The Ralph Lauren brand is in trouble, after fifty years, is Ralph Lauren going out of fashion? I wonder if they have made a mistake with the size of their logo on polo shirts with the rest of the fashion world moving towards smaller emblems and logos.

Born in the Bronx in New York City, Ralph did a stint in the army before becoming a sales assistant and later salesman for a tie company. Ralph began by selling ties out of a draw under the Empire State Building New York in 1967. Working out of the showroom, Ralph created the Polo range in 1968 expanding the Polo range in 1971 with the now famous Polo logo appearing for the first time. The cotton mesh polo shirt was introduced in 1972 in seventeen different colours with the polo emblem featuring on the left chest.

The flagship Madison Avenue store opened in 1983 is in trouble although plenty of Polo boutiques are still open around the world. The Ralph Lauren brand is well represented in department stores internationally and the United States. Living in Perth I can purchase from in-store boutiques of Myer and David Jones. From what I read, the Lauren range has been the mainstay of Bloomingdale’s department stores in the United States

A transformation plan is in place that revolves around rationalisation involving the closure of unproductive stores, a reduction in the workforce, improved inventory management controls and reduced production cycles. The closure of the flagship stores in the United States, Asia and Europe will allow the brand to concentrate on e-commerce although there are some reservations regarding the competencies of technology integration.

The core brands are Ralph Lauren, Polo and Lauren with 30% of the brands contributing to 70% of the sales. With up to 65% of the brands unproductive much of the advertising has diluted marketing resources and reducing focus on the core brands. Inventory is an issue with no centralised inventory management control impacting the supply chain.

Possibly they are holding onto old inventory and need to get it out the door, discounting at the end of the season hurts the brand. As such, excess inventory has led to discounting as retailers offloading inventory leading to a devaluation of the brand. Will the Ralph Lauren brand survive? I believe Ralph Lauren will survive despite the fall in share price with the new strategy requiring time to implement.

Of the Vasse Felix wines, this is by far my favourite, the Cabernet Sauvignon is well suited to Margaret River in the South West of Australia. Vasse Felix was established in 1967 with the first Cabernet Sauvignon available in 1972.

The 2017 cabernet is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon [93%] with 3.5% Malbec and 3.5% Petit Verdot to round it out. Aged for 18 months in French oak barriques, this Wilyabrup is pretty well balanced and smooth. Apparently, 2017 was a cooler summer but I really can’t recall, but this led to a later vintage as the fruit took a little longer to ripen. As has been reported, the March was drier than normal so the reds ripened without incidence. According to some reviewer notes, this 2017 vintage is drinking now right through to 2035. With an alcohol content of 14.5% it is likely this red has the legs to last the 18 odd years. I have been drinking some already, I want to leave for another 5 or so years, but this takes some discipline that maybe I don’t possess.

Stepping on the train from Frankfurt, the day trip had already gone bad, the train was delayed so we missed our connection. Not to worry, there are always other trains and we didn’t have firm plans in Cologne at any rate.

The first stop was Frankfurt Airport, or flughaven in local speak. I can’t speak German, but I am able to throw together a mostly incoherent sentence to get what I need. My friends call this Jeff German and no doubt causes a sense of amusement to hear my heavily accented, grammatically incorrect and poorly executed attempt at conversation.

So when the train conductor requested my assistance to speak to a Chinese gentleman in English as German was of no help, I was happy to intervene. The only problem was, he didn’t speak English either so we faced a dilemma. We had time, he on the other hand faced a large degree of time pressure, he had to make his flight. Sure, that meant we would miss our train, but German trains are frequent and you just catch the next available train.

We took him to the platform he needed to be on but he looked lost. There was only one option, we jumped on a train going in the direction we just came from and took him to the airport. We all got off the train together, pointed him in the right direction, boarded our train to Cologne and were on our way.

I was on a flight from Boracay to Manila waiting for the crew to pop the cabin door open when I thought I recognised what I thought to be a Longines Conquest watch on the wrist of what appeared to be a youngish South Korean gentleman.

I was guessing South Korean as there was a very large contingent of South Korean holidaymakers on Boracay. Upon closer inspection as he was holding onto the overhead lockers I noticed it was actually a Rolex Explorer he was wearing.

He was dressed pretty casually as one would expect returning from Boracay and I asked myself. Does this guy normally wear a suit and tie to work Monday to Friday as a successful businessman or is he the son of a rich dad? The way that South Korea has transformed into a leading industrialised nation in the region is impressive. Was his apparent wealth earned or inherited? His mannerisms left me none the wiser as he didn’t appear overly confident nor did he appear to be over-compensating.

I was wearing my Longines Conquest on this particular trip so whilst I couldn’t place the timepieces side-by-side, the similarities from my head twisting were striking. I was admiring the watch-face when he rolled his wrist over and I got a good look at the clasp mechanism. I thought Longines has a nicer clasp mechanism, was this the only area the Conquest had improved on the Explorer? Both timepieces have changed over time, they are not the original and have had plenty of cosmetic and structural changes over the years.

Whilst it would be pretty fair to assume the Longines Conquest is a knock-off of the Rolex Explorer as Rolex is a brand that is constantly imitated and undoubtedly a market leader in design and development. The original 1954 Longines Conquest may be more akin to the early Omega Seamaster line of watch.

Even the naming of Conquest and Explorer informs the wearer this is a sports watch even though I purchased my Conquest as somewhat of a casual dress watch as opposed to the dive watches I usually wear. That isn’t entirely true, I had nothing with a leather strap that was thin enough to fit under a shirt sleeve. The Explorer was branded as a mountaineering timepiece on its release in 1953 to commemorate Hillary’s successful Mt Everest expedition, the Conquest was released a year later in 1954 but had the appearance more of a dress watch.

The Conquest fields the ETA L633 Calibre movement whilst the Explorer is fitted with the in-house Calibre 3132 automatic movement with the Conquest maintains a 38 hour power reserve and the Explorer sporting a 48 power reserve. The Conquest is water resistant to 300 metres with the Explorer rated to 100 metres. There is no discussion of which is the better movement, everyone knows it is the Calibre 3132. There is no discussion between an ETA and in-house Rolex movement in terms of quality.

There are subtle differences beginning with the four point numbering on the face on the Explorer and just two point numbering on the Conquest. I also noticed the H link bracelets appeared somewhat similar. The numerals are once again very similar in style and both watches have a black dial. The angled stainless steel bezel is pretty much identical on both watches, I didn’t have the opportunity to place them side by side for a better comparison so I decided to visit the Rolex shop that weekend to research the two timepieces.

The saleswoman asked me if I was interested in the Explorer I released in 1953 or the Explorer II released in 1971, this question threw me out somewhat as I wasn’t ready for that question but I wanted the classic Explorer. She informed me that they had no Explorers in stock and a waiting list existed, I asked “two weeks, two months or two years?” Her reply was about two years but that didn’t shock me as I was aware such a waiting list was normal in Singapore.

Still, she quoted me a price and after a quick currency calculation informed this was approximately $9000 AUD. I already was in possession of a Conquest and after hard negotiating, I had received a 30% discount off the retail price. I liked my timepiece and I wasn’t interested in coughing up a further $7500 AUD for somewhat of an identical watch so I walked. Sure, his was better but I am happy enough with what I have.

It was unbelievable, after the Philippines government reopened Boracay Beach after more than six months closed for environmental issues, tourists once again forced the closure of the beach due to environmental concerns.

What were these women thinking? How could you not only change the shitty nappy (diaper) of your child on the beach with everyone around, you try to bury the soiled nappy where people are relaxing. This is a terrible hygiene problem, the tide will come up, uncover the nappy and drag it out to sea. Sure, the problem is over for you but the ramifications are long lasting for everyone else. This isn’t difficult if you are not a self-centred arsehole – clean up after your child.

Australia as a nation kept international borders closed to keep covid-19 out, we also had closed interstate borders and even regions were isolated as well. We had low infection rates and a high degree of freedom, Melbourne and Sydney had long lockdowns but the rest of the nation’s capitals were relatively lockdown free. 

As we begin to open up, the world is facing a surge of Omicron infections and Europe returning to restrictions and lock-downs. We need to ask ourselves, do we delay the reopening of Australia? My preference is no, the purpose of closing Australian borders was to vaccinate the nation and allow the medical system to prepare.  

We have achieved that, Australia has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, we are now entering the booster phase where we will receive our third vaccination after 6 months to increase waning immunity against the Omicron variant. We have high vaccination rates, we have a hospital system that has had enough time to prepare and treatments are improving – it is time.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is now an iconic timepiece, when it was released in 1972, the watch was pretty much different than anything that had been released before that, this was a huge risk in the quartz crisis.

Designed by Gérald Genta, the Royal Oak pretty much set the standard for a stainless steel luxury sports watch. Previously, luxury watches were dress watches manufactured from precious metals and featured movement complications. Released in 1976, the Nautilus, whilst not identical to the Royal Oak, is similar in many regards. This isn’t too much of a stretch as the Nautilus was also designed by Gérald Genta although he wasn’t under the same time pressure to sketch a design concept.

The Nautilus is a more refined design, the dégradé dial is streaked, the index markers are similar on both designs and the finish is very eloquent. This is the quandary, this is a stainless steel sports watch with no serious mechanical complication priced well above a precious metal dress watch. The sharp and hard industrial lines of the AP or the smoother rounded lines of the PP? Well, for me, the rounded lines of the PP along with the streaked dial do it for me. The Nautilus, although released well after the Royal Oak is the superior style.

Genta used the window in a diver’s helmet as the inspiration for the octagonal case, a porthole was the inspiration for the Nautilus. Both share integrated bracelets, the Royal Oak is bold in their link design, the sharp edges are defining. The Nautilus a little more rounded and the centre link although not to my tastes is defining.

The tapisserie dial of the Royal Oak is fascinating to watch on video being hand cut, I have to admit I am not a fan of petite tapisserie but respect the process. The dégradé dial, translated as a gradual procession of colour to colour, of the Nautilus becomes lighter as you move to the centre of the dial. Given the funds, I would prefer the rounded bezel and bracelet of the Nautilus over the sharp edges of the octagonal case and bezel of the Royal Oak. Given both are Gérald Genta inspirations, I appreciate both design styles even though they are five years apart in concept, they accentuate the style of the era.

I tried to not get involved in any workplace disputes since my return, that didn’t happen and I was required to attend a meeting. This was an on-going issue, I couldn’t believe it, one year later and the matter was not concluded.

Sure, this was a complex issue but one year later – get real. The meeting I attended achieved nothing, whilst I pushed for a solution, it was stopped as the parties refused to deal. I had been away for almost a year when I was on leave without pay. Now another year later, this issue is still not resolved and despite a series of meetings, it has gone nowhere. He is now threatening to take this matter to the Industrial Magistrate’s Court – what a wasted effort.

I like to at least try on a timepiece before offering a review, I was lucky enough to wander into a Glashütte Original boutique in Dresden. So while this was the opportunity, it was some time before the green dial of the PanoMaticLunar was released so I never tried on the green dial.

The PanoMaticLunar is a stunning timepiece, what I don’t know is if the forest green dial will age gracefully. The current trend is green dials, this is ok, people love this right now. I am seeing the larger dial trend reversing back to smaller dials and I would think green dials are a fad. At 40 mm, the PanoMaticLunar is sized at about the maximum a dress watch should be, I am guessing 38 mm is the ideal size for a dress watch. Some with smaller wrists prefer 36 mm, that is fair.

The 90-02 in-house movement is pretty special, 47 jewels with a 42 hour power reserve. The finish is exquisite, the three quarter plate is Glashütte design, the skeletonised rotor has a 21 carrot oscillation weight. I think the PanoMaticLunar is a pretty special timepiece, the dial design is amazing and whilst I have never been a fan of moonphase, I like this one. Glashütte Original is a top-tier watchmaker, this is an excellent example of Glashütte watchmaking.

I like both TAG Heuer and Tissot, so hopefully I have not pre-conceived notions of either of these watches. These two watches are set at entirely different price points, so it should be a fairly simple comparison – or is it? 

Firstly, the TAG Heuer Link is an update on the highly successful S/el of the 1990s, it hasn’t been marketed anywhere near the current watches TAG Heuer offers, it is almost the forgotten timepiece in the TAG Heuer catalog. It is a shame that the Link hasn’t been promoted as well as it should be, this has really inhibited sales of this line. For me, the Link is the dress watch of the TAG Heuer line-up with the Carrera and Monaco being sports chronographs. Although, there is a three-hand version of the Carrera though that could be considered a dress watch, they are generally considered motorsport inspired.

The Aquaracer is a dive watch, so once again a sports watch. The Formula One series is clearly a motorsport sports watch so that leaves the Link as the dress watch. The S/el was sports/elegance and was water resistant to 200 metres that could also be worn with a suit later that evening after a dive. The Link has a modified bracelet, the rounded S-link bracelet was the distinguishing feature of the S/el. The Link has a sharper double S-link construction that neatly attaches to the case. The Link is all about the bracelet, the 41 mm case is brushed and polished, the sunray dial with applied index markers, the text below the hands pivot point isn’t over done, and the TAG Heuer logo looks good. 

The Tissot Gentleman Silicum with the applied baton index dial reminds me of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual. To be fair, Rolex didn’t invent the straight baton index, although they might claim to have done. This is a simple and clean dial with a sunburst dial patina, there is a simple text layout, I feel that manufacturers have cluttered dials with too much, and unnecessary text. What interests me with the Gentleman Silicum is the automatic movement. The base ETA 2824-2 has a silicon balance spring improving its anti-magnetic capabilities. The frequency has been lowered from 4 Hz to 3 Hz increasing the power reserve from 38 hours to 60 hours.

The display caseback allows the wearer to view the automatic movement, although the Tissot winding rotor is hardly outstanding, the rest of the movement finish is respectable for the price range. The crown is small with no crown guards, the crown itself is advertised as water resistant to 100 metres, there is no way I would test it out. Where the Gentleman Silicum lets itself down is the bracelet, it is lightweight, stiff and feels cheap. The double butterfly clasp is fine, it sits neat on the wrist and looks good, this timepiece is a little bland and never gets any comments, not like a TAG Heuer does.

However, the pricing of the Tissot Gentleman Silicum with the Powermatic 80 coupled with the lack of advertising investment by TAG Heuer allows me to suggest the Gentleman Silicum is a better value proposition even though the bracelet lets the Gentleman Silicum down, the TAG Heuer Link with the better bracelet lacks the movement technology. The Calibre 5 can either be the ETA 2824-2 with 25 jewels or the Sellita SW 200-1 with 26 jewels is considered to be an inferior movement as the ETA 2824-2 is not fitted with anti-magnetic capabilities or increased power reserve from 38 hours.