What a surprise!

 

Camphor Laurel is a strange tree. In Australia, it is regarded as a highly invasive evergreen weed that has a tendency to exclude most other desirable native vegetation. It has no serious predators or diseases so it has a competitive advantage over native vegetation. Yet Camphor Laurel is a valuable resource. It is used for a range of products and furniture including tables, kitchen benches, railings, bookcases, chairs, stairs, carvings, sculptures and various items that can be turned on a lathe. And curiously enough, in Japan, Camphor is not a weed, but a highly prized exotic wood of a beautiful, rich honey-colour with a clean, fresh Camphor smell. On Friday, young Manni from Melbourne, who makes our pocket watch stands, showed up at our office with 3 Camphor Laurel pocket watch stands. It was a bit of a surprise: I was expecting a dozen or so dark and heavy burl stands. Dark burl and steel pocket watch cases work really well and burl stands are Manni's signature pieces. Instead, we got three light, almost Nordic looking stands! Would it work? It did. Immediately, it became obvious that the shiny stainless and honey Camphor compliment each other in a very 'harmonic' way. This harmony was the result of a careful section of wood as well as the cutting technique where most of the dark grain is only visible from the side. While I personally favour intense wood, it is not difficult to picture this stand shining like a centrepiece on a black table or black book case. Coincidentally, Manni wears a Grand Seiko GMT and he is proud of his collection of 1970s Seiko chronographs which he restores himself! Small world.

Camphor Laurel: $250 each

Fiddleback River Red Gum: $275 What is cool about these particular pieces is that they feature figuring in the wood known as ‘fiddleback’, giving a unique striping pattern that dances in the light.

Artisan - made in Australia.

The best big boys watch under $200

 

Compared to other watch dealers, we run a rather small operation. Both in dollar value and in number of units sold. Yet here is a crazy piece of statistics: assuming that I've physically touched just 10 watches per day, I've handled at least 125,000 watches in my lifetime. That includes watches I've considered buying, customer's watches, repairs and watches sold.  Actually that is probably a very conservative estimate: on a busy day there could be 50 watches going through my hands, and a visit to an overseas dealer means looking at and examining 500 or more watches per day! In other words, I've seen lots of watches - from piles of worthless junk to some really expensive and valuable horological masterpieces. Being in this unique position has helped me develop two quite peculiar skills: an ability to instantly recognize the quality of a watch as well as it's value. The kind of stuff that is a hallmark of every other specialist: from a car dealer to antique book dealer, numismatics expert to art auctioneer. And this is how you should benefit from that insiders knowledge.  Yesterday, I discovered a watch which could be only described as the best watch under $200 I've ever seen. A watch so cool, you absolutely must add to your collection. But before we get there: a quick intro. In 1972, Hamilton and Electro/Data, two American companies, released the first battery operated watch with a digital display. It was called Pulsar. It looked like no other watch: futuristic, full of optimism. A miracle of electronic engineering. Solid 18K gold. And above all: it was a sexy looking watch. So sexy that it was featured in 1972 Playboy magazine. The first Pulsar came with price tag of $2100 USD which is more than the price of not one, but four Rolex Submariners.

In 1978, Seiko made the move to acquire Pulsar. The idea was simple: thanks to Seiko’s manufacturing power, Pulsar watches would be made in the millions and offered at an unbelievably low price. In 1982 Seiko started marketing affordable digital watches under the brand, Lorus. Lorus was first launched in Europe to complement the already popular Pulsar and Seiko brands. It was an instant success, offering not only affordable products, but products with high design and technology qualities. Yesterday, when I got my hands onto the latest 46mm Lorus in stainless steel, I was completely blown away.

Without any doubt, this is the best watch under $200 I’ve ever seen. As you would expect, it is loaded with all the bells and whistles an owner of a Swiss mechanical chronograph could only dream about, but that is not the point. The point is that Lorus feels like a proper ‘quality’ watch, a watch which could – and should – be worn by even a most serious watch enthusiast. I am not talking ‘no, you won’t be disappointed’. I am talking ‘yes, you will be blow away’. I called Aaron immediately. “Aaron, I feel an obligation to introduce this amazing watch to our fellow watch enthusiasts. I want the entire stock you have on hand. I want them all because they will sell like crazy”. As always, you have my personal guarantee that you will be completely satisfied with your watch. Meaning: when you open the box, if the watch is not as per your expectation, I’ll take it back for a 100% refund. No ifs or buts: 100% money back guarantee on a single watch or on entire batch. I’ll also keep the shipping cost locked at $9. Case size: 46mm. Quartz movement. Digital/analogue. Chronograph with alarm and perpetual calendar. Lumibrite backlight. Here is another "insiders only" delight - this Lorus contains two batteries. One lithium, and the other is silver oxide. The lithium battery powers up the digital side of the watch, while silver oxide runs the analogue movement. Two batteries with completely different characteristics and life cycles, so the chances of both dying at the same time are practically zero. Super cool.

An update

 

A couple of subscribers requested an update on the opening of the new shop. In case you've missed: my 82 year old father retired on January 1 and it is now my duty to take care of the family shop, established in 1951 on the other side of the world. Yeah, heaps of fun. I'll keep it brief. Dad is still refusing to hand over the keys. I mean, he tried to con me with a set of freshly cut duplicates. A fully functional set, nonetheless, but the message is clear: only one of us could be the boss. The latest request: whoever takes his place, must be a non-smoker. In addition, by his decree, the 3 meters wide street frontage has been 'claimed' as a no-smoking zone. Of course, he knows very well that he has no say over council land which makes this childish attempt to insert authority completely unnecessary and a complete waste of time. Luckily, I do have an ally on the ground: my younger brother, who is helping me with the shop refurbishment, installation of new lights, sorting out a leaking tap, and painting. Having him on my side is simply priceless. He also helped with the business registration, hiring an accountant and book keeper, opening a bank account and interviewing potential job applicants. Yes, I hear you - doing business with family is a recipe for disaster. "Your brother will rip you off as soon as the opportunity presents itself". Maybe he will, maybe he won't; I am prepared to take the risk. At the end of the day, our plan is simple: to keep the shop open so that our family name remains on the door. Right now I am trying to get myself familiar with local laws, especially regulations relating to the tax system. Quite frankly, I am amazed with the level of compliance required to run a company in a small central European country. In a positive way: the rules are rigid, but fair. The Government is absolutely paranoid about two things: collection of VAT (their GST) and protection of workers wages and payroll. Local GST is 20% which is double what we pay here. On the other hand, the company tax rate is 15% (ours is 25%). And here is the beauty: there are only three personal income tax brackets: 0% which applies to the income of all middle earners, 10% for high earners (doctors for example) and 15% as an absolute maximum rate for the 'ultra rich'. Clearly, unlike in Australia, the Government makes money from taxing consumption, not earnings and wages. Free education and free Medicare are the norm. Yet before you jump on the first flight to that 'tax haven' country- beware of a small drawback: there is always the chance that by the end of the financial year you'll be bombed by either Putin or Biden - or both, simultaneously. For that reason alone, I am quite happy to conduct business remotely, while happily residing in (still!) the best country on earth. (to be continued)

The best $13 I've ever spent!

 

This is super cool - I've won an auction! A 1970s Seiko pocket watch write-off for just $13. Judging by the photos, most likely, the poor thing went through a washing machine. Externally, a disaster. Internally - just a blob of rusty mud. So why am I so excited? Because I have in stock every single part for this particular Seiko calibre, and like the Ship of Theseus, I can already see this railway pocket watch looking like new, and keeping perfect time. The whole restoration project shot in 4K would generate hundreds of thousands of views and steady advertising income for years to come. There is only one problem: I don't really have time to do it right now...  By the way, and if you are not familiar with the concept: the Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced over time remains fundamentally the same object. This concept is one of the oldest in Western philosophy, having been discussed by Heraclitus and Plato 2500 years ago. Since then, philosophers have been banging their heads to solve this paradox, which in a way remains unresolved to this day. Yet in my mind, the paradox could be easily solved in a very elegant way, by introducing the 'third party' with vested interests. Suppose that the watch was insured for a sum of let's say $1000. Then ruined by a careless owner, then restored by a skilful watchmaker who replaced every single part at the total cost of $1,000. The owner makes a claim to their insurance company who happily pays the watchmaker. Here is the punch line: while both the watch owner and watchmaker could agree that the newly 'recreated watch' may not be the original watch, such a dilemma would not burden the insurer. The insurer doesn't really care; because it is not his job to care about thought experiments, but material evidence. In other words, the paradox exists only if we want it to exist. And even then, it only exists in our minds.

'Manufactured in Australia' project update

 

The first batch of NH3 watches has been delivered to watch collectors in the US, Europe and Australia. Without exception, every single ambassador who has received his NH3 replied in superlatives. "It simply looks so much better than on photos". "Stunning". What more could we ask for? In a moment like this, I would usually say: Thank you, we are humbled. This time, just: Thank you very much - your support is truly appreciated. But we are not humbled. The NH3 is exactly what we have promised: manufactured in Australia, to our best ability. I am not just speaking on behalf of my team who have worked so hard for the past few years to deliver a bespoke watch you can be proud of. I am talking about our ability to push watch part manufacture to a level rarely attained by small independent watchmakers - not just in Australia, but anywhere that watches are made. Machining exotic titanium, brass and timascus alloys at the micron level, hand finishing and hand assembly are just some of processes appreciated by highly sophisticated watch collectors. It is very important to point out that those first orders came from very serious collectors, including enthusiasts who specialize in makers like Constantin Chaykin, F.P. Journe, Joshua Shapiro, Urwerk, Paul Gerber, De Bethune, MB&F and Gronefeld. The future is exciting: currently, we have more orders than we can physically take care of. Which means that we no longer provide a firm delivery date. Each watch is a unique piece which cannot be rushed.  Today we have commenced 'disassembly' of our manufacturing facility in Brookvale. As the new Kern is about to arrive and to be installed, we are now forced to halt production, move every single machine already installed, do some structural re-engineering of the available floor space, upgrade the electrical lines, and undertake long overdue maintenance on our cooling system. This is a major job that will take 2-3 months to complete. A special 'thank you' goes to our strap maker James B Young. The new crocodile strap for NH3 took quite a while to develop and deliver (the skin was sourced from an Australian supplier more than 3 years ago!) but it was surely worth it. An Australian Watch, on an Australian Crocodile strap, in an artisanal Australian Silky Oak box. It really doesn't get more Australian than that. The new crocodile strap would fit not just NH3 but all titanium case Rebelde and NH models (24mm spacing between the lugs). Extra long (to fit up to 21cm wrist) straps are in stock, price $525.

Dad has turned 82, and today is his last day of trading

Actually, he was supposed to retire on January 1, but he just couldn’t help himself. Breaking away from a daily routine that has lasted for over 60 years is not something that can be done overnight. Our small family workshop is in the same location that it was in 1951 when the first generation Hacko commenced the watchmaking business. Dad will retire on a monthly pension of 300 Euros. Which is plenty for a man who barely needs anything. Being the oldest son, it is now my duty to provide for mum and dad. In return, I am also expected to take over the family shop and continue the trade - closing the shop down or renting it out would be disgrace and an insult to our family name. This is going to be quite the challenge, considering that the shop is located 18,000 km away from Sydney. The transition itself is exactly as expected: painful. I had to call mum last night with the firm demand that dad hands over the keys immediately, without further delay. My younger brother has already organised an electrician, plumber and painter; so the stock has to be put in storage, and bench tools taken home. At 82, dementia is slowly creeping in. He has no hobbies; he does not have a pet. While he is still fine behind the work bench, he struggles with basic stuff: unsure of the day of the week, or who is related to whom. He is stubbornly unwilling to do even basic bookkeeping or keep a social distance, or wear a mask. A few weeks ago, on the way to work, he fell off his pushbike and bruised himself badly, yet failed to tell mum about the accident. "So I wouldn't be even allowed to stop by the new shop? And who is going to do all the repairs?" - he asks over and over again. Right now, I have no answers to his questions. What has to be done, has to be done, and done sooner rather than later. Time waits for no one.  [to be continued...]

Friedrich Deckel and the Bee Gees

 

Last week a fine gentleman and friend of mine had decided to part with two pieces of machinery from his workshop. Both pieces were imported from Europe, one from Switzerland and the other from Germany. They were in immaculate condition and coincidentally, with how the world works, were exactly what we needed in our factory! This story is the story of one of those machines - the Deckel S0, tool grinder. Friedrich Deckel was a machine tool manufacturer that made precision toolroom machinery out of Germany during the mid 1900s. The story of their company is fascinating, with links to Zeiss, Ernst Abbe and many other industrial powerhouses in central Europe. Interestingly, FD manufactured shutter components for nearly every single camera manufacturer! If you have a minute, even a quick glance over their history on Wikipedia can give you a great understanding of the influence they had on the industrialisation of Europe. During the late 50s, Deckel narrowed it's business scope to making machine tools, some of which today have the same cult following among machine tool collectors as vintage Patek does to Patek collectors. Deckel made some of the most well built milling and grinding equipment money could by. We talk a lot about our "Kern" machine, Deckel was the Kern of it's time! In 1993 Deckel merged with another machine tool builder, "Maho AG" and became Deckel Maho AG. Within a year they filed for bankruptcy and were purchased by Gildemeister, another German machine tool manufacturer, and renamed to "DMG". About 20 years and a lot of growth later, a Japanese company by the name of Mori Seiki merges with DMG, to make DMG MORI, which is as of writing this, the largest machine tool manufacturer in the world, supplying machines to every single market segment and servicing every single manufacturing need that humanity has to offer. Friedrich Deckel, the "D" in DMG Mori AG, is in many ways the progenitor of arguably the most successful, and definitely the largest machine tool builder in the world. From humble beginnings making grinding equipment for Zeiss and almost failing twice, now the crowning letter in a company that employs over six thousand people and has a sales volume measured in billions. This story is fascinating to me, it's all about longevity - make something, make it well, and service it to last. Success is almost guaranteed. Who knows where you will end up if you can keep on 'Stayin Alive'. Pictured: The Deckel S0 Single lip tool and cutter grinder. Used in our workshop to produce cutters out of carbide and high speed steel, and most notably will be used to make and sharpen cutters for the guilloche process in our NH series watches. While you are here: a photo of the current project: an assembly for a space application. This is a ground up project where our role involves providing a technical solution, design, manufacturing and assembly. The chassis was made from a solid block of metal, and so were the bronze rack gears.

Manufactured in Brookvale, soon to launched into space.   Josh

Apollo 11, James Bond, Inception, Ocean's 11, and more...

 

The 'briefcase with something important in it' is a film trope as old as time, but when the stakes are high - who do you trust to carry your cash, nuclear codes, extra terrestrial samples, diamonds, or biological weapons? Why Zero Halliburton of course.  While the name Zero Halliburton might not ring any bells, I can guarantee that you have seen one of their luxury cases in action, more specifically, in action films. In fact, their cases have appeared in over 200 notable films which includes Inception, Quantum of Solace, Men in Black, Independence day, Mission impossible, Ocean's 11, Air force one, The Big Lebowski and too many others to list. Often acting as a Macguffin, these cases and their classic brushed aluminium design have become iconic on the silver screen and beyond. Zero Halliburton even helped to create the cases that were sent on the Apollo 11 mission to retrieve lunar samples, and carry the precious cargo back to Earth. They are the ultimate 'handle anything' travellers cases. With strength, durability, and dependability at the forefront of their products, who better to pair with than a company who stands for the same very thing with their products - Seiko. Using one of Seiko's newer releases (the Presage sharp edge series) as the base, they designed the dial, and the bezel colour scheme around this collaboration. With the dial having the iconic double-ribbed pattern of Zero Halliburton's cases, and the bezel having the deep blue colour accent of their 'Pursuit Aluminium series' handles.

To commemorate the collaboration, the watch is also packaged in a Zero Halliburton polycarbonate case, with the box having the same iconic double-ribbed design of a classic Zero Halliburton case. This is the perfect little travel case for a watch, protected with thick foam padding, and with a pocket on the inside for tools and extra straps as well. On offer today is two limited edition Zero Halliburton Seiko, with only 2000 pieces in each release, both the GMT and the classic time only sharp edge Presage. Please note that we only have one of each.

Model reference: SPB269J. 42.2mm case size. Sapphire crystal. Automatic movement. Date function. Power reserve function. GMT function. 100 metres water resistance. Limited Edition 2,000 pieces worldwide.  Price: $2,395

Model reference: SPB277J. 39.3mm case size. Sapphire crystal. Automatic movement. Date function. 100 metres water resistance. Limited Edition 2,000 pieces worldwide.  Price: $1,750

Disaster strikes!

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Last week our weakest link abruptly made itself known. An M6 bolt roughly 60mm long, corroding away very slowly in the rusty bowels of an old dental compressor.

How could a three cent bolt (probably from China) bring to a grinding halt, the well oiled machine that is Nicholas Hacko Watches you may ask? Put philosophically, an old dog just couldn't learn new tricks. In reality, the haemorrhaging compressor in question that used to supply our water pressure tester with beautifully dry, high pressure air, could no longer cope. We upgraded our water pressure testing equipment from the Witschi Proofmaster S to the Proofmaster Pro shortly before this happening. The increased accuracy of the new machine meant that the system remained under pressure for a little longer. Our 'little engine that could', never stood a chance.

Alas the unit could not be salvaged. So we were forced to upgrade our compressor as well. Until such time, we were unable to release any sold or repaired watches. This was priority numero uno for the entire business, and certainly contributed to several hours of sleep lost. Fortunately, Witschi also sells compressors, manufactured by a formerly German now American partner. The price of the compressor certainly reflected the quality, but can you really put a price on customer confidence? The compressor was here in no time. Crisis averted! However, the outlet to our pressure tester featured a random quick connect fitting that would not work with what we had. Crisis reverted! After what seemed like several hours of anxious scouring online, we found a supplier who could ship the connector we needed in a single business day. Crisis re-averted. We have since fitted and set the new system, and are now back in business. But why so much stress? Without the ability to pressure test our watches, we can not relay the confidence to our customers that the watches we make, sell, and service, are fit to be worn. Water pressure testing a watch is not the end of the story, though. It's highly likely your vintage Submariner may only pass a 3 bar test after servicing. And that's not a problem. Because if you are deep sea diving with a vintage Submariner, you might have big problems coming.

I'll explain: 1 Bar of pressure is what you feel when you are at sea level. Barely perceptible, but your watch is under the same pressure. A watch that fails a 1 Bar pressure test will allow humidity to seep in as you are walking around at sea level. 2 Bar is the pressure you would feel if you were approximately 10m below sea level. 3 Bar is the pressure you would feel at 20m below sea level. So on it goes in similar fashion the deeper you swim. A 'deep dive' is considered to be any dive deeper than 18m. This can only be legally and safely achieved with a professional scuba diving certification. In this way, if you aren't an open water deep sea dive certified scuba diver, any rating over 3 Bar is completely superfluous in regards to what strain you will be putting the watch under. When you are buying a brand new James Cameron Sea Dweller from Rolex (almost as likely as seeing the Titanic from the Deepsea Challenger with the man himself), you'd be fair to expect it to work to its rated pressure plus 25%. However when you get your Grandfather's vintage Seamaster back from its ninth service, just because it says 300m on the dial, doesn't mean you should rush to get your PADI certification (keeping in mind the sun's light doesn't even go that deep). If you do desperately want it to be able to go that deep, mentally and financially prepare yourself for the possibility of having the original plexi, crown, crown tube, and maybe even the entire original mid-case and case back replaced. This is obviously not really a possibility in 2022, for independent watchmakers without access to time capsuled spare parts. Most big brands might even have to remanufacture some components. A ship of Theseus issue indeed, assuming a big brand is even going to do that for you.

Water resistance is a feature that must be maintained. Seals must be regularly replaced, the watch should be regularly tested. More often than its minimum service interval. After years of wearing the watch, maybe even a few drops here and there, screwing in and unscrewing the crown, pressing the pushers, you are slowly degrading the integrity of your seals, of your threads, and the seating of your plexi or crystal. You may not lose the rated pressure resistance entirely, but it is being slowly eroded much like the bolt in our old compressor. It worked until it didn't. All this really just to say: your Grandfather didn't have a cool 'vintage' diver. You do. Maybe he wore it in the surf, maybe in the shower. You shouldn't. So what do you need to do? Get your watch serviced before it starts showing issues. Generally it's every five years for a big brand Swiss watch. Second, do not wear a vintage watch in the shower, or the ocean, or a pool. The heat, salt, and chlorine will eventually destroy your seal integrity and that will certainly happen before your five year service interval is up. Rinse any watch (new or old) that's been in a pool or the ocean with fresh water, and then dry it as soon as possible. If you get your watch wet, do not pull out/unscrew the crown or press pushers until you have dried it. Lastly, be realistic with your expectations and where you take your watches. Can you take your 1937 Bugatti Type 57 race car through a Pikes Peak rally? Of course you can, it's your car. Should you do that?

Probably not.