Credits: Article and images by Ian Skellern @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/02/07/gumball-rally-around-the-world-in-80-days-24-hours-of-le-mans-heres-a-proposal-for-a-real-life-international-chronometry-competition-both-brands-and-collectors-might-enjoy/
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Horological Gumball Rally
My solution goes like this . . .
A group of well-heeled collectors – brands/independents are also welcome to participate, but I suspect they will wait to see how it goes – set off from, say, Geneva, but could be New York, Dubai, or Singapore, wearing one or two watches, on a two-week world tour. A suggested itinerary might be something like New York-London-Geneva-Dubai-Singapore- Los Angeles – New York.
If anyone at Seddiqi reads this, it might be a biennial event starting or finishing at Dubai Watch Week.
They spend say 2 days at each stop along the way (stops could be sponsored by brands or retailers organizing collector events), and in each place they do a few outdoor activities typical of the city/country. The watches are worn normally throughout the tour and, as all watches now are water-resistant to at least 30 meters, they should be swum with or at least plunged into a hotel pool at each stop.
While there will be a lot of trust involved, all participating watches will be synchronized at the start, and time-stamped photographed at least 4 times each day to minimize cheating. The photos, clearly showing the dial and secondhand position, will be instantly published on social media. As will photos of the watches being worn in various activities.
Each evening, all of the competing watches might be put on a tray – either flat or on their size depending on the strap/bracelet – in a safe to minimize the possibility of ‘fine tuning’ ta watch’s accuracy by manipulating the tendency of watches to gain or lose time depending if the movement is flat or vertical.
A chronometry prize will go to the most accurate watch that loses or gains the least over the world tour, but prizes might also be awarded to other categories like, Most Extreme Activity, Best Value For Money Accuracy, Most in the Spirit of the Competition.
If brands get involved, as with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, there might be separate Professionals and Amateurs categories.
What do you think? Might something like this work? Do you think it might be interesting? Do you have any other suggestions?
Further reading: The lost spirit of chronometry competitions
You might also enjoy:
Why Accuracy Matters To Me, And Why It Should Matter To You Too
Wristwatch Precision: Why the Fundamental Purpose of Watches is Playing Second Fiddle and How to Fix This
International Chronometry Competition 2019 Decides That The Best Way Out Of A Hole Is To Keep Digging. And Expects Us To Watch
Why The International Chronometry Competition Needs To Change Format Or Sink Into Total Irrelevance
2015 International Chronometry Competition Now Underway, But Does Anyone Care?
Credits: Article and images by Ian Skellern @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/02/07/gumball-rally-around-the-world-in-80-days-24-hours-of-le-mans-heres-a-proposal-for-a-real-life-international-chronometry-competition-both-brands-and-collectors-might-enjoy/