The Ise Jingu grand shrine in Japan is built
of wood and leaves and it is 1500 years old. Yet today, it looks like
it was built yesterday! The secret of this longevity, which retains this
'new' look, is based on a rather peculiar fact: every 20 years, the
temple is dismantled and torn down - only
to be rebuilt again on the same property. The process of rebuilding has
been completed 62 times with the latest in 2013. There is a forest
around the shrine area that is considered sacred that covers 13,600
acres that is used for some materials to construct the new shrine. About
222 acres of this forest haven't been touched since the shrine was
first established. Any trees used for the shrine are cut down in a
special ceremony and floated down a sacred river to the construction
site.
In order for trees to be of a suitable size to be used for the shrine,
they have to grow for hundreds of years and the builders of the shrine
use techniques passed down from generation to generation. The symbiosis
is obvious: the religion needs followers who will remain together for
ever, and the ritual of building and tearing down, which cycles every 20
years, provides both spiritual and practical meaning to religion. And
there is one significant element to this tradition: perpetual
preservation of builders' skills which are passed on from generation to
generation. Clearly, a young apprentice builder would be part of the
first shrine rebuild in his twenties, in his forties he would be at his
peak of strength and at his sixties, at the third rebuild, he would be
master builder.
Similarities with our watchmaking project are numerous. If my decision
to start the project at the age of 50 was to be based on 'showcasing
watchmaker's talent and genius', I would be too old before a first
masterpiece would be assembled - if ever. Quite frankly, I would most
likely give up because it would take decades to develop the skills
required to produce a masterpiece. Yet for the fact that the brand
started with a rather humble and very affordable watch which can be put
together and sold to a sufficient number of 'followers', and for the
obvious fact that such watches would require regular maintenance every
five years, we are now in a position to train apprentices and pass on
whatever knowledge we have, and prepare the ground for that next
generation of talented ones to take the 'Manufactured in Australia'
project to the next level.
Yes, 'Manufactured in Australia' is nothing but religion which requires
adherence to strict rules of horological perfection built over
generations. The good news is that the ingredients are already here: the
seed of watchmaking knowledge developed over 3 generations, the
apprentices, tools and machinery, and one day - the dedicated Mittagong
workshop which will nicely tie it all together. Which brings us to the
most peculiar aspect of the project: one who wants to call himself an
Australian Watchmaker must embrace the mindset of tradition and
determination of 'The Long Now' - of which neither exist in Australia.
Or more precisely - not yet. |
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