So, Stephen Hallock, President of MB&F North America (who you may recognize from this) dove into his own personal collection of IWC Portuguese Automaticand came up with this watch to be given to you, the reader. What is it exactly? It's the Tissot Astrolon Idea 2001.Unknown to even some of the most knowledgeable collectors on the planet, the Tissot Idea 2001 was one of the most revolutionary timepieces of the 20th century. It was the culmination of two decades worth of research by Tissot (seriously, research began in 1952 and this was released in 1971). The entire watch was made of plastic, hand-wound mechanical movement included. Everything about it broke the boundaries of of the existing watch world, and at the crux of the quartz era, this watch was a revolutionary mechanical alternative. Many consider this the grandfather to the "Swatch," which did indeed help save the Swiss IWC Portuguese Automatic industry.
We've been giving away watches all week from some amazing sponsors and friends, many of which are producing some truly great timepieces. But, when we started Hodinkee, our goal was (and still is) to call attention to those creative and innovative timepieces "that you just don't see everyday". We wanted to inspire.MB&F, whose modern haute horology pieces we've shown you many times beore, has the same goal. Their timepieces are unlike anything else on the planet, and each time a new model is released, the horological world is turned upside-down. Well MB&F heard we were having a 2nd anniversary bash and they wanted donate something that represented the creativity, innovation , and passion in the IWC Portuguese Automatic world that they so love.
