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A letter to my son...

Time and its value

Dear Son,

 

I’m giving a watch to you on this day, a day that is no more special than any other day, because time is one of our most precious gifts. I hope to exhort you through this gift, how time is to be relished. I want to exhort you to make the most of every moment in your life.  

 

My hope is that you don’t want to let even a few minutes slip away without your making a step toward what you want and toward what you are called and made to do. You know your destined path in your heart. Follow it and plow toward it. Move through that path with a passion and hope toward that which you are driven. Also, be aware, that I know that you have a great and powerful drive, and I’m very proud of that drive and passion of yours, exploit it for all you can.

 

I’m choosing a timepiece that has potential for great longevity and a little more value to it vs. a quartz piece because…well why would one want to measure one of our most precious gifts with a cheap instrument?

 

A man looks at a watch more often than he looks at his wife. It’s good if they are both easy on the eyes, but it’s more important that you respect them enough to have them around for a while. A man who takes good care of a good watch usually keeps it around for a long time, and unlike the man that leaps from one wife to another, a man who cares for his timepiece will usually move up to a better watch time after time...so pick your wife and watches carefully, you’re going to be spending a spell with them.

 

Watch purists think that only a mechanical movement is acceptable or even a watch worthy of being on a man’s wrist. A quartz watch can be more accurate, but I think a quartz watch is soulless and it is somewhat like trying to get a gourmet dinner out of a microwave vs. a stove.

 

I think a mechanical movement is more real, with all of its moving parts as opposed to just a battery pushing the quartz ticker. A mechanical is a bit more like our soul. It has an almost eternal potential. A mechanical movement will last beyond our physical life. A quartz movement isn’t really a movement, its an electronic pulse that every day ticks numbingly one day closer toward its inevitable death in its very short life, a quartz is more like a countdown than an experience. With a life span a lot closer to 8 years than 80, a quartz watch is a short lived shell, it can be nice on the outside but inside it is an ugly, boring clump of parts stuck together, with most of those soulless parts just lying there motionless. Would you rather have a woman with a myriad of moving parts, or would you rather have a motionless automaton that is more consistent yet more boring than any other?

 

A mechanical movement is a lot more like you and your life. This piece I’m giving you has over 250 parts, most all of which will continually move throughout time, and with time vs. against it. With care, most all of those parts will continue to work in tandem with each other and deliver upon their purpose well beyond our lives, and most all of those parts will finish their life together as a team. A mechanical is more like a family; a quartz, is more like a throw away tart of a girlfriend; flashy, cheap and quickly degrading.

 

Thought counts

 

I put thought into this gift, but you’re not chained to it, you have two options:

A.   If you like this model and its look, keep it, wear it.

B.   If you think you like this model but want to look around, or if you just don’t like it, either way, don’t wear it until you’re sure. I could return it and you could move to another model within this range, I wouldn’t care a bit, you need to be happy with your piece.

 

History

 

Two Thirds of all watch makers went out of business when the Japanese exploited the quartz invention which came from the Swiss watch makers who denied it would ever be valued and then failed to reposition their business quick enough. I’m telling you this so that you might be able to do the same, you must be flexible and reposition yourself in business quickly if new opportunities and/or new competitive threats come along. You are destined to be an entrepreneur, which is obvious. You were born to be independent and I know you will be successful. But don’t let your success cause you to think you’ve “made it” and never think that you no longer need to adapt to or be aware of competitive threats, in other words don’t sleep like the Swiss did.

 

There is a company called Swatch, that rolled up a large percentage of the watchmakers after the tidal wave of competition came upon them. Swatch’s founder is a hero in Switzerland because he saved so many companies and jobs…and national pride.

 

It was the vision of one man, not a team of investors, who saved many of the last survivors in the Swiss watchmakers world from a certain death. He did it by combining them and using strategy to enable them to compete with the new powers. He did it because he listened to his calling, because he casted and communicated his vision and because he understood positioning and strategy.

 

Today, there are only a handful of independents that are still independent non-Swatch owned companies. My point to you is this, always have a competitive strategy, don’t just go running into the dark, or worse, like the Swiss, think that you are untouchable by the competition because you have the highest quality. Some of those watchmakers had been in a constantly growing business for 150 to 200 years and had the highest of quality. Technology or a more innovative competitor can change anything overnight. Listen to your heart, feel the vision well up inside of you, clarify it, cast it, communicate it and live it.

 

While one watch is considered much better than another because it is a millimeter thinner, remember that life will often be about delivering just a millimeters bit of difference in order for you to be excellent at what you do. Always think about how you can give that millimeter of difference to your customer, and you will always have a world-class clientele. 

 

Design

 

I picked this particular model because unlike other designs this can both go to the boardroom, the gym, or whatever and go as well with jeans, sweats or a suit. Many other designs tend to lean in just one direction. You tend to be a flexible person of style that can turn from casual to formal on a dime, so this piece might work well for you in that way, again, its all your decision though as to whether you keep this model or not.

 

I also chose this because I thought you might think there is also something rather cool about having more than just the date complication. I know that sounds a bit silly to you, but complications in watches seem to have an impact on people more than they ever realized those additional features would have.

 

Why does a man need to know the phase of the moon, or have a watch that never needs to have the date adjusted at the end of the month? You’ll never appreciate such little things until you experience them first hand and also understand the ingenuity that went behind them in the first place. Many a wealthy man has been surprised at the joy of having what is called a “complicated” watch, a watch with high end hard to build features like perpetual calendars, GMT or moon phase. Watches are a lot like women. Sometimes their complications complement them. Relish innovation and implement it in all that you do.

 

Qualities

 

Life – If you get any watch its regular COA (cleaning, oil, adjustment) service every 5 to 8 years, that watch should give you continuous care free lifelong use and easily last long enough for your grandson to wear it through his lifetime. Much like I have my grandfather’s pocket watch which is still running accurately right now.  In this way, taking care of a watch is like taking care of your wife. Give her all that she needs to keep clean, refreshed and well adjusted and she’ll last much longer than many might expect.

 

Service – It will cost you 50 cents a week to keep this watch for life. I’d recommend X & Y as they are a fourth generation jeweler in town (they have literally bought out over 80 watchmakers who didn’t adapt…get the pattern?) and Charlie X is a top 10 watchmaker in the country and his son is in the top 20. Since they are debt free and have an unassuming storefront in XYZ they have the best prices in the country. You could get this piece serviced for about $200 and again, you’ll probably want to do that every 5 to 8 years.

 

X & Y

... (edited, by Oliver and PM sent)

 

So remember, before 2020, you will want to get a COA. This might be when Mitt Romney ends his second term and Paul Ryan is running for president, who knows. The point here is, plan for the routine clean ups in life well in advance and it makes them and life much easier and the things that you have that matter to you will last much longer.

 

Accuracy – Out of the box this Swiss made movement is probably tuned to run a few seconds fast. But eventually you could and should get it to within 1 second a day if you take it to Charlie and tell him exactly how much to adjust it. Track it by comparing to an atomic clock or by calling:

 

Atomic Time: 303-499-7111

 

Set it to the exact time and wear it for some time and check back again and after a few checks you’ll know exactly how fast its running. Charlie or his son can make the adjustment for free for you if you just introduce yourself and mention your name as they know me well. It takes about 2 minutes for them to get your piece in tune. Even a COSC (Certified Official Swiss Chronometer) certification allows a mechanical piece to be +6 fast or -3 seconds slow per day, but I think that is unacceptable with the quality and potential of how accurate most fine pieces can be adjusted.

 

The point here is, watches like any business or…well almost anything can be well tuned and run much better than what most people expect with the help of expert advisors or help. Great outputs are all about Great Expectations.

 

Level of watch

 

A point here is, don’t live and die by names. They are only important to you and not to those around you. Choose a name of quality for you, not to show to others. This is truer in watches than anything else. Rolex is not the best watch, not even close, but it is the one most people know. Don’t choose a name for others, but for yourself. I think you already do that for the most part. Another lesson here is, it’s all about positioning. Rolex got to where they are by clever marketing, like by giving free watches to prisoners of war after WWII and as gifts to presidents and kings, but they’ve never had the best watch, only the best positioning; master ethical positioning and you will always be successful.

 

This is a watch that can go the distance for a few generations, yet if you lose it, crush it or it gets stolen, you shouldn’t worry the least bit about it. Let this piece of metal go in an instant if there is a greater matter at hand, just like you should any piece of stuff.

 

As to this watch, I’ll insure it until you’re 21. So get it scratched up and use it like a tool. Most scratches can be buffed out and dings add character and signs of ownership. A watch, like life, is meant to be used, lived with and leveraged to the fullest; then it’s meant to be passed on to the generations after you.

 

If someone threatens you for this piece of steel, throw it at them and let them pick it up while you’re running the other way, no piece of metal is ever worth your health or life.

 

Use it or Lose it

 

The safest place for a watch is on your wrist. 90+% of all watch problems are from drops while not on the wrist. Don’t put it on the bathroom sink while taking a shower if the floor is stone; a drop like that can shatter the sapphire crystal of any Rolex or Panerai just like it could these sapphire crystals. On the other hand, don’t worry about rubbing up against brick and stone with this timepiece, that will happen to every watch that is worn consistently in a normal life. The sapphire won’t scratch, but the bezel eventually will as will the bracelet, so hurry it up and get it over with and let it get some wear.

 

Also wear this for swimming or in the showers with no worries, as long as the crown is secure and in. You might avoid holding it under water in a hot tub, but other than that there is no need to baby it. Any thing you are bringing along for use in everyday life is meant to be worn and not hidden and unused in order for it to be better preserved.

 

Just like friends and your woman, a watch will take some blows, but the test of those that are true to you is whether they are still ticking after a scratch or two. The fair weathered will run at the first ding, the faithful only get better with time and trials. Even though I may seem like an nuisance and irritate you with my questions, I’ll always love you and be here for you as long as I live. You’re a great man. Make the most of life, your tools and talent, and value your short time here on earth.

 

Love,

 

Dad