The Monocle Minute

In 1949, 12 countries signed Nato’s founding treaty. The military alliance’s stated purpose was to “safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law”. This lofty talk was glibly translated by the alliance’s first secretary-general, former UK general Lord Ismay, as a desire on Europe’s part to “keep the Americans in, the Russians out and the Germans down”. Today, Germany is being encouraged to step up – times have changed in that respect. But where the US and Russia are concerned, Nato has cause for angst that this week’s 75th anniversary summit is notably short on self-congratulation.

Since February 2022, keeping Russians out has turned from a theoretical principle into a practical one. And from next January, the matter of keeping Americans in might depend on the whims of a capricious and vindictive US president who appears (or pretends) not to understand what the bloc is for or how it works. But it should be hoped that this year’s diamond jubilee reminds us of the organisation’s value – something that the war in Ukraine has demonstrated. Russia has conspicuously been disinclined to try its luck with any former Soviet states now protected by Article 5 of Nato’s treaty.

Amid the hurly-burly of any decent-sized summit, you work where and when you can. I’m writing some of this column in the Washington embassy of Estonia, which has been a Nato member for 20 years. This is a statement that would have seemed the stuff of fantasy perhaps as recently as Nato’s 40th anniversary in 1989. Looming over the organisation’s 75th birthday this week has been gloomy anxieties about what its 76th might be like in the event of Donald Trump’s restoration. Now would be a good time for Nato’s longer-established members to see the value of the alliance in the way that more recent arrivals do.

Andrew Mueller is a contributing editor at Monocle and the presenter of ‘The Foreign Desk’ on Monocle Radio. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

Long criticised by other G7 members for not providing Ukraine with lethal weapons, Japan has applied its technological know-how to one of the embattled country’s most pressing problems: unexploded mines. Its first shipment of mine-clearing vehicles arrived in Ukraine this week as part of a $563m (€520m) aid package intended for reconstruction efforts. The transfer includes four Nikken-manufactured vehicles for Ukraine’s emergency services, with a further 20 expected later this year. Featuring an excavator-type arm tip, the units enable debris removal and tree felling from a safe distance. Similar models have already been used in Cambodia and Afghanistan.

Since the beginning of the war, retreating Russian troops have laid an extraordinary number of mines across the country’s agricultural land and civilian areas, including parks, power stations and private homes. Because Ukraine produces almost half of all the sunflower oil sold across the world – as well as about 10 per cent of the wheat – this poses a significant global threat. Though Monday’s Russian missile attacks delayed the new vehicles’ delivery, Ukrainian officials hope that they will have a game-changing effect on the country’s demining efforts.

This week the University of California San Diego’s celebrated Stuart Collection of public art announced a new programme for emerging talent in a bid to give voice to a more diverse range of perspectives. The project seeks to provide young practitioners with an opportunity to develop their first permanent installation. The collection currently consists of more than 20 site-specific works on the university’s campus and has long been a popular visitor attraction. Prominent artists who have previously been selected include Kiki Smith and Mark Bradford.

Among those who have been commissioned for the latest initiative are Max Hooper Schneider, RojoNegro – a duo consisting of Noé Martinez and Maria Sosa – and Precious Okoyomon, who is also co-representing Nigeria at this year’s Venice Biennale. The finished works will be unveiled between spring 2025 and autumn 2026, and will tackle sensitive themes such as identity, colonialism and climate change.

Giovanni Moro is the co-founder of Milan-based Unimatic, a watchmaker specialising in developing minimalist yet sporty timepieces. He sat down with Monocle to tell us how his brand has found unexpected international success since its conception in 2015.

Where did Unimatic come from?
My co-founder, Simone Nunziato, already had the basic idea of Unimatic when we were studying industrial design at the Politecnico di Milano. As collectors, we were very fond of watches. We decided to come up with a name for our own company that would embody the mindset behind the brand and its design features. When we combined the words “unique” and “automatic”, Unimatic was born.

Italy isn’t traditionally thought of as a watchmaking nation. What difficulties did you face in establishing Unimatic?
Setting up a watch company in Italy is an unusual choice because of the market dominance of Switzerland and Japan. But we saw an opportunity to bring an Italian sensibility and attention to detail to watchmaking. There were many challenges to overcome, particularly when it came to the procurement of movements and components. We have now established our own small assembly line on the outskirts of Milan.

How did you get Unimatic out there in its early days?
We had no plan and nobody around us was interested in carrying a product from an unknown, tiny company in Italy. I’ll be honest: I sent a cold email to a concept shop in Paris around Christmas 2015. It responded. Who knows why – perhaps it was out of pity or a sense of festive goodwill. It asked for two pieces. I went to Paris personally and spoke to the people there and they sold both of the watches that day. Afterwards they asked for four more, then eight. Then we let word of mouth do the work.

For our full interview with Moro, tune in to the latest ‘Eureka’ edition of ‘The Entrepreneurs’ on Monocle Radio.

New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, might not be the first place that you think of when you’re looking for a culinary escape – but its award-winning restaurants, booming coffee culture and focus on seasonal ingredients make it well worth a visit. Here, Monocle’s Flynn Symonds takes us on a tour of his hometown.