William Gibson wrote a piece for Wired back in the day about his obsession with mechanical watches.[1] He puts it thus: ``` Mechanical watches are so brilliantly unnecessary. Any Swatch or Casio keeps better time, and high-end contemporary Swiss watches are priced like small cars. But mechanical watches partake of what my friend John Clute calls the Tamagotchi Gesture. They're pointless in a peculiarly needful way; t…
They're beautiful and impressive, but I find the amount of money that flows into "high horology" to be an sum with an egregious opportunity cost to society, made even worse by the fact that all that complexity goes towards a movement that is worse at keeping time than a rudimentary quartz. If people want Tamagotchis, they can get a Tamagotchi. I wish people would flex their donations to effective charities instead an…
Ultra-flat timepiece, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is 1.75 millimetres thick watch
171–180 of 278 posts
Re: Ultra-flat timepiece, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is 1.75 millimetres thick watch
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Any Swatch or Casio keeps better time ... and that's my cue to pimp one of the most practical watch of all time - Casio Oceanus, the 100 series. * Analog watch face. * Quartz, radio auto-sync, solar-powered. * Sapphire glass, titanium body and bracelet. Waterproof. * Clean design. Under $500. https://www.google.com/search?q=OCW-S100-1AJF&tbm=isch
Thick and heavy compared to the watch in the fine article. For a desk jockey maybe that doesn't matter. If I'm being flung around at seven G, I'll take the thin, light watch at great expense.
Back here in the real-world, you're a deskjockey.
Re: Ultra-flat timepiece, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is 1.75 millimetres thick watch
#173William Gibson wrote a piece for Wired back in the day about his obsession with mechanical watches.[1] He puts it thus: ``` Mechanical watches are so brilliantly unnecessary. Any Swatch or Casio keeps better time, and high-end contemporary Swiss watches are priced like small cars. But mechanical watches partake of what my friend John Clute calls the Tamagotchi Gesture. They're pointless in a peculiarly needful way; t…
They're beautiful and impressive, but I find the amount of money that flows into "high horology" to be an sum with an egregious opportunity cost to society, made even worse by the fact that all that complexity goes towards a movement that is worse at keeping time than a rudimentary quartz. If people want Tamagotchis, they can get a Tamagotchi. I wish people would flex their donations to effective charities instead an…
Re: Ultra-flat timepiece, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is 1.75 millimetres thick watch
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same with "ultra" and "hyper" cars
I would actually disagree with this one even though I agree with the overall sentiment. Hypercars are much better than regular/sports cars, and should be considered the atomic clock equivalent to the quartz watch - far more accuracy/performance albeit at a significant literal cost. I do not know the real world implications of hyper cars on fuel consumption (I can't expect it to be very good, but I don't expect too ma…
Re: Ultra-flat timepiece, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is 1.75 millimetres thick watch
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Any Swatch or Casio keeps better time ... and that's my cue to pimp one of the most practical watch of all time - Casio Oceanus, the 100 series. * Analog watch face. * Quartz, radio auto-sync, solar-powered. * Sapphire glass, titanium body and bracelet. Waterproof. * Clean design. Under $500. https://www.google.com/search?q=OCW-S100-1AJF&tbm=isch
Practical watches are ones where it's clear at a glance which way up it goes and what the time is; they have numbers on them, preferably in a digital readout like 00:40. Watches without numbers are fashion watches. Watches with analogue faces are relics from when technology only let you decypher the time from rotating pointers. Rotating pointers where the numbers they point at have been removed are form over function…
Re: Ultra-flat timepiece, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is 1.75 millimetres thick watch
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
150 of the exact same model, among huge piles of other models. I don't want to argue about word choice. In the distinction I was describing, however imperfectly worded, watches like this easily go on the bulk side of the line.
No, they don’t. And you won’t find many watch enthusiasts who agree with you either about this class of watch.
> And you won’t find many watch enthusiasts who agree with you either about this class of watch.
What specifically would they disagree with? The idea that these 150 watches are made in bulk to a single design, and that watches of this class have many closely related designs? Or something I said that wasn't watch-specific?
If they're not made in bulk that's extremely interesting to me. Would that be like old guns that didn't have interchangeable parts, each one carefully and individually refined by expert hand to fit together? More so? Less so? How much variance is there between pieces? (I'd guess many old watches are like that but I haven't heard so specifically.)
Re: Ultra-flat timepiece, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is 1.75 millimetres thick watch
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
They're beautiful and impressive, but I find the amount of money that flows into "high horology" to be an sum with an egregious opportunity cost to society, made even worse by the fact that all that complexity goes towards a movement that is worse at keeping time than a rudimentary quartz. If people want Tamagotchis, they can get a Tamagotchi. I wish people would flex their donations to effective charities instead an…
It’s easy to spend other people’s money. The base argument of democracy is that because none of us knows the downstream effects we all share decision making. In other words: “that’s just like, your opinion, man.”
So when consumers vote with their wallets, this vote isn't democratic at all. People that don't have money in their wallets don't get to vote.
Re: Ultra-flat timepiece, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is 1.75 millimetres thick watch
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
150 of the exact same model, among huge piles of other models. I don't want to argue about word choice. In the distinction I was describing, however imperfectly worded, watches like this easily go on the bulk side of the line.
Does art cease being art because the artist created plates and created 100 prints before it wears out? Is that less art than a painting?
Of course not. It's just as much an art.
But those prints shouldn't be priced with the same premium that a single original often has.
Re: Ultra-flat timepiece, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is 1.75 millimetres thick watch
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
150 of the exact same model, among huge piles of other models. I don't want to argue about word choice. In the distinction I was describing, however imperfectly worded, watches like this easily go on the bulk side of the line.
Does art cease being art because the artist created plates and created 100 prints before it wears out? Is that less art than a painting?
Re: Ultra-flat timepiece, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is 1.75 millimetres thick watch
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I wish people would flex their donations to effective charities instead and find simpler luxuries. Why? Are watchmakers not people who deserve to have an income? Do they not then spend their income on goods and services that help the economy?
I believe parent comment is trying to convey that more societal good could be done through more effective donations compared to donating thousands to a watchmaker or watchmaking corporation. Are they using the surplus to better society or only to enrich themselves?
Also watchmaking is blue collar work.