The Tender Co. Trestle Shop

I have to say, that no other brand inspires me as much as Tender. I could read about his projects for hours and hours. Every time I do so, I quietly think to myself, this man is doing it right - this is how things should be done. I mean, it seems like the founder, William Kroll, isn't that worried about the extra costs of adding a genuine horn button (that is specifically made for Tender in England) or spending extra time finishing a product by dyeing it using natural dyes. He gets the fact, that when it comes to making a good (good is an obvious understatement) no short cuts can be made.

Knowing all of this about Tender, I was really intrigued, when I heard, that Tender would be opening its own webshop called the Trestle Shop some time ago. Well, the wait is over, and has been for some time now - I just totally forgot to mention it.

As you probably guessed, this webshop is astonishing. The offering is quite eclectic, which some people are totally afraid of, but it seems very logical. The offerings adds to the whole idea of this being a lifestyle and they all bear the Tender hallmark. To me the Tender hallmark means handmade, functional, engineered, made to last, well-thought-out, longevity, purposefulness, provenance and I could go on. It's just great.

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Watches - Part 2

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Watches - Part 1

As I've said before, I'm a collector of a lot of things. I'm always on the hunt for new things to collect, albeit never consciously, it just falls in my lap. One of the things I started collecting years ago is watches. It all started, when my parent's gave me a Ole Mathiesen watch, when I graduated high school, which replaced some awful quartz watches, I had been wearing until then. Nowadays I almost never wear quartz watches, although it can be funny sometimes.

I wanted to show off my collection of watches, which are almost entirely vintage. Not because they are good - a matter of fact most of them are completely worthless - but because I think old watches have an inherent beauty, that a lot of new watches don't have. Most of my watches are either given to my, found on flea markets or bought in antique stores, so none of them represent any real value besides affection.

And if you are wondering, why there are some women's watches among them, I can only say, I've never never passed on a watch, just because it is a women's watch. I'm sure, they'll all make some friend or girlfriend happy.

A little about the concept. All photos are shot by Niels Hjorth in series of 5-6 watches on a different background. The background is found in another collection of mine - my big collection of vintage fabrics. No editing has been done to photos in order to show the grime, dirt and patina on vintage watches.

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"My First Watch" by Rasmus Jakobsen

I'm a watch enthusiast. It was a quartz-diver from Citizen that sparked my passion approximately 10 years ago. I was on my way into the military, on a 12-month self-chosen conscription with Den Kongelige Livgarde (The Royal Life Guards), and of course I had to have a watch with me  that could withstand the hardships in the field. I was born as a gear-freak, so it felt like an obvious move.

I spent a long time looking for the perfect watch, and it was probably due to Frømandskorpset (the amphibious attack and infiltration unit in the Danish Defence) that I ended up with a Citizen, as they used this particular watch in service. I figured, if it was good enough for them, it was probably good enough for me.

Unfortunately I had to face the fact, that the investment of around DKR 3000, which was a great deal of money for me back then, had made a impression on me too big to handle. This meant, I could not even in my wildest dreams imagine it being used - or rather abused - during military service when I finally got the damn watch,. And with this new realization I of course had to put the watch away in a closet and let go of the idea of me being equal to the guys of Frømandskorpset.

But the experience got me going. It was obviously not an infatuation with the movement, as the diver was an quartz, but the solid construction and high reliability of the clock fascinated me to such an extent, that I began absorbing an enormous amount of knowledge on military watches - with the diver being the absolute starting point.

My interest in watches has never declined. Much has happened since my innocent love for a quartz-model, but the fascination of these small wonders is alive and well. Today I concentrate solely on mechanical watches (automatics and hand-wounds). I still geek military watches (and even to great lengths), although I now have moved on to sports and dive watches from the 50s onwards.

I hope that my future posts on this fine blog will provide you readers with just a humble insight in the wonderful world of mechanical watches. If it gets too intimate, you are very welcome to speak up, just like you are more than welcome to drop comments and inspiration if you find it relevant.

Best regards,

Rasmus

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