The Dive Watch From The Far North – The S.U.F. Helsinki Vetehinen By Sarpaneva
Rough, cold, with a unique character and surprisingly though, fascinating… This description, which you might imagine being dedicated to this contrasting country that is Finland, will be equally relevant when talking about the new S.U.F. Helsinki Vetehinen, the brand’s first dive watch. A Finnish watch made by Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva, playing with the codes and transposing them in his unique universe, resulting in a watch that simply feels different, in a very good way.
Following in the grand tradition of elite athletes misplacing expensive watches, Mexican former WBC middleweight champion Julio César Chávez Jr has allegedly had his Hublot stolen from his Las Vegas hotel room. Chávez Jr’s wife, Frida, alleges that the unidentified Hublot (and a phone) were stolen from Chávez Jr by women with whom he was partying, and that she was later contacted by the thieves. Vaguely salacious video posted on Daily Mail shows Chávez, seemingly intoxicated, on a bed surrounded by women. Frida Chávez asserts that her husband may have been drugged in order to facilitate the theft. Luck clearly hasn’t been going Chávez’s way recently, having just been resoundingly beaten by 26-year old Canelo Álvarez in 12 rounds. Hublot is an active supporter of boxing and has sponsored the World Boxing Council since 2012. In fact, Hublot has previously created a limited edition celebrating Chávez Jr’s famous father, Julio César Chávez, who retired in 2005 with 105 wins to his name (out of a total of 115 fights). The King Power WBC, released as an edition of 12 in 2012, celebrated Chávez Snr and other legends, and was auctioned off to raise money for the WBC’s charitable initiatives.
The past few months have been so crazy that we split last month’s dispatch into two. As Basel wrapped up, I headed back to the great city of London for round two. Apparently I wasn’t sick of looking at watches yet. Silas’s Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar 3940G Whilst roaming the streets of Clerkenwell, I took the opportunity to stop in with Silas Walton, founder of A Collected Man. Silas, who prefers smaller watches, was wearing a Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar ref. 3940G from his own collection. It’s always interesting to see the pieces dealers (and serial flippers) hang onto, and for how long. However, Silas gave no indication that this one was going anywhere soon. If independent brands, high horology, or rare vintage is your poison – then he’s your man. Johnny’s Linde Werdelin Hard Black II I had the opportunity to catch up with London based engraver, Johnny King, after being Insta-friends for quite a few months. We grabbed coffee at the famous Monocle Café, where Johnny gave me the honor of a live ‘unboxing’. Yes, he waited until he was with me. I don’t know how he managed to contain the excitement, but boy – will power. In the box…
Editor’s Note: We originally published this story way back in 2015, and you’ll be glad to know that Andrew still has his BLNR, and I’ve still got my Archimede. We can’t speak for everyone who answered our call out on Insta, but we suspect they’re still all getting plenty of wrist time. Without getting too first-year-political-science on you – the basis of modern life is disposability. We live in a consumer society. And that’s what we do – we consume. Everything is designed to be discarded and replaced with something newer and more expensive – from our clothes to coffee cups to computers. It’s a vicious cycle that can be hard to escape, but if you’re reading this, the chances are you have an appreciation of things built the old fashioned way. Much of the appeal of fine watches is that they’re machines designed to endure, to serve us faithfully for the course of our lives, and often beyond. Of course, just because something’s designed to be forever doesn’t mean it will be (just look at the divorce rate or the lifespan of a political promise). And so it is with watches. They’re bought, sold, traded and upgraded with enough regularity…