What, exactly, are designer watches?
Can they be true watches, worthy of your collection?
This is not merely an academic question for those who care
about watches and all the careful engineering and
craftsmanship that go into "real" timepieces. Sure enough,
so-called designer watches tell time - and that's the
purpose of a watch, after all. But real timepieces - as an
horologist might put it - do much more than that.
Horologists are watch collectors and fanatics. For them, a
watch is more than a useful tool. For horologists, watches
are intellectual achievements to be prized, carefully
considered as connoisseurs do their cigars or fine wines.
A true watch represents imaginative majesty, translated
into the grammar of springs and gears. True timepieces are
bold statements, pronouncing not just the time and date
but, ultimately, the refined character of the wearer.
Designer watches also make statements, of course. But what
they say is typically superfluous, where real watches are
concerned. They say nothing more than that they have been,
ostensibly, designed by some famous designer. And what of
the design? That can only be left as a matter involving
subjective tastes. So what is there to consider? One
either likes a certain design or look or one does not.
There is simply no arguing over tastes. Tastes are subject
to everything from transitory moods (which in turn may be
caused by nothing more than a sudden rush of hormones) to
cultural traditions (curiously, no pink-colored wrist bands
have yet appeared to match all the pink shirts that are
currently in vogue, even in the world of formal fashions).
A true watch, however, will admit of more conversation than
that. Mechanical intricacies cannot be endlessly debated,
because mechanical principles base their validity on only
one concern: efficiency. If it works better, it is better.
But ironically, this does not limit the conversation
horologists can have amongst themselves about the different
movements of different watches. Whereas a designer watch
is almost only about aesthetics, true watches inevitably
solicit admiration for their engineering - as well as, as
important asides, their looks. For such watches, being
true timepieces, typically start at almost two thousand
dollars and can fetch upwards of thirty or forty thousand -
without much, if any, precious metals or gems! - and can
never look bad at all. Most such watches are meant to be
used by real aviators and divers; hence the attention to
detail and the obsession with specifications. Designer
watches, on the other hand, simply need to sell, and to as
many as possible. One is about fulfilling practical needs,
the other a simple money-making venture.
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Article by Paul Wise, who has done extensive research on
designer watches. Visit http://www.watchesintime.com if you
need designer watches.
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