Zenith - Pole2Pole Adventure
WORLDTEMPUS - 14 March 2011
Stockholm is an unlikely location for a watch event. But the press conference that took place on Friday was not a common one for the watch industry, either.
Since Jean-Frederic Dufour took over the reins of Zenith a short 18 months ago, he has transformed much about this traditional company. One of his high-profile modifications has been to create a new sector reserved for his ambassadors and their robust watches called "Legends." The latest ambassador in the fold is a Swede just about to embark on one of the greatest exploration adventures of the modern era: Johan Ernst Nilson will leave at the end of the month to transverse the globe from the North Pole to the South Pole. His new Zenith will accompany him every step of the way.
Amundsen's Feat
Roald Amundsen became the first man to reach the South Pole in 1911. Commemorating this feat, Nilson will follow his Scandinavian role model exactly 100 years later - though he won't begin from Norway, but rather the North Pole in an expedition he calls Pole2Pole.
Nilson will start at the North Pole on March 30, walk 200 kilometers across the ice of the Arctic Sea to the Svalbard Archipelago east of Greenland. From there, he will sail the Arctic Ocean to Canada and then bicycle 100 kilometers per day through North and South America, traversing the Amazon and ending up in Patagonia. From there he will sail to Antarctica where the last leg of his trip is scheduled to begin: a two-month journey by ski and parafoil to the South Pole. The whole trip is budgeted for a very calculated year. If Nilson gets off schedule by even one day, he may not achieve his goal since the poles can only be reached at certain times.
Throughout this historic journey, he will be wearing Zenith's El Primero Stratos Flyback, which will help him keep this tight schedule.
The Stratos Flyback
Zenith has created a new watch just for Nilson, which will also be available for consumers in a limited edition in July for about € 6,000. Housed in an extremely light, black, 45.5 mm alchron (an aluminum and steel alloy) case, it is powered by the iconic El Primero chronograph caliber. Nilson, who is indeed extremely knowledgeable in horology, says that it's impossible to go on an extreme expedition with a quartz watch. "They just give up," he said. Nilson signed a three-year contract with Zenith and explained that he is interested in "long-term partners."
Connectedness
Nilson, a magnetic, enthusiastic personality, explained that he loves modern technology and always carries equipment with him that enables him to blog, tweet and communicate while he is on his extensive adventures; he has already completed 28 such adventures in 100 countries over the course of 15 years. He even related that he has given speeches and seminars from his exotic places of business. Nilson's adventures can be followed in detail on his Facebook page - which will now be hooked in to Zenith's Facebook page as well.
"Amundsen was a real person who accomplished something really exceptional. Why can't we all do that?" Obviously, both Nilson and Dufour have asked themselves this question many times. "The impossible just takes more time," Nilson quipped.
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