Horological Meandering

My fellow PuristS,

 

On the 1st day of 2012, I am pleased to wish all of you Happy New Year!

I am also pleased to rejoice in celebrating a momentous occasion on the Internet.  In the fast paced, burn bright and flame out lifestyle of the world-wide web, it is unusual to find longevity.  Thus, it is my executive and personal pleasure to announce the 10th anniversary of our longest serving moderator since St Thomas:  Herr Professor Doktor Marcus Hanke; since 2nd January 2002.

 

When I first met Marcus, I was warned (by a German) that our Glashuette Original and Ulysse Nardin moderator was Austrian and an academic.  An AltaVista search (pre-Google) revealed these notes:

"It is most unlikely that an Austrian will ever address you by your first name unless you become extremely well acquainted outside the office and you should follow suit by using the courtesy titles Herr ['Mr'], Frau ['Mrs'] or Fräulein ['Miss'] followed by the surname until invited to do otherwise. The use of first names is a sign of intimacy and social or professional equality and you should not presume to undermine an elaborate system of mutual respect by suggesting to an elder or superior that you might adopt informal Anglo-Saxon practice. An Austrian businessman will introduce himself with his surname only and the appearance of his first name on his business card is not a signal to start using it.

Status and hierarchy are an important part of all Austrian culture. Austrians are very title-conscious. If someone holds academic or professional qualifications conferring the title of professor, doctor, or lawyer, for example, you should be sure to address that person using both the equivalent of 'Mr' etc. and the person's title plus his or her last name. Thus, the appropriate way to address an Austrian professor would be Herr Professor Hanke. During subsequent conversations with Herr Professor Hanke, you should maintain formality by continuing to use the title of professor preceded by Herr, but at this point you may drop his last name and simply address him as Herr Professor. Even those with just a university degree are likely to style themselves Herr or Frau Magister. The title Herr or Frau Ingenieur is so common in Austria that graduate Ingenieure stress their superiority by insisting on their full title of Herr or Frau Diplom-Ingenieur."

So, travelling in from Japan for the 'PuristS on Tour 2003' to Glashuette, I was on tenterhooks about protocol.  My fears were enhanced when Marcus turned up with an older gentleman, both in green-grey Austrian jackets embellished with deer-horn toggle buttons and felt lapels!

Over the weeks and years of interaction, I found Marcus to be unlike the stereotype, at least, to his PuristS buddies. It may be surprising that I have met Marcus only twice in 10 years, but that is the nature of the world-wide web. 

This is my usual view of him as he is busy taking photos for PuristS.

Baselworld 2010

 

Searching our archives, it is difficult to find photos of this elusive academic. We see all generations of his hounds and his 4-WD Italian wagen from afar as North Africa, Britanny and Romania but none of the Herr Professor Doktor Hanke. Here are some early renditions from 2003.

2003 PuristS on Tour

2003 PuristS on Tour

 

People forget that he has produced some of the more erudite compositions for PuristS and I append links to some of them in his capacity as former moderator of Glashuette forum, current moderator of UN and co-moderator of Zenith fora:

Glashuette Original:  www.thepurists.com

Ulysse Nardin: general.watchprosite.com

I have also re-produced his observations of the Great Astrological Clock in Besançon in a sub-thread.  Therein lies the little known fact that Marcus is one of the few people I know who actually knows how to read and set astronomical timepieces. In fact, he wrote the book for Ulysse Nardin 

 

 

This has led a commentator to say of him: "Marcus is the epitome of an academic but passionate writer about horology and other epicurean pleasures. His commentary is thoughtful and balanced without regard for corruptive influences."

 

 

Please join me in wassailing his 10th anniversary and cheering a loud, "Waes Hail" !

 

Regards,

MTF

 

PS. He does brush-up well in a suit when introducing the GO Manufacture to PuristS   

 

 

This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2012-01-04 11:44:45

As an Ulysse Nardin Fan, I've read several articles written by Marcus with delectation.

And you're absolutely right, Melvyn: 10 years is not nothing, in our virtual world.

How many disappear at the end on only one, two or three years?

Longevity and Quality... That is our Marcus! ( Sorry for not using Herr, Doktor and so on, in France we don't like titles. )

Best,

Nicolas.

... and be called by the first name, Dr. Marcus Hanke

Happy new year.  Thanks MTF, for well deserving article.

Ken

Ready for 10 more years Marcus ?



Fx

Thanks Melvyn for saying this for us all.
And to Markus, we are looking forward to at least 10 more years of your erudite postings!
Don

Herr Professor Doctor Hanke
We in Croatia as a part of former Austro-Hungarian Empire like salutations
Most important to me regarding Herr Professor
is that I was initially pulled irreversibly to PuristS chiefly by his text
on old platform where and when I started lurking.
To be honest after reading his texts I was completely intimidated by the broadness
of knowledge about watches and erudition of this Man.
Many years later I had privilege to participate in one of his blog series about striking watches
(another classic under keyboard of Herr Professor worth reading) due fundamentally to his unpretentiousness
and kindness.
My only regret is that I never had a chance to meet Herr Professor in person although we live very close
All the best dear Doctor Hanke in 2012 and please give us your literal gifts more often in this year
Sincerely
Damjan
P.S. Many thanks to our CEO for this enlightenment

This message has been edited by Ares501 on 2012-01-01 03:01:26

thanks for the background. Ten years is really a long time! Kudos and hoping for many more, Andreas

always love your insights.

. . .  sub auspiciis performing domestic duties . . .

pg

. . . in our gallery, Melvyn.

The Glashütte Original forum of today is the result of his efforts. 

Thank you, Marcus.

Cordially,

Art

. . . testing the shock resistance of his watch when that photo was taken ;-) . . .

No message body

Sorry if I eschew formality in writing you, but you have always been so warm and embracing via email and posts that I have never thought of you as anyone but "dear Marcus."  Your smarts are very evident, and I am not surprised that you actually understand how to use and set astronomical timepieces (too involved for my feeble mind)!  I think you are also the only Purist who really indulges my passion for purebred dogs (I loved your puppy pictures!).    I look forward to one day visiting you in Austria, so I can congratulate you on your long service to PuristS and watch aficionados in person.

Warm regards,

Daos

I remember well your erudite compositions and dedicated coverage all these years. Perhaps more importantly, your affable manner Herr Prof Hanke made it so natural even for those of us who have not had the pleasure to meet you in person, to call you Marcus. It's been our fortune to have you all these years and I thank you very much. Thanks for highlighting this Melvyn and to ten more good years! 

... rather means that your watch stays ten years at the manufacturer for being serviced ...

Thanks for your kind words!

Regards,
Marcus

Congratulations Marcus on your stamina and perseverance! ;-)

But mostly thank you for your enthusiasm, passion and writing. It is always a pleasure and an education to read your posts and views.

Your contribution to PuristS is very much appreciated.

Warm regards for the next decade!

Andrew

Your great contributions are one of the primary reasons why this is the kind of place that it has become. Here's to another decade and more!

All the best,

Gary G

And hope to meet you Dr. Hanke in person at a future Purist GTG.

Regards,
ED-209

You are a genuine pillar of ThePuristS community and the online watch community in general and we are very lucky and grateful for all of your contributions!

_john

Marcus reviews are the definition of scientific reviews.

As an example, his review of the Tissot PRS 100 is, by my book, a wonderful approach of watch reviews.

Here is the link: home.watchprosite.com =

Thank you Dr. Marcus.

Cheers,

Nilo

May I offer an old UN ad as a token of my appreciation for all the work over the years!

Making the PuristS what it is today!

1949, Chronometer and Grand Prix…

 

All the best for 2012!

Blomman

For those 10 years and all your artikels....

best

Michel

I'm glad to at least meet the doyen once.

Kong

No message body

nt

   

Forgive my presumptuousness, Herr Professor Doktor, but with all we've been through (I remember the agony we both suffered before you decided to commit yourself and join our team...and the many shared trials and tribulations since...) I hope we can reasonably and appropriately address each other by our first names...

Thank you, Marcus, for an interesting 10 years.

And hopefully, to many more...

Cheers,

TM

Dear friends,

and, first of all, dear - everything Austrian within myself hesitates to use your first name, but I struggle that emotion down successfully - Melvyn: wow .... I am speechless - and for those knowing me this is a really rare occasion. Yet this state of affairs is not of long duration, so I am tremendously thankful for your more than kind laudatio, which I do not really deserve.

As a matter of fact, I am currently spending a week in Austria’s middle of nowhere, a rural area that is better known for frog races around granite rocks and dark forests than for modern infrastructure. This causes our bloodlines, the online communication with the web, to fail miserably. Whenever I want to make a phone call, or to log into a web site, the only spot with at least rudimentary signal reception is just outside the house walls, in some four meters height, forcing me to lean out from the window in a sportive effort not unlike that of a racing sailing yacht crew member, or a mountain climber. Even then, connection speed is measured in individual bytes per second, making it very difficult to keep track of discussions here at PPro, let alone posting own messages.

This reminds of the very same technical problem, compromising my first communications with Thomas Mao, on the issue of becoming a moderator of the PuristS: ten years ago, I had been without cellphone signal for days, and only when visiting an old castle that was built on a mountain top, I was lucky to receive Thomas’ invitation mail. For the following message exchange, I always had to visit this castle ruin, setting up my Psion PDA and using my cellphone as modem, in the middle of snowstorms and freezing cold - but only there I could receive and send mails. Apparently, not much has changed, only the Psion gave way to a more modern tablet PC.

Well, enough talk about hero deeds of yesterday, but it was not me who started it ...

Yes, it is correct that Austrians normally are rather anal about their titles, be they inherited, awarded or even received by marriage. In rural areas, it is still common to greet an academic’s spouse as “Mrs. doctor” in small shops, and police officers are often still impressed by the academic title printed in front of the name in the driver’s license. Even at the military, my drill sergeant always called me “Doctor Hanke”, only to chase me around the obstacle course exactly the way he did with my poor non-academic fellows ...

But I have to defend my honor by stating that I had adopted the anglo-american way of using the forename in communication long before I became a Purist already, and I prefer to be addressed without any title, which may be owed to my job at the university, where academic titles are not used among the faculty members, since all have one.

Hence I might not be a typical Austrian like the ones described in Melvyn’s post, at least not regarding titles and names. However, I am a typical example in many different ways: a common saying goes, that when Germans say: “The situation is serious, but not hopeless”, an Austrian would state: “The situation is hopeless, but far from serious!” Only Austria once could become a world leading power by loosing wars, but politically clever marrying of its rulers. Austria is infamous for always getting along in a light manner, bordering on sloppiness, but putting an emphasis on friends and family.

This also explains the importance my fellow moderators and guests at PuristS and PuristSPro always had during the past ten years: I considered them part of my family, even if - a tribute to the modern age of virtual relations - I did not have the chance to meet more than a few of them in person. But to know that all around the world were people with whom I could share joy and trouble, crisis and success, was an important pillar in my life.

Therefore I want to thank you for all your time, your support, your friendship and interest shown in the past decade. For me it is a privilege to be member of this great community, and please let me express my hope that this relation will continue for the next decade.

I want to wish you all a great New Year and a good time here at PuristSPro!

With kind regards,
Marcus

And one for you too! 

Congratulations again, my friend!

Cheers,
Daos

Thank you for your long-time contributions!