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WatchProSite|Market|Digest

Horological Meandering

Jed

 

hey there Jed. I enjoyed reading your post. I always enjoy when someone shares the strange stuff underneath the shiny veneer... I took a day to think about what you said because it addresses mediocrity (think: the ending of Amadeus! the movie...) and it reminds me of something I either forgot or never acknowledged: watch collecting for most of us--is about the escape from Mediocrity, our banal day, our widget-making and selling day, our service-selling and billing day... TV and movies and popular culture being mediocre and much much less than mediocre... leave us empty and shrugging... WATCHES, the good ones, really do give us entree into a world of the Fine, the thoughtful, the reflective (literally and figuratively...) and so much more. This may be why--as we mature as Collectors, we do not buy quite so impulsively--at least I don't. We know that much of what is represented as Fine or Excellent is really just OK, pretty nice, whatever... Watch collecting becomes a search--albeit truly materialistic and ever so earth-bound, to find The Exceptional... I believe we come across such watches at all levels, and at all prices, and through all eras of watchmaking... They are out there. But they are the Exceptions!! I love my 'low-priced vintage Heuers. I also love my Dufour. I love a watch I never talk about here... a dead-cheap Benrus Coin model... it kills me! It's so cool. But what a truly great watch does for us is makes all of this philosophical business Literal--a thing we can hold, examine, study, take joy in--which is a physical, actual representation of all these nameless and mysterious wishes for ourselves--to get to a better and more meaningful place.

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25 Comments view entire thread 

JedScratcher

 
By: CaliforniaJed : June 16th, 2011-09:21
Sitting in the ballroom at IGOTT2, bombarded with images of luscious dials and movements (examples of which are captured in your photos, a few of which I have re-posted below), with scholarly discourse about frequency and metallurgy and time wafting throu...  

Brilliant post Jed!

 
By: Tim Jackson : June 16th, 2011-10:48
My pursuit is aligned with this very much. Well said my friend. Cheers, Tim

I agree, a worthy headscratching post...

 
By: ThomasM : June 16th, 2011-11:39
I've long held that "true quality" is real and "objective" - so long as we are willing to see, one can "see" it, it ain't so "mystical" as some would have us believe. But the thresholds and boundaries are the fertile grounds for endless rhetoric and argum... 

Quality is not mystical. I agree with that, Thomas.

 
By: CaliforniaJed : June 18th, 2011-10:05
What is almost magical, though, is how many different ways it may be achieved, and how the essence of quality is transcendent. You can find its sparkle in a hammer, or a shoe, a car, a watch, a bottle of wine, even a brisket sandwich! Best, CaliforniaJed

Thanks Tim.

 
By: CaliforniaJed : June 18th, 2011-10:01
It is a privilege to be able to share the pursuit with you. Best, CaliforniaJed

You do some great work whilst you're "drifting" Jed.

 
By: RJW : June 16th, 2011-21:15
When I start to drift off, I normally just fall asleep. Regards, Richard.

Richard, there's drifting and there's drifting!

 
By: CaliforniaJed : June 18th, 2011-10:08
If I'm bored, I sleep too! But when I am engrossed, I drift, too, but in thought. Best, CaliforniaJed

Deep thoughts by Jed.

 
By: dxboon : June 17th, 2011-08:12
I agree that quality is real, but honestly I think a lot of people don't care or can't tell the difference. There was a great scene in the film The American President that your question brought to mind. Two characters are verbally sparring about the need ... 

In any case, its fun to have friends like you, Daos

 
By: CaliforniaJed : June 18th, 2011-09:58
with whom to journey through the desert, and the dessert! Best, CaliforniaJed

Jed

 
By: Mostel : June 17th, 2011-09:20
hey there Jed. I enjoyed reading your post. I always enjoy when someone shares the strange stuff underneath the shiny veneer... I took a day to think about what you said because it addresses mediocrity (think: the ending of Amadeus! the movie...) and it r... 

To get to a better and more meaninful place

 
By: CaliforniaJed : June 18th, 2011-09:57
"But what a truly great watch does for us is makes all of this philosophical business Literal--a thing we can hold, examine, study, take joy in--which is a physical, actual representation of all these nameless and mysterious wishes for ourselves--to get t... 

Crawl inside the watch...

 
By: Mostel : June 19th, 2011-16:37
That would be like a watch collector's Charlie and The Chocolate Factory! But is we are Charlie, who is Willy Wonka? Thanks for the provocative post and kind words Jed.

That is funny

 
By: Mostel : June 19th, 2011-17:12
And not a bad choice, indeed! Except, isn't he the ultimate Charlie, too!?

Well said Jed.

 
By: JerryW : June 17th, 2011-21:09
I was really impressed having the opportunity to meet, listen to and see the works of the independents at IGOTT2. I always thought AP was my one and only brand but the independents really have me thinking (not to worry I am still AP crazed). Glad we final... 

Jerry, it was fantastic to discover how much the two of us have in common.

 
By: CaliforniaJed : June 18th, 2011-09:59
I am looking forward to the next opportunity we have to get together, whenever and wherever that might be. Best, CaliforniaJed

If, at the end of the journey, we should find . . .

 
By: Dr No : June 17th, 2011-22:02
. . . that the watches we treasure most are the ones we started with, would quality then be a transitional value? Or, to put it another way, when we find ourselves seeking quality in an object, are we not really seeking quality in our selves?

Man you put the pressure on, Dr. No

 
By: Mostel : June 18th, 2011-09:17
Quality in ourselves? I'll ask my AD if he can order that.

At this stage in the journey, Mostel, I've come to believe . . .

 
By: Dr No : June 18th, 2011-09:25
. . . that the quest we're all on is really more about self-discovery than the ostensible object of our affections . . .

Now that's a headscratcher, Art.

 
By: CaliforniaJed : June 18th, 2011-09:51
I don't disagree at all, Art. We seek a tangible manifestation of something we feel and believe lies within ourselves. In that sense, the cherished object may very well be loved mostly because we hope it reflects something about us. You've moved the discu... 

Quality, perfection, value, etc...

 
By: cen@jkt : June 19th, 2011-01:06
is a matter how we see ourself and how we perceive the world. Agree on what you said. cen@jkt

Human qualities ...

 
By: AndrewD : June 19th, 2011-02:25
Nice work, Jed. When I think about quality in watchmaking, it is the human side, not the mechanical side that I focus on. Yes, the final piece of mechanical art is held in our hands and strapped to our wrists, but it embodies so many human qualities. Desi...