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Thread: A cool story of one Ebel Voyager

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    A cool story of one Ebel Voyager

    Inspired by Rory's WRUW post, I started digging a little about that model (innocently, promise! ) and found this cool story:

    https://www.lesrhabilleurs.com/2020/...-montre-acier/

    It's in French, but machine translation is working fine -- I used DeepL.com (which I recommend, because it's not Google), but if you're a Google Translate addict, it should work, too. Enjoy the read!

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    Ich bin ein Ebeler! WWII70's Avatar
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    A cool story of one Ebel Voyager

    Thanks Rodia
    I’m rarely credited with inspiring anyone, at lest not in a positive way! I’m glad my Voyager lead you to this nice article. Here’s a rough translation;


    Let's talk about traveling...

    1987: I am 23 years old and for the first time I get on a plane. He's going to take me from Paris to Mulhouse. I still remember the emotion I felt at take-off and the smile that never left me during the 45-minute flight.

    2019: more than 30 years later, I have travelled more than 380,000 miles in 12 months, crossing the Pacific twice a month to get to the Japan Asia Pacific Region which I am in charge of.

    Travel is part of my daily life. So when Jerome asked me to write a few lines about something dear to my heart, I walked over to my dented aluminum suitcase. I opened it and took out my little toilet bag.

    This kit is also an interesting item - it is made from the fabric of the sails of Alinghi, the yacht that won the America's Cup in 2007. But that's another story ...


    In the kit there's a tiny zippered pocket that always gave me a hard time. It's "flu" and doesn't open easily.


    Maybe it's his way of protecting the object I'm about to tell you about: a watch - of course. But this one is different from all the others. It is "my precious", the one I will never sell, the one I wear only on very rare occasions.

    Such an important watch in a toiletry kit ! The purists are preparing the bonfire. How dare! And if I add that it rarely comes out of this little pocket - even back in California, I see some of them starting to cry.

    Yet, once again, it is the most precious object I possess. So what treasure is hiding in my toiletry bag? A Patek, a vintage Rolex Daytona, a Philippe Dufour Simplicity?

    Much better than all that: a steel Ebel Voyager.


    Voyager was launched in 1989. Since then the brand has gone through its ups and downs, and is - unfortunately - no longer very visible today.

    However, La Voyager has always been one of my "dream watches". For many years, every time I saw one in the window, I couldn't help but stop and admire it. It's called love at first sight. I'd walk into the shop, try it on and leave, a little sad. Too expensive for me, a young graduate who couldn't yet afford a "pretty" watch.

    It wasn't until a trip to New York in 2000, with Penelope - my future wife - that my watchmaking dream became a reality.

    Passing by a small shop not far from the World Trade Center, I stopped dead in my tracks. There it was, with its "Planisphere" dial, its Worldtimer bezel, offered on its famous steel bracelet - one of the most complex ever made for a watch.

    A few moments later - a gift from my beautiful wife - it was on my wrist.




    The value of an object comes from the emotions it arouses. Here it was love, escape, carelessness.

    Afterwards, there were many small and big events. The little New York cow has disappeared, like the neighbouring Towers. There were births, more trips, crises, intense moments of happiness. Sadness, illness, moving house. A new life in the US.

    The Ebel never left me.

    You're probably wondering, how did she end up in a toiletry bag?

    On July 25, 2000, a few months before our New York escapade, the Concorde crashed into a hotel in Gonesse. At the time of the disaster, I was about to board a flight to Geneva, where I lived. A few hours later, I was at the crash site. At that time, I was part of an Air France crisis cell. The next day, Penelope - also a member of this cell - joined me.

    This tragic event brought us together. It also convinced me that I would now need a lucky charm to travel.

    It will be the Ebel Voyager.


    Let's go back to New York.

    As I left the Big Apple, I packed my things. The watch was sitting next to the case in the bathroom. I should have put it on my wrist. But it got caught between a bottle of Monsieur de Chanel and a toothbrush. Why did it get stuck between a toothbrush and a bottle of Monsieur de Chanel? I'll never know.

    One thing's for sure, that kit seemed obvious.

    Since then, Voyager has become this talisman that protects me when I travel. I don't need a carrying case. No need to look for it. The kit fits naturally in my suitcase. So there's no risk of forgetting it. That's why it never comes out.

    Does that mean I don't take care of it?

    I am so afraid that it stops that I bought since 3 other Voyager not to miss parts if by misfortune the caliber were to succumb.

    For 20 years, it has been overhauled only once. It was a few months ago, here in South LA.

    The bezel seemed to be stuck. So I took it to the best watchmaker in the area. I'd never been so anxious about anything before. I found myself in this workshop, facing Joe.

    I handed him the watch, but I wanted to tell him his story to make sure he took good care of it.

    He smiled at me, turned around, opened his drawer and pulled out an Ebel Voyager. His own.

    We've been friends ever since.

    You see, I ended up with a story about a drawer...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Last edited by WWII70; Jun 3, 2020 at 08:11 PM.
    Ebels (lots), IWC, Omega, FC, Eterna, Tag, Invicta, Movado
    If you are interested in the details http://www.intlwatchleague.com/membe...70&tab=aboutme

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    Cheers! (For those who read it here: the original blog (?) article is complemented with nice photos).

    Quote Originally Posted by WWII70 View Post
    The little New York cow has disappeared, like the neighbouring Towers.
    'Boutique' rather than 'cow'. There's a typo in the source and the machine translation didn't get it right.

  6. #4
    Ich bin ein Ebeler! WWII70's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rodia77 View Post
    Cheers! (For those who read it here: the original blog (?) article is complemented with nice photos).



    'Boutique' rather than 'cow'. There's a typo in the source and the machine translation didn't get it right.
    That’s hilarious Like instruction manuals (remember them) translated poorly into English


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Ebels (lots), IWC, Omega, FC, Eterna, Tag, Invicta, Movado
    If you are interested in the details http://www.intlwatchleague.com/membe...70&tab=aboutme

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    Ich bin ein Ebeler! WWII70's Avatar
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    A cool story of one Ebel Voyager

    “bovutique” is how we got to “cow” instead of “shop” or “boutique”


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Last edited by WWII70; Jun 3, 2020 at 11:01 AM.
    Ebels (lots), IWC, Omega, FC, Eterna, Tag, Invicta, Movado
    If you are interested in the details http://www.intlwatchleague.com/membe...70&tab=aboutme

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  10. #6
    While we have this Voyager on the table, can you tell if the hour hand is quick-set?

  11. #7
    Ich bin ein Ebeler! WWII70's Avatar
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    No it doesn’t have quickset hour but you don’t need this if you keep the hands set to your home time or GMT.
    If you do want set the time for a new time zone, it only takes a few seconds to reset the hands.

    The downside of quickset hour is that you lose the quickset date function. In my experience, you can’t advance the date except by moving the hour hand in multiples of 24. Are there any watches that have both quickset hour and quickset date functions?

    Anyway, here’s a wristshot of this watch today.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Ebels (lots), IWC, Omega, FC, Eterna, Tag, Invicta, Movado
    If you are interested in the details http://www.intlwatchleague.com/membe...70&tab=aboutme

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