Dr. Miklós Nyitrai, dean of our School emphasized in several of his statements that he finds it important to develop a motivational system for keeping the young researchers and PhD students here, and for expressing the appreciation of our co-workers. As a part of this system, the students graduating with “summa cum laude” honours received the 14 carat gold Elisabeth ring with the Medical School’s crest on it at the graduation ceremony on 29 June; they received it for the recognition of their outstanding academic achievement. Earlier the heads of departments and the professors received gifts from the School: men received ties in three different colours, and women received cotton scarves in three different colours too. The motivational system’s new element is that prestigious men’s watch, which the leadership of the School had designed for the newly appointed associate professors and full professors. The manufacturer, founder, owner, and designer of Evolvens Budapest, István Mezei, delivered the artistic gifts wrapped in beautiful boxes personally to the Dean’s Office in Pécs.
Written by Rita Schweier
- I see quite a lot of boxes on the table, how many have you brought exactly?
- I found it important to bring personally these ten watches designed and manufactured specially for the Medical School in Pécs. This is the first so-called pilot lot but there is also a prototype, which the dean has received. These ten watches were manufactured based on and with that technology that is needed for serial production.
- Were there many consultations necessary until the final solution has been created?
- Fortunately, no, we had an especially smooth cooperation with the dean, which helped our work a lot. Due to Miklós’ sense of beauty and to the fact that he sees the colours and the balance very well, there was no question I disagreed with and I understood what kind of message the “jewellery” should contain and what kind of morale it should reflect based on this. This was our first cooperation agreement with the university and it is my pleasure to say that it has ended with great experiences. We found the joint work important from the point of view of business policy, moreover, it was an honour to us that we were chosen for this task. The message we hand over with the watch is important and valuable for us as well, therefore I immediately said yes to the request. The university’s past of many decades, science, education, and development – these are all such values before which we have to bow our heads. I trust that those who receive this watch will wear it proudly, not only because of its message but also because they are going to like its appearance and they are going to consider it well worn.
Sports is the other field with which I can fully identify myself. Currently we have an agreement with a big, motorbike manufacturer company too who see the representation of their brand in the form of our watches; we gladly participate in this as well. Of course, it is also an important aspect for us whether we find business potential in a cooperation in which it is worth investing since developing a watch is an expensive procedure. We have to know what the communication opportunities of the customer are and how many followers they have. The university is of course totally different from this aspect.
- I am holding the watch and its depth, its “multi-coloured blue”, immediately grips me. Even the choice of colour shows value and elegance.
- The watch face is the result of four kinds of independent technological steps. It was obvious that it is going to be blue but I also wanted this blue to come to life. The watch face is a 0.2 mm stainless chromium nickel steel plate, which we have concentrically brushed, then came the blue, gradient coating on it, which conduces to the play of the lighter and deeper blue tinges. There are three so-called effects in it, the combination of these gives this special light effect, fine vibration, and those small markers, which we built in the watch face as well, creating its depth. The case has a matt surface; it got a so-called bead blasted surface treatment in order to give it a homogeneous, unified light. The surface of suit watches is usually very brightly polished, you can see only these kind of watches on the market, but I think that this watch is different and its extraordinariness is its virtue. Besides the Medical School’s crest the word “Quinqueecclesiensis” is on the watch face too, which also makes the look of the watch serious. We usually insist on having the word Budapest on our watches because we find it important to emphasize their Hungarian origin and the location but this time we left it out and only the brand remained.
In our portfolio, the men’s watches are equipped with automatic mechanism, which means that there is no electronics in them; they are completely mechanical, which refers to quality and stable value. This 24 stone, self-winding mechanism is of Japanese origin, in which you do not have to change batteries. The spring gets its energy from the person’s kinetic energy; you only have to wear it. Its power reserve is 42 hours but you can wind it as well. In theory, it never breaks down unless something happens to it. We decorated the rotor according to the university’s image and morale.
- The men’s watches are ready for the time being, when do the women’s watches arrive?
- Developing women’s watches is a very hard task in the company’s other portfolio as well and it is a less familiar field than men’s watches. The reason is that a watch has a different meaning for men and women. For men it has mostly timing, functional significance, while for women it is a jewellery they wear with certain clothes and accessories, therefore they usually buy several kinds. As an interesting fact, I would like to add that we have women’s watches with a Hungarian woman painter’s works built in them. Designing is a real challenge in this case but based on the School’s request the watches are going to be ready by September.
- It may be easier that the women’s watch is going to be the twin of the men’s watch based on the current design, showing their cohesion and same manufacturer.
- Yes, we definitely would like to show that they come from “under one lid” and their message is the same. The men’s watch has such style elements that can be used in the women’s design as well, symbolising their cohesion. The women’s watch is going to be more ethereal, lighter, and brighter so the watch face is expected to be white and not blue.
- Let’s talk a bit about the Evolvens brand.
- Evolvens is a so-called micro brand; watches with automatic mechanism designed and built completely in Budapest. For us the watches are not only chronometric instruments but they are also a business card about us, about who we are, where we come from, and what kind of values we represent. Our team sees watchmaking as an opportunity and artistic freedom. Our aim is to evolve, continuously and to make Evolvens become an internationally recognised brand.