The Around the World Journey of the North Pointer
Travels with Romain Oudot and RGM
Romain Oudot is an adventurous twenty-two year old furniture craftsman from the small, Eastern village of Grande Combe Chateleu, France. Several years ago Romain decided to set a goal for himself to travel around the world. Towards that end he took an extra job and recently, before setting off on this historic journey, he sold most everything he owns. Since August, Romain has been traveling, via London around the United States. He’ll spend the next two months seeing sites in the US and Canada when in November, he meets up with some other travelers to begin his global trek.
Last week Romain stopped in to RGM where he picked up a RGM #254 North Pointer to help him on his journey. RGM is pleased to sponsor Romain with this watch and over the coming months we’ll be following him as he travels around the world, ending in late March or early April, back in France.
The RGM #254 is the North Pointer for a reason. The "North Pointer" aspect of the watch and the large "N" on the GMT hand. This is more than just for show, but you can actually determine the direction of North with the watch. This is something that can be done with any such GMT watch if you can see the sun. Place the watch in a flat horizontal position (face of the watch facing the sky). Find the sun, and then point the regular hour hand of the watch toward the sun. The GMT hand should be pointing North.
In the grand tradition of rugged instrument watches, RGM Watch Company is excited to see the North Pointer GMT, RGM Reference 254 on its next adventure.
In addition to visiting RGM to pick up his North Pointer, Romain stopped in at Lancaster’s Clipper Stadium to see some Lancaster Barnstormer’s baseball team. South central Pennsylvania is not only famous for high-end watches but what are perhaps the most well known motorcycles on the planet Harley-Davidson. Romain visited the Harley-Davidson factory in nearby York. Of course, he took along his North Pointer.
Leaving Lancaster Romain traveled to Chicago visiting their famous Millennium Park. The park is home to one of the most sophisticated outdoor venues in the country, the famous Pritzker Center designed by star architect Frank Gehry. The 24-acre park, once a railroad yard now houses performance venues where the Grant Park Symphony practices and
plays as well many other events. The Park is also home to several pieces of unique monumental sculpture, which you can see in Romain’s photos, such as the amazing Cloud Gate, a 110-ton seamless, mirror polished, stainless steel elliptical sculpture.
From Chicago Romain continued his westward travels stopping at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota’s beautiful Black Hills. Here Romain’s North Pointer is juxtaposed with the iconic American memorial. Mount Rushmore is carved from the live granite of the Black Hills. The sixty-foot high presidential portraits were the dream of sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who began the construction in 1927 with the help of 400 workers. The project was taken over by the National Park Service in 1933. Gutzon Borglum died in 1939. Construction was stopped in 1941 by Gutzon’s son, Lincoln Borglum. Originally Gutzon has intended to present the president from the waist up but mounting costs and Gutzon’s death prevented that. At the base of mount Rushmore lies the small South Dakota city of Keystone, there is a museum there commemorating Borglum’s efforts.
From the Black Hills of South Dakota, over the prairie grasslands and infamous badlands, Romain made his way to what is perhaps the most famous of American Parks. Stay tuned as we conitnue our Journey with RGM's North Pointer and Romain in Yellowstone National Park.