HMT Watch Factory refuses to die.

[AndyHull]

I thought some of you might find this interesting. The article is over a year old, but it explains the intermittent batch production of HMT watches that have appeared from time to time over the last few years.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/hc-asks-centre-to-revive-hmt-s-ranibagh-factory-117031600886_1.html

I might investigate the possibility of visiting the factory, but it is a bit of a trek from my current location in Dehradun.

If you know anybody who might want to invest in, or even buy a watch factory in a beautiful scenic tropical area, let them know... you might never get the opportunity again.  Just think, you would never be short of spare parts for Citizen calibers.. ever.

[StuartBaker104]

I think solving Brexit may be easier than the politics of that opportunity 

[AndyHull]

1 hour ago, StuartBaker104 said:

I think solving Brexit may be easier than the politics of that opportunity 

If you throw enough money at it, the HMT problem would resolve. I suspect that throwing an infinite amount of money at Brexit still wouldn't provide a solution acceptable to all. The first experiment is unlikely to be conducted, but the second one is a work in progress.

[yankeedog]

Hey Guys,

               What is the deal with Brexit?  We do hear about it in the states. It sounds like the Brits have a crummy deal , and they want out of the European Union.It also sounds like a bit like an acrimonious Hollywood divorce. Please enlighten.

[AndyHull]

Pssssssttttt!!!! 

That was the sound of a can of worms being opened.

There are two schools of thought.

1) We can be a member of the EU with all of its benefits.

2) We can leave the EU and... errr. try to persuade them to give us all of the benefits without paying for them. 

I subscribe to the former idea. Roughly 50% of the country backs idea 1 - roughly 50% backs idea 2 (with a margin of error of roughly 1%). This results in... much fractious and often fact free debate. Think of it as our "Donald Trump", but without as much groping or wall building.

Bread and circuses (with the emphasis on the cusses) for the masses. All the while the richest 1% get richer. 

Meanwhile back to the watches.

Edited December 31, 2018 by AndyHull

[StuartBaker104]

Yeh - what Andy said. And then some. The trouble is, the referendum asked people whether or not they wanted what they have today. It didn’t tell them what the alternative was.

Keeping away from the actual politics as much as possible, what makes this all more interesting is that the majority of our elected politicians subscribe to idea 1 (as do I as it happens - but to find out all the reasons why will take most of a bottle of red wine). This makes it very difficult for those politicians to represent the voice of the people at all. Those elected politicians who subscribe to idea 2 all have a different version of what that looks like, so whilst they claim to represent the voice of the people, they don’t agree with one another. Hence, getting to a point where our elected politicians can reach a majority vote on a future state seems like a complete impossibility.

Meanwhile, our erstwhile Prime Minister is dead set on delivering the mandate the referendum asked of her... even though she also subscribes to idea 1.

Where this will all go really bad is when I want to buy parts on eBay from Europe and I end up getting stung for import duties like from the US. Oh, yeh, and it will be a nightmare at work when we can’t ship parts back and forth as we do today, but who cares about our manufacturing industry? (Whoops strayed across the political line there - topic closed!)

 

[yankeedog]

Damned if you do, damned if you don"t? Twas ever thus.Americans are generally adverse to taxing authorities that we ourselves have not elected, and even more averse to those that we have.As for the Donald, I used to work in the cemetery where his parents are buried. I locked him in at closing time on more than one occasion. A man that respects his parents can't be all bad.He was always polite about it and never condescending.As for the wall, we need it.