Horological Meandering

Gaz
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A tribute to All Black - Please share your "All Black" watches...

Over the past year or so, we’ve seen the rise in the popularity of the all black watch.  My first memory of being stunned by a slick black watch was the PVD Panerai.  This was then followed by the even slicker AP End of Days.  However, the concept of the All Black is not new.  This post is a tribute to the All Black concept outside of horology.

Music

In music, AC/DC’s Back in Black featured an All Black album cover.  Released on 25 July 1980, this was the Australian hard rock band’s seventh studio album and featured some of AC/DC’s biggest hits, including the title track "Back In Black", "Hells Bells," and "You Shook Me All Night Long”.  This is one of my favourite albums.

Heavy metal band, Metallica, released a self-titled album Metallica on 12 August 1991.  This album is known by fans as The Black Album because of its predominantly black cover.  This was Metallica’s fifth studio album.  Unfortunately, this was the album that turned me off Metallica.  Gone were the complex compositions and fast riffs, which were replaced in favour of shorter more radio friendly style, including a ballad.

Aviation

The Lockheed SR-71 holds the records of the world’s fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft.  On 28 July 1976, it achieved an absolute speed of 3,529.56 km/h (or 2,193.17 mph) and an absolute altitude record of 25,929 m (or 85,069 feet).   Unofficially called the Blackbird, this was an All Black aircraft that capture my imagination the most as a child.  I remember collecting every newspaper or magazine article I could find of this aircraft.

Popular culture

In popular culture, All Black makes references to either being cool beyond cool or evil beyond evil. 

Who could forget Glen A. Larson’s Knight Rider, where besides David Hasselhoff, the star of the show was a sleek All Black 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.

But my favourite movie character who is draped in All Black is Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith.  For me, the All Black Darth Vader is the quintessential villain in cinematic history.  Darth Vader's image and, indeed, his very name have both become synonyms for evil in the public consciousness.  BTW, Darth Vader in Dutch means Dark Father.

Sport

Of course, no All Black tribute is complete without the All Blacks.  The All Blacks is New Zealand's national team in rugby union.  They are considered a formidable force in international rugby with a winning record against every other international rugby team.  Besides their impressive record, the All Blacks perform a haka, or Maori war dance, before each international match.  First performed in 1884 during New Zealand’s tour of New South Wales, the haka is firmly established as part of New Zealand rugby.  While there are several different hakas performed by the All Blacks, the most famous (and in my opinion most catchy) haka is Ka Mate, a haka composed by Te Rauparaha, the war leader of the Ngati Toa tribe of the North Island of New Zealand.  The translated main body of Ka Mate is as follows:

’Tis death! ‘tis death! (or: I may die) ’Tis life! ‘tis life! (or: I may live)
’Tis death! ‘tis death! ’Tis life! ‘tis life!
This the hairy man that stands here...
…who brought the sun and caused it to shine
A step upward, another step upward!
A step upward, another... the Sun shines!

Here’s a youtube video of Ka Mate by the All Blacks. It is powerful and spine tingling stuff.  I’d like to see the NY Giants square off against these blokes without all the padding that American Football provides for. J

And here are my All Black (or close enough) watches...

Would love to see other horological interpretation of the All Black concept.  Please share yours...

Gaz