls to enable Aaron to race against able-bodied competitors. The throttle and brake are controlled by analogue paddles on the rear of the steering wheel, with gears controlled by thumb switches on the face of the wheel. How is it performing? We took it for winter testing at the Autodromo Internacional Algarve in Portimāo, Portugal – and we weren’t disappointed! The hand controls enable Aaron to connect with the car’s performance, meaning his lap times are the most impressive seen to date. Bobby, meanwhile, has got to know every part of the car and was posting lap times in Portimao comparable with the best GT4 drivers that have ever driven there.
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Longer term: are you still looking at entering Le Mans in a couple of years? Absolutely – competing in the British GT Championship puts us one step away from being able to apply. We still need to work through our route to Le Mans, which requires entry in other world and European championships but it’s moving closer and closer. We have no doubt we’ll get there. Key races to look out for: May 8th – Silverstone; June 26th –Snetterton; September 11th – Brands Hatch. For a full race timetable, go to teambrit.co.uk
Drawing board
Christopher Ward was one of the first brands to go ‘gender neutral’ in its watches a few years back. Now, to emphasise this, our design team are putting the finishing touches on a new 36mm watch – a C63 Sealander Automatic to be launched later this year. The watch will come in six colours (four of which are limited editions), and will look as good on a woman’s wrist as it will on a man’s. It’ll also be one of our first timepieces to carry the ‘twin flags’ logo without the ‘Christopher Ward’ name. It’s hard to believe that up until the 1970s, sub-35mm watches were the norm. The 38mm Rolex Submariner Sean Connery wore in Dr No was considered large, while even the Rolex Explorer (36mm) would have been on the generous side when released in 1953. The new watch is as much about reconnecting with the past as it is about recognising today’s gender fluidity.
As the Aquitaine Collection shows, colour also plays an increasingly important role in watch design. That’s why Christopher Ward has been working with the top brand in pigment production to put colour at the heart of the highly curated new range. A look through the classified designs offers an abundance of primary colours and pastel shades: though as the collection evolves over time, the colours may change with it. Head designer Adrian Buchmann says: “I’m not sure what I’m saying is right, but I feel that colours follow the general economic mood. After over two years of Covid-19, there’s a sense of wanting to get out there and celebrate.” Whether watches are for men or women – that debate is settled. “We’re over the ‘his/her’ debate in 2022,” says Adrian. “A man can like pink or mother-of-pearl, and a woman can wear a big watch. You don’t have to fit the mould – you can be proud of your tastes!”
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One of the key inspirations for the new Aquitaine watch series, Jacques Cousteau invented the modern wildlife documentary and brought the wonder of the oceans into people’s houses for the first time
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For Jacques Cousteau, water was freedom. When you swam in water you escaped – no, defeated! – the gravity that held you down on dry land. Born in June 1910, Jacques-Yves Cousteau longed to venture away from his home in the Gironde, south-west France. The urge to explore defined him. But it wasn’t his only passion. From the age of 13, Cousteau carried a cine camera with him, recording family celebrations, quiet moments of work and play in and around the house. In 1930, he joined the École Navale, France’s naval academy where he trained to be a pilot. But a car accident that broke both his arms put paid to his aeronautical ambitions, so instead he directed his inquisitiveness to the sea, and in particular, underwater diving (which helped with his recovery from the accident).
In 1936, his friend Philippe Tailliez lent him a pair of Fernez goggles, which kickstarted his interest in using engineering to increase the amount of time divers could spend underwater. This eventually led him to working with engineer Émile Gagnan in the winter of 1942-43 on the invention of the ‘aqua-lung’, a self-contained breathing apparatus that allowed divers to swim deeper and for longer than ever before. “To swim fishlike, horizontally, was the logical method in a medium 800 times denser than air,” said Cousteau. “To halt and hang attached to nothing, no lines or air pipe to the surface, was a dream. At night I had often had visions of flying by extending my arms as wings. Now I flew without wings.”
For Cousteau, however, being able to explore wasn’t enough: he had to share his experiences, too – via his favourite medium, film. As he and his friends expanded their operations to include Mediterranean shipwrecks and interactions with marine wildlife, he released two documentaries in 1943: Par dix-huit mètres de fond (18 Metres Deep) and Épaves (Shipwreck). Over time he acquired a boat, an ex-Royal Navy minesweeper, the Calypso; a group of loyal shipmates, and most important of all, a wife, Simone, who loved the ocean more than he did. She, and the children and grandchildren that followed, became his constant companions at sea.
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So when in 1968 The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau was commissioned by ABC television he was perfectly placed to bring the wonder of the ocean to a worldwide audience. Each episode had a scientific or research hook, and took the form of a perfectly paced drama. There would be danger, awe, intrigue, joy, and then, when the crew returned to the Calypso for some well-deserved wine and good food – he was French after all – they’d chat about the day’s adventures. What a gang! Cousteau’s goal was to get his audience to realise how intrinsic the oceans were to their existence. And while his fame had partly come from his oil exploration work, by the 1980s he was a passionate campaigner for marine preservation. ”If we are not willing to change,” he said. “We will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect.” After 36 episodes, The Undersea World ended but Cousteau made films and campaigned on environmental issues until his death in 1997. His legacy was huge: 120 TV documentaries, more than 50 books, and a foundation with 300,000 members. Truly, a force of (and for) nature.
But it was another film which finally brought the world to Cousteau’s door. He’d been working for BP as they searched the waters around Abu Dhabi for oil, and took an underwater film crew with him to record his experiences. The footage eventually became 1956’s The Silent World. The first documentary to win the Palme D’Or prize at Cannes, it gave viewers the chance to see aquatic life for the first time. Sharks! Whales! Crabs! What they did, how they ate, where they lived – it was all there. Jacques just had to point his camera at it. By now, Cousteau had acquired a sizable crew, some of whom would become nearly as famous as him. With their suntanned skin, sea-chiselled faces and Tony Curtis hair, they looked like they’d walked straight off a film set. Best of all was Jacques: handsome in that angular, Gitanes-puffing French way, his chambray shirt accentuating the tan – and atop his head, the iconic red beanie hat, his unmistakable trademark.
“If we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe”
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The C65 Trident is reborn as the Gallic-inspired C65 Aquitaine: a radically redesigned and upgraded retro dive watch – with a curved sapphire bezel that’s as elegant as it is tough
Marvel’s Inhumans are a hidden offshoot of humanity, genetically modified to become living weapons; they start out looking like you and me, but at puberty enter a chamber awash with mutagenic Terrigen Mists to be reborn. At last, their true natures are revealed. The C65 Trident Diver has just undergone a similar metamorphosis, emerging more beautiful and more capable than before. It’s got a new name, too: Aquitaine. No longer a mere offshoot of the Trident range, the new C65 commands its own, distinct identity. Aquitaine is an historic French coastal region that’s home to Bordeaux and its wines; noted 12th century beauty Eleanor of Aquitaine; and – most pertinently – undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau, ’60s icon of both ocean conservation and the development of scuba gear. Evocative, intriguing and awash with history, Aquitaine provides the perfect inspiration for Christopher Ward’s new, improved take on the retro-diver theme.
CW hit the jackpot four years ago with the C65, a complementary line to the full-fat C60 professional dive watches, which offered a sleeker, smaller case, and styling cues reminiscent of the great sports watches of the 1960s. And now the new version – don’t call it a MkII, for reasons that will become clear – hits the water running with a confident three-model collection: a bronze version, with a Marine Blue face; a GMT in White Sand; and an automatic with either of those dials, or one in striking Seagrass Green. The colours are new, and so are the watches that carry them – seriously, there’s hardly an aspect of the new C65s that hasn’t been modified, often radically. Water resistance is up, from 150m to 200m. There’s a new open case back, revealing automatic Sellita movements with a higher degree of finishing than before. And the date has moved from 3 o’clock to the less obtrusive 6; this will become the default arrangement for all new CWs.
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Perhaps most immediately noticeable, however, the bezel now has a curved and highly polished sapphire insert. “It makes Aquitaine a more refined, almost more feminine, dive watch than we’ve offered before,” says Mike France, CW’s CEO and co-founder. “But feminine like a lioness or an E-Type Jaguar; there’s real muscle to it, too. The beauty of this bezel is that it catches the light wonderfully, and allows us to make more effective use of colour than with steel or ceramic. Combine that with a new glass box crystal, and the entire look of the watch has changed.” And then there’s the logo – or, rather, the lack of it. At the top of the dial, a printed version of the twin-flags device sits alone, the word mark ‘Christopher Ward’ relocated to the rotor at the back of the watch. It removes some clutter, creates an easy symmetry, and spearheads a new look for the brand. The next C60 Trident, and other future models, will share this approach. There are further changes too, which we’ll explore as we look at each variation in turn. Make no mistake, though: whichever you choose, this is a ripped yet urbane do-anything watch that demands to be admired. “The Aquitaine is such a step on from the first C65, we couldn’t have just called it the Trident Diver MkII,” Mike says. “For my money, it’s jumped four generations in one go.”
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Aquitaine’s core model teams rugged do-anything capability with seductive grace The original C65 was a key part of the retro-diver trend of the last decade, influenced by the easy-wearing skin-divers of the early ’60s. The Aquitaine’s roots run deeper, however, reaching right back to the early ’50s and the launch of the iconic Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, the first of the modern dive watches. The result is a piece that wears its inherently rugged nature lightly, combining go-anywhere confidence with an almost dressy elegance. “The Fifty Fathoms came out in 1953, a year before the Rolex Submariner, and was a revelation,” Mike says. “It was larger, tougher, and could survive to greater depths than anything around at the time – but was remarkably wearable, too. So when we started looking around for inspiration for our new C65, we naturally went straight to the source.” Jacques Cousteau had once been a combat diver for the French Navy, and it was only a few years after he left their
employ that the Nageurs de combat – a celebrated frogman unit, in his tradition – started searching for a watchmaker willing to work to their exacting specifications. After a number of false starts, they found it in Blancpain, and the result was a game-changer that set the template for every dive watch since, combining a tough case with remarkable water resistance, large luminous markings, and a unidirectional bezel. It sounds like a standard list of ingredients today, but was unheard of in the early ’50s – and even now, few watches have put the recipe together with quite such élan. At the heart of the Aquitaine range is the Automatic. As with all the new C65s, its 41mm light-catcher™ case has been tweaked in numerous ways, not least that the lugs are nearly a millimetre shorter than before. This might sound insignificant, but can be crucial to the way a watch sits on your wrist; Aquitaine, naturally, should fit most of us beautifully.
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"There’s a depth and richness to sapphire you don’t get with anything else" Then there’s the remarkable new bezel, highly reminiscent of the one used by the Fifty Fathoms, which started life with a curved bakelite affair but has rocked sapphire in recent decades. It brings an unexpected level of soft, curvaceous luxury to what’s still, at heart, a tool watch. And, although it might seem counter-intuitive, sapphire’s actually 50 percent harder than even ceramic, making this the toughest, most difficult-to-scratch bezel CW has ever offered. (If you want to get technical, the Mohs scale of mineral hardness rates synthetic sapphire at 9, with watch ceramic at 6 or 7.) The bezel is easier to grip too, and now uses the superior mechanism from the C60 Trident, while the bezel markings are printed in lume, which they weren’t before. “There’s a depth and richness to sapphire you don’t get with anything else,” says head of product design Adrian Buchmann.
“Which makes me wonder why we don’t see sapphire bezels more often. Perhaps it’s simply that they’re so expensive to make – which might explain why the Fifty Fathoms, around £15,000, remains their best known proponent.” As befits the mainstay of the range, the Aquitaine Automatic comes in the widest range of colours and straps. Dials are Marine Blue, Seagrass or White Sand, the first two with matching bezels and white markings, and the last with a contrasting bezel in Seagrass and creamy ‘Old Radium’ lume. Each also has the option of a dark blue tropical rubber strap, and vintage oak leather in dark or light brown. The Seagrass and the White Sand versions get an additional leather option, too: vintage oak leather in a dark green-grey.
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Aquitaine Automatic Diameter — 41mm Height — 12.45mm Lug to lug — 46.68mm Case — Stainless steel Crystal — Sapphire Dial colours — Seagrass Green, Marine Blue and White Sand Depth rating — 20 ATM / 200m Movement — Sellita SW200-1 colimaçoné finish Functions — Hour, minute, central seconds, date Power reserve — 38 hours
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Prices from £895 | $1,075 | €1,150 on tide £1,040 | $1,250 | €1,340 on bracelet
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The traveller’s favourite complication in charismatic new clothes
Like the most benevolent of supervillains, Jacques Cousteau stalked the world’s seas in the coolest of ships (an ex-Royal Navy minesweeper called Calypso), futuristic submersibles (Denise, a bright yellow Diving Saucer built to his own design), and classic flying boats (a Consolidated Catalina). He was also a true internationalist: partly brought up in the US, as likely to speak English as French,
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and a worldwide star following 10 years of his hit TV series, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. Doubtless he lost track of the time at home on occasion, a perennial issue for the inveterate traveller. Little wonder, then, that the GMT function has become one of the most popular and useful complications you can add to a sports watch.
Almost a year to the day before the launch of the Aquitaine, Christopher Ward became one of the first companies to use Sellita’s excellent new SW330-2 movement in the C63 Sealander, and it now sits at the core of the Aquitaine GMT, too. Although not a ‘true’ GMT – watches that allow you to independently adjust the local hour hand, an expensive and complicated arrangement – it remains highly impressive, with a mighty power reserve of up to 56 hours. For ease of use, the bezel is bidirectional here, though unidirectional on other pure diving models. The GMT has a slightly different look to the other Aquitaines, and not just in that the regular hands share dial space with an eye-catching GMT hand with its bold, blue arrowhead tip. “As with all Aquitaines, there are more polished surfaces, and fewer brushed ones, than on the old C65s,” says product designer Will Brackfield. “Overall, it’s just shinier. It feels more jewellery-like, with a more elegant, dressy feel.” This is helped by the tapered new bracelet, moving from 22mm at the lugs to just 16.5mm at the clasp; CW has offered tapered bracelets before, but normally the change in width is less radical than here, giving this watch a particularly refined feel – and aiding comfort, too.
The quick-change mechanism has also been modified, making tool-free strap swapping even easier than before. For some, though, it’s the move from pinned to screwed links that will be the most exciting aspect of the new bracelet. “This is the single thing we’ve been most asked for over the years,” Mike says. “Some simply prefer the look, others believe it to be technically superior, but whatever the reasons behind the clamour, it’s become a big deal. And now it’s here. What’s more, screwed links will become the standard for all our bracelets moving forward.” There are further fresh details too, including a new crown lock indicator called the ‘Dry Marshal’. Basically, Aquitaine’s crown reveals a band of bright red when it’s not fully screwed down – a simple but effective warning message. The original C65s lacked a screw-down crown, and although it was eventually added, the Dry Marshal adds further security. The Aquitaine GMT comes in soft, eggshell-like White Sand with a Marine Blue bezel, and is available on the new steel bracelet, a Marine Blue tropical rubber strap, or vintage oak leather straps in dark or light brown.
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Aquitaine GMT Diameter — 41mm Height — 12.45mm Lug to lug — 46.68mm Case — Stainless steel Crystal — Sapphire Dial colours — White Sand Depth rating — 20 ATM / 200m Movement — Sellita SW330-2 colimaçoné finish Functions — Hour, minute, central seconds, date Power reserve — up to 56 hours Prices from £1,120 | $1,350 | €1,450 on strap £1,265 | $1,525 | €1,640 on bracelet
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The organic appeal of bronze meets Christopher Ward’s most tactile watch yet Finally, the bronze version: a truly glorious looking watch, with the Marine Blue of the dial and bezel contrasting with this richest, most charismatic of case materials perfectly. Bronze is not just horology’s hottest metal, it’s one particularly well suited to dive watches – and, considering its historical associations with maritime adventure, retro dive watches in particular. Not that we need to convince you of how well the Aquitaine works in bronze: just look at it! Bronze isn’t an especially shiny metal, not least once it’s acquired its famously distinctive patina, but it works brilliantly with precise, shiny details – something the Aquitaine Bronze, as with the other models in the range, is awash with. “The look of the dial has changed considerably from the old C65s,” Will Brackfield says, “with round markers now combining with triangles. We liked the ‘sunray’ finish on the C65 Super Compressor dials so much, we’ve introduced it here, too: it really brings the dial to life. Although the Aquitaine has the same basic 41mm diameter as the old C65, the bezel is bigger and the dial opening noticeably smaller, which – together with the lugs shrinking – makes the watch feel smaller overall. From extreme angles, the box crystal distorts the shape of the hands too, giving real character and an authentic vintage feel. It could be considered a weakness, perhaps, but is actually something to celebrate – a ‘flaw’ that makes the watch better.”
Speaking of the hands, the simple batons of the old C65 have been replaced by a softer version of the triangular hour hand/ baton minute hand aesthetic of the current C60; there’s a super-sized blob of lume on the seconds hand, too. “It’s now the superior Grade X1 lume, as on the C60, and glows blue, whatever its colour in daylight,” says Will. A small thing, perhaps, but in the past CW watches have had either blue or green lume, and from now on it will always be blue, unifying the look and helping tighten up Christopher Ward’s overall design DNA.” The raft of small but important improvements even extends to the straps, which are of better quality leather than before – almost suede-like in its softness – and introduce a new, patented system to keep the second loop secure. A potential weak spot, this second keeper has its own little keeper holding it in place, preventing messiness, as well as wear and tear. Aquitaine Bronze comes on a range of strap options: blue canvas webbing, blue rubber, and leather in a dark brown vintage oak. It’s also – an important point – the only chronometer in the launch line-up, using the COSC version of Sellita’s SW200-1.
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Aquitaine Bronze Diameter — 41mm Height — 12.45mm Lug to lug — 46.68mm Case — Bronze Crystal — Sapphire Dial colours — Marine Blue Depth rating — 20 ATM / 200m Movement — Sellita SW200-1 COSC colimaçoné finish Functions — Hour, minute, central seconds, date Power reserve — 38 hours Price £1,095 | $1,325 | €1,425 on tide
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Suits you: jazz musicians Benny Golson (left) and Thelonious Monk (right), with Sonny Rollins
Subversion takes many forms. From 1930s Chicago gangsters wearing double-breasted suits to south-London herberts adopting ‘Edwardian’ drape coats (hence ‘teddy boys’), nothing annoys the elite more than the lower orders looking better in their clothes than they do. But one way the oppressed have always made their mark is by copying the wardrobe of society’s elite – and then adding their own spin. And few did this better than the generation of campaigning black musicians, writers, actors and politicians that emerged in mid-20th century America. While many – though not all – of these men had been brought up in poverty, they
adopted the pared-down, Ivy-League style favoured by the wealthy east coast elite. Now, these pioneers are finally getting their dues in a beautifully illustrated new book, Black Ivy, authored by British writer and blogger Jason Jules, alongside art director Graham Marsh. “It’s a story about a generation of people challenging the status quo, demanding racial equality and civil rights,” says Jules. “It’s the story of one of the most volatile and incendiary periods in American history, but it’s also a story about dignity and the fight for self-determination. For the first time, we explore the major role this style of clothing played during this period
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of upheaval and social change, and what these clothes said about the men who wore them.” The Ivy or preppy look had developed from the Savile Row/country-gentleman style imported from Britain, and by the 1920s, had been adopted by students at Yale, Harvard and Princeton. Fast forward to the early 1960s, and the classic Ivy look is in place: Brooks Brothers button-down shirt, Bass Weejun loafers; unstructured, soft-shouldered jacket; slim knitted-silk tie, and – for leisure and pleasure – polo shirts, chinos and pumps.
Gang members in preppy and workwear, Watts, 1967
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Clockwise from top left: Button-down style; Miles Davis in terry-cloth, pop-over shirt; jazz critic Leroi Jones (later Amiri Baraka); modern artist Noah Purifoy
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As the civil rights movement grew and an increasingly confident AfricanAmerican population fought for equality, the likes of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, James Baldwin, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Sidney Poitier entered the public arena. And they looked sharp. From Davis’s green button-down shirt on the cover of Milestones to Sydney Poitier’s immaculate suit in From Sir With Love, this was Ivy turned up to 11. Today, a flick through Black Ivy shows a generation fighting injustice and demanding to be heard – while doing so in some of the most beautiful men’s clothes ever made. “The old adage, it’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it, is never truer than in the case of ‘Black Ivy’ style,” says Jason Jules. “The classic Ivy wardrobe was comprehensively raided and then remixed and re-envisioned, away from its elitist confines, away from its mass-market popularity, and into something heavily coded and intentionally revolutionary.”
Photo credits: ©Art Kane; Charles 'Teenie' Harris/Carnegie Museum of Art/Getty Images; Don Hunstein / Columbia Records; 35
Bill Ray/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock; ©Burt Glinn/Magnum Photos
The ’backer A new book celebrates Rickenbacker guitars and their pivotal influence on rock music
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beyond Rock music has always been partly defined by its instruments. From Jimi Hendrix’s Fender Stratocaster to Kraftwerk’s Mini Moog synthesiser, these instruments have become as iconic as the musicians who played them. And few manufacturers have been as influential as Rickenbacker. Founded in 1931, its electric guitars defined the jangly sound of the mid-1960s, angular postpunk of a decade later and the psychedelic indie that blossomed during the 1980s. From The Beatles to The Byrds, The Jam to The Stone Roses, the sound of the Rickenbacker is the sound of melody unleashed.
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One fan is guitarist and author Martin Kelly. As part of ’80s indie group East Village, ‘Ricks' were an integral part of the band’s sound. Now he’s written Rickenbacker Guitars: Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Fireglow, a comprehensive (and loving) tribute to one of the most influential musical instruments of the 20th century. Here, he talks about his passion for Rickenbacker and why 90 years after its founding, the company’s products are as relevant as ever.
Hi Martin. Why did you want to write about Rickenbacker? I’d written a book about Fender, which sold incredibly well, so as a Rickenbacker fan, it seemed like the natural thing to do. I produced both books with my brother Paul, who’s a photographer and designer, and does all the layout. Our books are about presenting guitars as works of art. Why was Fender important? converted the vibration of the strings into Leo Fender revolutionised the electric a specific electric current. This was in 1931. guitar and created the tools on which the He got together with Adolf Rickenbacher 360company Round Toplater swapped the ‘h’ to a rock’n’roll revolution was staged. He made 202(the the Fender Stratocaster before Elvis Presley ‘k’). They started making electric guitars had even strolled into a recording studio. together – and the first was the Hawaiian Without him there’s no rock ’n’ roll. That’s or ‘lap-steel’. how I got into Rickenbacker. As rock came in, what happened? How did the company start? A guy called Francis C. (‘FC’) Hall met Rickenbacker actually invented the Leo Fender. Hall had a company called electric guitar – and that started with RadioTel that distributed Fender guitars. In George Beauchamp, a poor kid born on 1953, Adolf Rickenbacher sold the company a farm in Texas. He was a guitarist, and to Hall – whose family still owns it – and by wanted to make his guitar louder. In the 1954 they were making solid-bodied guitars. 1920s and ’30s the banjo was dominant in Hall employed a German designer called bands. You also had horns, a drumkit and Roger Rossmeisl, who styled the guitars and the double bass to compete against, gave Ricks their distinctive look. so the guitarist couldn’t be heard. Beauchamp came up with the ‘resonator Why is that important? guitar’ – the one everyone knows from All the important makers have their own the cover of Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms unique aesthetic – Gibson, Gretsch, Fender – which has ‘speakers’ inside to boost – and Roger defined the Rickenbacker look. its volume. In 1958, he developed a new range of guitars called the Capri, and the very first one Where did Beauchamp go from there? he built – a Rickenbacker 325 – ended up in Inspired by the stylus on an electric Germany where it sat in a shop in Hamburg record player, he worked out how to use until 1960. Then one day, a guy called John electromagnetism to amplify the guitar’s Lennon walks in and buys it. The whole sound. He used horseshoe-shaped magstory of the company pivots on the sale of nets and a home-made induction coil that that one guitar. 38
Why’s that? When the Beatles played The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964, the whole guitar thing exploded. Guitar sales went up by 10 times overnight – every kid in America wanted an electric guitar and Lennon was playing a Rickenbacker! Did this lead to any groups forming? Oh yeah. For example, Roger McGuinn and David Crosby go to see A Hard Day’s Night, and when they come out, Crosby is swinging around a lamppost like Gene Kelly in Singin’ In The Rain, shouting “Man, this is what I wanna do for the rest of my life!” And they form The Byrds – and influenced by George Harrison in the film — Roger McGuinn goes out and buys a Rickenbacker 12-string. Describe the Rickenbacker sound… Ricks have a real ‘chime’. During the Beatles first visit to the US, FC Hall managed to arrange a meeting to show them his latest products. The band turn up at the Savoy Hilton but George is ill in bed. Hall shows them a 12-string – and Lennon takes it back to George. That guitar has a unique ‘jangle’ sound: and it soon became the sound of the mid-1960s.
Indeed, the simple application of binding to the slash soundhole and the sharp edge that remained on the back of the body was the icing on the cake. The new ‘rounded front’ or ‘round top’ design was exclusive to deluxe hollow bodies in the 360, 365, 370 and 375 series. Models in the standard 330, 335, 340 and 345 range retained their simple unbound bodies with sharp edges. The new round top was incorporated on all deluxe semi-acoustics with immediate effect and any that were produced in the previous square edge, double bound body style were now given the ‘OS’ or ‘Old Style’ suffix on factory records.
“There are few things more satisfying than the shimmer of an open chord played on a Rickenbacker”
In order to accommodate the new rounded top, Dick Burke reshaped the body horns slightly by rounding off their pointed ends. This new design took a couple of months to perfect and rare preproduction instruments made between April and June ‘64 exhibit a subtly different treble horn. Early examples made up until August 1964 featured plain single layer binding around the reverse of the body, but from late August onwards these were bound in the special ‘checkerboard’ binding that had previously been reserved for deluxe F body instruments and early 4001 basses. Bound necks with full width, crushed pearl, triangular fretboard markers were standard on all round top models as were Rick-O-Sound stereo jackplates.
The timing of the new design was to prove somewhat ironic however, given that just as the world was being introduced to the double edge bound Rickenbacker 360/12 via George Harrison’s use of the guitar throughout 1964, the company effectively stopped making it. While double bound ‘OS’ instruments could still be specially ordered, they were no longer available as standard items in the US at just the moment many guitarists would have been looking for them. Once again Rickenbacker had missed a trick by not producing a Beatle instrument when demand was clearly there.
How did they become popular in Britain? In 1963, two guys from a UK distributor called Rose Morris visited FC Hall in California and asked to buy 400 guitars from him. FC is pretty shocked as he’s yet to see The Beatles, but before long a host of British bands are playing Ricks; including The Who, The Hollies, The Searchers and The Animals. There’s a great picture of Pete Townsend sitting on his bed, and hanging on the wall behind him are about five smashed-up Ricks. I worked out the cost of those and he’s got two and half times the average annual wage hanging on his wall smashed to pieces! Did he get them for free? No, he bought them! After the 1960s, what happened? By the early 1970s, Paul McCartney had made the Rickenbacker bass his trademark and that sparked a real interest for that particular instrument. Soon every band had one – Lemmy from Motorhead being a prime example – and the sales from that kept the company going. Chris Squire from Yes played one and really took bass playing to another level – he was the ‘Hendrix of bass’ in a way. Then by the late-’70s Paul Weller started playing a Rickenbacker six string and kicked it all off again. They’re the Picasso of guitars. 39
Are Rickenbackers popular today? Oh yes, lots of young bands use them. They don’t care that The Beatles had Ricks – they play them because The Smiths’ Johnny Marr did or because Peter Buck 360 Round Top claims 203 that his from REM does. Johnny 330 really informed the way that he plays and that it really shaped his style. Peter Buck has never strayed from a black Rickenbacker 360 he bought in 1981: it’s an integral part of his sound. For rock stuff like AC/DC or Led Zeppelin it’s got to be a Gibson, while Fenders are cleaner. But Ricks just have this magical chime. You were in a band called East Village and played a Rickenbacker. What’s so special about them? They may not be as user-friendly as guitars by other brands but nothing else does what a Rick can do. While Fender might make the most versatile guitars, Rickenbacker offer something unique, iconic, beautiful and incredibly well made. Susannah Hoffs from The Bangles gave me a great quote for the cover of the book: “There are few things more satisfying than the shimmer of an open chord played on a Rickenbacker through a Fender amplifier.” And she’s not wrong! Rickenbacker Guitars: Out Of The Frying Pan Into The Fireglow is out now, published by Phantom Books, phantombooks.com
Paynter makes four styles of jacket a year – with no waste, and a loyal customer base of men and women who want clothing that’s made the sustainable way
‘Fast’ fashion is a disaster – for the planet, for workers, and for quality. Happily, Paynter Jacket Company, a UK clothes brand, is fighting it the best way possible: by producing limited-edition items made in small batches for loyal customers around the world. Becky Okell tells us about the rise of Paynter and what makes it stand out in a sector that so often gets it wrong.
Culture that’s worthy of your time
Hi Becky. How is Paynter different from other clothes brands? We only make four styles a year, and everything’s made to order so there’s no waste. When we start making a jacket for a customer, they’ll get weekly video updates direct from the factory so they can see it being made. What’s the production process? Most often the style dictates our fabric choice. We re-make iconic jacket styles that have stood the test of time and won’t go out of fashion like chore jackets, field jackets, heavy-lined wool jackets, denim jackets and car coats.
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Does this take a while? Our design process is slow. Once we’ve decided on the next style, we’ll look into vintage archives to discover design details and construction techniques. We’ll then gather all those references and from that, our first sample will be made – working with suppliers from Italy, France, the UK and Japan. After wear-testing for months, we have a good feel of what’s working and what needs to change, and those decisions inform sample number two. We usually make between two and four samples before deciding to produce that style. Are your jackets oversubscribed? We’ve started offering a fabric deposit scheme for newsletter subscribers so our community can pre-order their jacket ahead of the general launch. We started the deposit scheme because our jackets have sold out in two minutes, and we wanted to give priority to subscribers. If you visit our blog you’ll be able to see the production process in our denim factory for our Type Two Japanese denim jacket.
“We make iconic styles that have stood the test of time and won’t go out of fashion”
Was it tough going when you started the company? Of course! Paynter is and always will be independent, so we started with £5,000 of savings and took things slowly, doing almost everything ourselves. We ran Paynter as a side project for the first year, alongside full-time jobs – that really helped us to not put too much pressure on the business in the early days, and make decisions based on quality and creativity instead of the financials. After three batches had sold out and we had a lot of happy customers who needed us to commit, we jumped in full time. What’s your favourite jacket so far? Oh it’s so hard to say! But it would have to be our Patchwork Applecross jacket. We’ve visited the fields where the sheep roam in northern Portugal, the mill where the cloth is woven and the factory where it’s made. For Huw [Thomas, Becky’s partner], it would be our Dark Rinse Japanese denim jacket. After working at Hiut Denim – a jeans factory for four years – he'd been dying to make the ‘Type II’ denim jacket
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and get it just right. After a long design process, we’re so proud of how it’s come together. How does social media help you speak to your fans? Although we have a love / hate relationship with Instagram, we wouldn’t have found our customers without it. We’ve made jackets for customers in over 42 countries without having a store or doing any wholesale or PR, so that shows how important it’s been for us. What are your plans for the years ahead? We’ll stay independent, keep selling direct and keep focusing on jackets. We hope to find even more exciting ways of showing customers how their jackets are made. In a more immediate sense, we’ll be getting married, so there’s a lot going on! paynterjacket.com
The documentary Inspiration comes in many forms. And there are few more inspirational characters of the 20th century than Jacques Yves-Cousteau. In Becoming Cousteau, a superb documentary, voiced by French actor Vincent Cassel, we learn about Cousteau’s transformation from trainee navy pilot to pioneering diver and later, worldwide icon. What makes this film so special is the beautifully restored footage, which takes us deep underwater and (best of all) right into the heart of the action on his ship, the Calypso. Becoming Cousteau is available on streaming services
Perfect reading for garden-dwellers
The colourful coffee-table book
Cité du Vin museum in Bordeaux
The city Located on the River Garonne, Bordeaux is the capital of France’s Aquitaine region – and the inspiration for a certain new Christopher Ward watch. While it’s known as the centre of France’s winemaking industry, there’s a lot more to it than the pleasures of the grape. Firstly, it looks fantastic – witness the golden stone many of the city centre (‘Port Of The Moon’) buildings are made from. Secondly, walking along the Garonne on a sunny morning before heading into the Place du Parlement for a coffee and croissant is one of France’s great pleasures. And thirdly, availing yourself of an exquisite steak at the – always rammed – L’Entrecôte is something you have to do. Though beware, the queues are as legendary as its ‘Bazas’ steaks.
Watch – and learn about a legend
The Covid-19 pandemic has had an extraordinary impact on our working lives. And nothing demonstrates this more than the growing popularity of the garden office (or office-shed). While man-caves have provided solitude (and extensive video-gaming facilities) for years, it was only lockdown that made them essential. With children/ spouses/pets bouncing around the kitchen, the idea of a place you could actually work on became not just appealing, but indispensable. If you’re looking for inspiration on this front, then a new book will be able to help. Work From Shed features a selection of ultra-cool, architecturally designed garden offices, which go from cosy plant-filled nests to sleek, ultra-modern design studios. And because the daily commute is now a weekly affair, all the money you’re saving can be spent on an upmarket shed. Just don’t store the lawnmower in there. Work From Shed is published by Hoxton Mini Press, hoxtonminipress.com
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The poem Mr Bleaney by Philip Larkin Words: Jonathan Taylor Every Larkin poem has one line that sticks in your mind. For instance, we all know the first line of This Be The Verse. For me, the line from Mr Bleaney I carry round in my head is ‘... and Christmas at his sister’s house in Stoke’, whose insistent sibilance and unyielding rhythm convey the rigidity and thudding banality of Mr Bleaney’s yearly frame. We have all had periods in our lives which reflect this ghastly confinement of the hired box and landlady’s saucer-ashtray, where the only means of escape is the fantasy of a lottery win. Based on his own experience of lodging as a junior librarian in Belfast, Larkin did manage to graduate from this predicament to the sunlit uplands of his own flat in Hull but the poem stands testament to these early austere days. Other frustrations and setbacks took over, of course, but the memory of being regarded as the inferior successor to a tenant whose main legacy was his preference for sauce to gravy endured. We are left to ponder whether or not Mr Bleaney ever wondered – ‘grinned and shivered’ – if it is true that the way we live defines us and that he warranted no better. The Larkin-esque (and nihilistic) throwaway sign-off leaves it in the air: ‘I don’t know’. You decide.
‘This was Mr Bleaney’s room. He stayed The whole time he was at the Bodies, till They moved him.’ Flowered curtains, thin and frayed, Fall to within five inches of the sill, Whose window shows a strip of building land, Tussocky, littered. ‘Mr Bleaney took My bit of garden properly in hand.’ Bed, upright chair, sixty-watt bulb, no hook Behind the door, no room for books or bags – ‘I’ll take it.’ So it happens that I lie Where Mr Bleaney lay, and stub my fags On the same saucer-souvenir, and try Stuffing my ears with cotton-wool, to drown The jabbering set he egged her on to buy. I know his habits – what time he came down, His preference of sauce to gravy, why He kept on plugging at the four aways – Likewise their yearly frame: the Frinton folk Who put him up for summer holidays, And Christmas at his sister’s house in Stoke. But if he stood and watched the frigid wind Tousling the clouds, lay on the fusty bed Telling himself that this was home, and grinned, And shivered, without shaking off the dread That how we live measures our own nature, And at his age having no more to show Than one hired box should make him pretty sure He warranted no better, I don’t know.
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The tide is turning When it comes to ocean-bound plastic pollution, enough is enough. Step forward the unique C60 #tide. A superlative dive watch with a neon-like sapphire dial and chronometer certified movement, it delivers power, accuracy and toughness in equal measure. But that’s only half the story. Thanks to our partnership with social enterprise, #tide, the watch’s case-back, inserts and strap are made from 100 percent recycled ocean plastic (though you can also choose a marine-grade steel bracelet). Which makes for a healthier ocean. And a watch you’ll take pride in wearing.
christopherward.com
Great watch-wearers
Natalie Portman Ever since she came to attention as Mathilda, a hitman’s protege, in 1994’s Léon, Natalie Portman has owned every screen she’s graced. However, what’s less well known is her love of watches – and her practice of wearing classic timepieces in her films. Since 2011, Portman has been a brand ambassador for Richard Mille, wearing its ultra-luxe timepieces at film premieres and public events. But it’s with Richard Mille’s extraordinary Tourbillon RM 19-01 Natalie Portman collaboration that the relationship has been cemented. This is no ordinary timepiece. It boasts a diamondset spider that stretches across the skeletonised dial, while the brand’s tripartite tonneau-shaped case is crafted from white gold and covered in pavé-set diamonds. According to MyWatchsite: “The spider within the movement, also in 18K white gold and delicately set with diamonds, forms an integral part of the movement, with the abdomen of the spider supporting the bridges of the tourbillon and its legs supporting the two winding barrels.” It retails just short of £500,000. Portman has showcased other fine watches away from Richard Mille, though not the obvious ‘grail’ pieces you might expect. In Lucy In The Sky, Portman plays Lucy, an astronaut who returns to Earth to find
she can no longer cope with life on Earth. On her wrist, she wears a 1998 Omega Speedmaster X-33 – the brand’s modern version of the original Moonwatch. Powered by a multi-function quartz movement (with a titanium case and kevlar strap), it boasts an analogue, digital orientation with an LCD display beneath the hands. The watch was five years in development and designed for a possible expedition to Mars, and NASA – a long-time partner of Omega – gave one to every astronaut from 1998. Another hit for Portman was Jackie, a biopic of Jaqueline Kennedy. As well as her pitch-perfect portrayal, Portman’s wardrobe was exemplary – from the Chanel two-pieces Kennedy made famous to her oval-shaped Piaget gold watch. However, while the timepiece did belong to Jackie Kennedy, it was incorrect for the period in which the film was set – just after John F Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. Portman’s watch was a quartz model – made in 1971, eight years after her husband’s death. For most film buffs, Natalie Portman is one of the world’s most accomplished actresses. But for watch lovers, her championing of exceptional timepieces elevates her from mere celebrity to horological connoisseur. Welcome to the club, Natalie!
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Column
Diving into history The dive watch is the undisputed king of modern watchmaking. But where did it come from? And who made the first one? Ken Kessler tells the story of a horological phenomenon
Submariner and SeaDweller, while second-hand values have skyrocketed, even for owners who’ll never get them wet.
If ever that most useful of clichés – ‘a perfect storm’ – had resonance related directly to its target, what better than using it to describe the inspiration for something water-resistant and weather-proof? That’s because there was, indeed, a perfect storm which led to the maturing of the diving watch in the early 1950s. So monumental were the developments resulting from this confluence of forces and events that it would herald a period of two or so decades which were utterly fecund with the greatest diving watches of all time. Even more telling of the importance of both the era and the diving watch genre is that many of these classic sport and military watches still exist in updated editions. Not only have the best models survived 60 years or more, they now rank among the most desirable of all timepieces. And for good reason: as genuine tool watches, they number among the most rugged and dependable of all watch types. They’re built to survive. It partly explains why there are waiting lists for Patek Philippe’s Nautilus and the Rolex
If 1952-1954 was the pivotal period, as it gave us the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and the Rolex Submariner, one must presume that it was a case of following a trend, which is the usual, pusillanimous way the Swiss watch industry responds to innovation. In both cases, the driving forces behind Blancpain and Rolex were much more than merely commercial. The Fifty Fathoms was the response to a military contract, while the Submariner was the culmination of Rolex’s obsession with water resistance, dating back to the 1920s. As for the ‘perfect storm’ element, that cluster of unrelated conditions which force necessity into being the mother of invention, the 1950s represented the period when the world was recovering from the worst war it had ever seen. Watch development had advanced thanks to the needs of the military, and the benefits reached the public during peacetime. Prosperity – at least in the USA – created a new leisure sector, so sport watches increased in desirability.
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Added to sailing, skiing and other pursuits was a new category of watersport. A patent was submitted in 1952 for a system called ‘SCUBA’, an acronym for ‘Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus’, which would ensure safer diving for military, civilian professional, and civilian sport divers, with the concomitant demand for watches to time their dives. Suddenly, underwater exploration was no longer the sole preserve of professional or military divers. Further ensuring that the early 1950s would provide a golden era for the design of all watches, but especially diving watches, were improvements in shock resistance, better automatic winding, and new materials, especially plastics. The latter affected both the crystals protecting the dial, and the various seals for casebacks and apertures, such as the opening for the crown and stem. Diving watches especially demanded more than accurate, reliable timekeeping as their performance was, literally, a matter of life-or-death. But as with every breakthrough – technical, scientific, or medical – nothing emerges out of a vacuum. Rolex’s earliest efforts dated back to 1925/6, with their first ‘oyster’ cases. Following World War I, where they found their way to trenches (and on the wrists of early pilots), wristwatches became the must-have timepieces for the general public. This ended the monopoly held by pocket watches – which, it must be stressed, were never that tempting for sporting purposes, though they had military and sport-timing roles. The challenge to which Rolex was responding, given that timekeeping accuracy was not so much of an issue as it had reached near-perfection with pocket watches, was that of preventing the ingress of dust, dirt and especially moisture.
This was of greater concern in the development of diving watches than was the quest for a self-winding mechanism, although automatic movements would dominate the genre once they were available. Rolex’s Oyster concept consisted of an hermetically sealed case and a screw-down crown, limited only by the materials of the day. It was a successful enough recipe to enable a Rolex to survive Mercedes Gleitze’s swimming the English Channel in 1927 [see page 50]. Four years later, Rolex fitted the Oyster with an automatic movement based on Harwood’s swinging rotor invention, thus creating what we know and love as the Oyster Perpetual.
The Submariner was the culmination of Rolex’s obsession with water resistance
Next came an alternative solution from Omega, with what some regard as the first watch conceived specifically from the outset to serve as a true diver’s watch. In 1932, the company produced the Omega Marine, a square watch in a double case, sealed with cork and augmented by an adjustable clasp so divers could wear it over the sleeve of a diving suit. Tested to a depth of 73m, it was later proved to be secure to an impressive 135m. While numerous other solutions appeared over the ensuing decades, the most impressive to emerge prior to the Submariner and the Fifty Fathoms was the Panerai Radiomir, developed on the eve of World War II. This was a purely military design, created exclusively for the Italian navy’s team of underwater saboteurs, though they shared the timepieces with the Nazis before changing sides. Again, there are threads connecting these, as Rolex was involved in the early development and manufacture of the cushion-shaped Radiomir, supplying modified
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manual-wind Cortebert movements for fitting in the massive cases. These featured screwed-in case backs, clearly owing much to the earlier Oyster, while later Luminors boasted Panerai’s most distinctive signature detail, the clamping system which pressed on the crown to ensure better sealing. Panerai would continue to produce military-only models through the 1950s, supplying a handful of the world’s navies – their designs retaining manually wound movements and oversized cases. Revived in the 1990s for civilian purchasers, Panerai has evolved into a mature, standalone manufacture brand with countless models, but every one is a diving watch, maintaining the bloodline. Inbetween the Panerais and the civilian watches of the 1950s came the so-called ‘Dirty Dozen’, the ‘WWW’ watches (Watch, Wrist, Waterproof), specified by the British Ministry Of Defence near the end of the war for branches of the armed forces – with water-resistance a part of the specification, if not quite to diving standards. What Blancpain and then Rolex added to these precedents in the early 1950s were operational details that have since defined the essentials of a serious diving watch.
With these basics, the field was open for interpretation. It was soon realised, for example, that bezels should be unidirectional in case they were bumped and moved accidentally, delivering a falsely optimistic reading. The solution was for them to rotate to show less time remaining – better safe than sorry. As many divers wore gloves, bezels were serrated for better grip. Others, such as Longines’ diver – now called ‘the Legend ’– placed the bezel under the glass, with rotational operation via a separate crown. This was also part of the specification of certain compressor-cased watches, which added a new type of case construction. Even dial colour became an area for revision with the emergence of Doxa’s revolutionary orange-dialled Sub 300T of the mid1960s (it was believed orange offered greater legibility underwater). And so it continues, with Hublot and Rolex battling it out to see which can produce the watch that will survive the greatest depths. On screen, James Bond wears an update of Omega’s Seamaster 300 of 1957, part of a range of diving watches that date back to 1948. Tudor’s spectacular rebirth was sired by the release of the sensational Black Bay, based on models from the 1960s. Christopher Ward’s catalogue is bursting with designs which address nearly every diving watch variant, including the brave move to relaunch a true compressor case, and not a mere lookalike. Oris, Breitling, Tissot, Certina – these and more have reintroduced updates of their waterproof classics and for good reason: everybody loves retro. And everybody loves diving watches.
Christopher Ward’s catalogue is bursting with designs which address nearly every diving watch variant
In basic terms, the modern diving watch had to have, beyond water resistance, superb legibility for reading elapsed or remaining times underwater. This also applied to pilots’ watches, so lessons were learned from them, such as the superior readability of white hands and numerals against a black dial. Next, some form of indicator to show either the elapsed time of one’s dive or the remaining time in one’s air tanks was necessary. This manifested itself in the form of a rotating bezel.
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Timespan
The woman who took on the Channel
15 hours 15mins What does perseverance look like? Probably very much like British swimmer Mercedes Gleitze, who became the first woman to swim the English Channel in October 1927. How she achieved it, and its effect on the notion of celebrity (and endorsements) make hers one of the defining tales of the modern era. Born to German parents in Brighton in 1900, Gleitze moved to London, where she used her bilingual skills to work as a secretary and stenographer. In her spare time, she began to swim in the Thames and found she had an incredible capacity for stamina. Something she demonstrated when she swam non-stop for 10 hr 45 min in 1923 – a record for a woman at the time. After completing a 127-mile swim (in stages) of the Thames estuary, her next goal was to swim the Channel between France and England. This was no easy task, and Gleitze had to abort eight attempts before taking to the water at Calais on October 7th, 1927. This time, she managed to make the crossing, completing it in 15 hours and 15 minutes.
Gleitze’s achievement was covered by journalists in England and France, many chartering boats to keep up with her. By the time she walked up the shore at Folkestone, her celebrity status was assured. Someone who was especially pleased by her achievement was Hans Wilsdorf, founder of Rolex. Gleitze had worn a Rolex Oyster watch throughout her swim, and it had kept time without a hitch. The Oyster, named because it was clamped shut like an oyster shell and could survive underwater, boasted a screw-down back and bezel, as well as a winding crown that could also be screwed-down to keep it watertight. Never one to miss out on a publicity opportunity, Rolex booked a front-page advert in the Daily Mail (complete with photos of Gleitze), triumphing “the debut of the Rolex Oyster and its triumphant march worldwide”. It wouldn’t be the last time it used the power of celebrity to sell a product. There was one fly in the ointment, however. A few days after the swim, another woman, Dr Dorothy Cochrane Logan, claimed to have swum the channel in a quicker time. Which forced Gleitze to undertake a ‘vindication swim’ to retain her 50
record and reputation (a film, Vindication Swim, which tells this story, will be released later this year). Dr Logan’s claims were later found to be untrue. Following her Channel triumph, Gleitze had a memorable career as a professional open-water swimmer. Over the next few years, she’d swim the Straits of Gibraltar (succeeding on her fifth attempt), circle the Isle Of Man (a distance of 100 miles) and set a world endurance record by swimming for 47 hours straight at a baths in Worthing. But perhaps her most significant achievement was her charity work. After her retirement in 1933, she used money earned by sponsorship and appearance fees to open the Mercedes Gleitze Home in Leicester. The homes – there would be more than one – provided temporary shelter for homeless and unemployed people who’d been encouraged to move to the city from north-east England and south Wales by the Leicester Rotary Club. And while they were destroyed in World War II, the Mercedes Gleitze Relief in Need Charity still provides support to homeless and dispossessed people to this day. A fine legacy of an inspirational woman.
#GODO
Swiss-made (except the price) When you think about it, the exquisite C63 Sealander Automatic is an outlier. Hand-made in Biel, Switzerland’s watchmaking capital, it’s powered by a tried-and-tested automatic movement. The polished dial boasts finessed and chamfered indexes, plus generous amounts of lume for low-light timekeeping. It’s also waterproof to 150m. You’d expect a watch this advanced to sell for thousands of pounds. And yet the C63 Sealander Automatic retails for less than £650. The world’s gone mad, hasn’t it?
Sealander. Go anywhere, do everything. christopherward.com
Return Address: Christopher Ward (London) Limited 1 Park Street Maidenhead Berkshire SL6 1SL United Kingdom CUSTOMER NUMBER
CBP011929
Travel to Aquitaine from p 16