Two noteworthy things happened on day three in Boston. The first was the death of my trusty backpack. It was nothing special; a college bookstore purchase from eleven years ago with the name of my school monogrammed on the front. It was a faithful friend that went with me around the world - literally. But with major seams unravelling at my fingertips, I quickly realized that I’d need to get something else unless I wanted to start stuffing socks and T-shirts in my pockets. A quick trip to REI (as quick as any trip is to REI, that is) took care of this.
The second, more interesting thing was a casual mention from Natalie that the jewelry store “Alpha Omega” was going out of business. (Natalie had no idea what kind of shitstorm she set in motion with this innocent mention - but kudos to her, because I’d be blogging about far more boring things otherwise.) I had never heard of this chain, but lucked out when I stumbled into the Burlington Mall for lunch and found myself face-to-face with their wristwatch store.
Going out of business. Big sales. The hook was set and I was reeled in without much of a fight at all.
It turns out that Alpha Omega had two stores in this mall; the higher-end store that sold all manner of jewelry, and this wristwatch store that catered mostly to low-end and middle-end brands.
Before I go on, a bit about my relationship with wristwatches. After college I worked for a few years as a watchmaker, appeasing my interest in all things mechanical with a job that let me - literally - tear into some of the world’s most complicated watches. After my departure from watchmaking I spent a few years “rebelling” from my inclination to expensive watches, but have rekindled my interests in the past few years with a rather sharpened sense of maturity and sensibility.
It’s no secret that Swatch saved the Swiss watch industry with millions of cheap plastic watches. Cheap, in terms of cost - but to anyone with an appreciation for brilliant engineering and superb execution, they are as rich as anyone could want a watch to be. I bought my first Swatch in Amsterdam in 1997, and have since grown the herd to six.
Alpha Omega had a case full of Swatch watches, and I was drawn to a rather odd looking beast on the bottom shelf. Behold, the Swatch Snowpass: the most massive hunk of plastic I have ever strapped to my wrist.
Most people think a Rolex Oyster is a large watch, and it is … but next to the Snowpass it looks positively dainty. And the snowpass isn’t just big; it’s thick, to the tune of about 19 mm.
On paper this seems absurd, and in real life it does look a bit comical … but the Swatch doesn’t weigh much (probably less than half the mass of the afore-mentioned Rolex), and it’s easy to forget you have it on.
The best part is the functionality. With their usual European craftiness, Swatch managed to embed some sort of RFID tag in the watch that replaces the traditional ski pass. Ergo, the “Snowpass”. The velcro strap is expandable enough for this watch to fit King Kong; getting it over your snowsuit won’t be a problem.
Better yet is the altimeter functionality. Yes - altimeter. A single push of the crown spins both hands to 12:00. In another second or two, the hands turn to reveal your altitude. Wait a few more seconds, and the hands spin back to the time.
Such ergonomic, functional genius. The engineer in me bursts into tears of joy!
My astute readers will note that barometric pressures fluctuate, and any altimeter will need to be calibrated. No problem; when the watch is in “altimeter” mode, pull out the crown and turn it, just as you would adjust the altimeter on an airplane.
In typical Swatch fashion, this watch comes with an MSRP of less than $100. This is a pittance in the world of fine watches; the sales tax on a Patek or a Vacheron would easily cost more than that.
But when was the last time you pushed a button on your Patek and got the altitude in neon and bright blue? Thought so.
2 comments
Posted in Blog
Written on Sun, 17 February 2008 at 5:09 pm
Tags: Boston, Swatch, watches
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February 17th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Your packback will be missed and mourned
You got my BOB vote tho lol.
February 18th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I used to work at a store in the Virgin Islands that sold Vacheron Constantin and Patek Phillipe watches. They are fantastic, but I can’t imagine spending that kind of money on a watch. I didn’t work in the watch section, but one day a customer came in asking for a Vacheron and I delivered him to the capable hands of the salesperson that was the expert. Just for the simple act of bringing the customer to her I got a small cut of her commission which amounted to several hundred dollars. I can’t imagine having the kind of money it would take to be able to buy such a thing (and still make ends meet).