New Toys…er….I mean tools
Its always exciting getting new tools. Most of the time, like today, it represents a new stage in Mk II’s development and the watches we build. While I was at Baselworld I ordered these new toys/tools from Bergeon (yes its taken more than 2 months to get them in). The toolmaker actually doesn’t take orders directly from retail customers except for once a year at the industry’s Swiss tradeshow. A few of these items are new and should provide you a hint of the kinds of watches I have in the pipeline.
Here is a pretty basic tool that is used to remove screw-pins found in bracelets and used in place of spring bars on cases. The case or bracelet is placed over the top of the tool and one end of the screw-pin is placed on top of the blade protruding from the tool. With your free hand it is safe then to unscrew the pin from the top with a screwdriver.
This should save me of having to use two screwdrivers, one from each end, and assuming the risk of stabbing myself in each hand simultaneously. This may not sound that bad but these screwdriver blades have to be kept quite sharp so that they do their job well.
This next tool I think is relatively new as I hadn’t seen it offered anywhere until recently. To be honest I am not much of a bracelet person so I haven’t really looked for this kind of tool in the past. It was designed for attaching bracelets to watch cases. By compressing the spring bar from both sides simultaneously it’s much easier to seat the final link into the case without scratching the case lugs. This is especially useful for solid-end-link bracelets that are made to fit at very tight tolerances to the case lug width. I have a plastic version of this tool made by another Swiss company that works reasonable well but never felt quite as stable as this one below should. Both are quite expensive ranging from $60 to $120.
The standard bracelet tool works fine if you own the watch but to keep it looking pristine before shipment the above tool is essential. A larger pic of the same tool:
Here is something bright and shiny…. 
It actually is really quite beautiful, especially if you have seen the previous model which was just made of cast iron painted gray. This isn’t really something that I had to have. It was more of something that I wanted to get to make my life a little easier.
I have been using a smaller tool made by Horotec that did the job very well but required changing and cleaning the tips after setting each hand. The movement also had to be manually positioned under the setter and on the movement holder. On this new tool the movement’s position is fixed precisely under the plunger and for each hand the top half of the hand setter actually swivels into position over the movement. In addition the travel for each plunger can be adjusted to stop at a set height so that hands are not pushed too far down. This particular one has one tip for a GMT hand, hour hand, minute hand and sweep seconds hand.
The next Mk II watch will be announced later this week. I hope the above was of interest.
Mk II Sea Fighter
Announcing the first image of our third dive watch, the Mk II Sea Fighter.
For more information please see our site.
To learn more about the inspiration for this watch I recommend Konrad Knirim’s “Military Timepieces”.
E-mail problem
I am currently unable to send messages via Outlook. I am not sure why but this does happen to my e-mail system sometimes when I travel. My mail server for some reason when I travel sometimes does not recognize my login to send messages via Outlook. Unfortunately this means that e-mails to the “info” account and the “orderstatus” account will not receive replies until after I return to the US. The auto-reply will also not be sent until I get back to the US. I am able to receive your messages and download them. The problem seems to be with the outgoing messages only.
Hopefully I will be able to clear up the problem before I return to the US but if not I do appreciate your understanding and please accept my apologies for this inconvenience.
Web Site Updates
I am currently in the process of updating our web site. You will notice inconsistences between prices listed on the web pages and those calculated by the shopping cart. When online ordering is re-opened the lower prices seen in the cart will be honored. The discrepancy will be cleared up once we are back at the office and have a chance to re-synch with the server. Some of the preview functions will not be completely functional on the MMT. For example certain hand sets will not preview correctly until we have a chance to re-work the preview function at the end of the month.
Many items have been re-categorized. For example the section formally called “Send in your own watch” has been re-named and moved to the Parts and Accessories section since it more accurately reflects what we actually provide. Services have not been cut but have been moved around on the site.
The Gallery section will now be the new home for pictures of customer watches and customer feedback. The headings in the section are currently wrong but that will also be cleaned up once we are back in the US. Other sections including the DIY section is also going to be removed from the navigation. However the content will be relocated to the FAQ section and some of the tutorials will be re-located to the blog.
I hope that the changes will make navigating the site easier. The changes will also mean that many new products will be available.
March 4th: Stingray Update
The custom Stingray order page is almost ready. I just need to add a few more photos, some information, and to test the page. A order page for Swiss Made Stingrays will be ready a few days to a week after that. Pre-order customers can submit an order for a custom version or a Swiss Made version. The Swiss Made version will be less expensive and depending which of the two versions of the Swiss Made Stingray gets assembled first its likely that they will begin shipping at the same time the custom versions do. At this point I only have enough movements on hand to send one dial type to Switzerland for assembly. The second version will be sent for assembly in June when our next shipment of movements is due.
The pre-order has been officially closed due to high demand.
Poll: Handset for a new project>>>
I am in the middle of a watch that will take place of the QUAD10. I thought up an idea for the handset and wanted to get some feedback from customers. I will be purposefully vague but once you see the dial and handset posted in the link I think you will know what it will be.
Unfortunately I can’t provide too many details now but should be able to in about 2-3 months. In the meantime please take a minute or two and take the survey in the attached link (only 1 question). Thanks in advance for your input.
February 28th: Stingray and other news
Sorry I haven’t posted pictures yet of the 12-3-6-9 dial and the new hands yet. I have been busy working on the Stingray ordering page and trying to get it functional so that pre-order customers can begin working on their options. I hope to have this up later this week but we’ll see. A lot of new artwork had to be produced for the new dials and hands that will be available.
I will be closing the pre-order option very very soon. I don’t want to take as many pre-orders as I did last time with the Blackwater which I think contributed to a lot of the communication problems. At the same time I want to keep the number of pre-orders lower in order to minimize the impact it will have on customer service levels. Currently I have enough orders to keep me busy pretty much all summer since I also have to leave capacity to deliver our other watches and products.
In the next 2 weeks or so I hope to announce our next watch….the Sea Fighter. Its a diver with a crown at 4 o’clock based on the BUND diver introduced in the mid-70s. This watch is meant to fill in the gap that the Seiko watches used to occupy in our line-up. I had meant to announce this earlier but pushed it off to wait for the hands which arrived sooner than expected. I look forward to hearing your feedback on our latest offering. The launch of this product will scheduled and handled slightly differently than previous models in order to minimize its impact on our capacity.
Stingray: Minor update
The date wheels for the Stingray are here. These are the black background, white text wheels for the 4.30 window. The 12-3-6-9 dial samples have also arrived. The hands were due to ship sometime last week and I will have to check on the mfg to see how they are going. I hope to have them sometime this coming week but we’ll see. I will post a pick of the whole package if the hands don’t take too much longer.
Stingray: Minor update
The date wheels for the Stingray are here. These are the black background, white text wheels for the 4.30 window. The 12-3-6-9 dial samples have also arrived. The hands were due to ship sometime last week and I will have to check on the mfg to see how they are going. I hope to have them sometime this coming week but we’ll see. I will post a pick of the whole package if the hands don’t take too much longer.
Feburary 7th
The pre-order page for the Mk II Stingray is now up and open for business