There's a lot of tensions here ...on the one hand there's the tension
between features and cost. There's also the tension between a reasonable
common denominator and coming up with a watch that is so bland that you
might as well go and buy a Tissot or some other readily available watch. In
any kind of "Swiss" mechanical watch, features such as power reserve and
alarm are usually gonna cost you bigtime. OTOH, there are inexpensive
movements around (Poljot, Orient) that have some of these features but none
that I can think of that have all. I suppose there's no reason why a Poljot
movement couldn't be used - after all they're good enough for Franck Muller.
:-) and our alt.h watch doesn't have to be labeled "Swiss Made" even if it
is put together there. I'd prefer something that is a little bit out of the
ordinary today - say a NOS handwind (caches of these turn up periodically,
enough for a limited production run. Little Swiss elves seem to love to hide
things in vaults - gold, jewelry, watch movements, etc.). ETA2824 watches
are a dime a dozen. You want something that has a little bit of novelty
value but not something that is so weird looking that you wouldn't be
willing to wear it to the office.
The idea of ALT.HOROLOGY in place of the numbers is clever I though. It
reminds me of the very collectible "Eaton's 1/4 Century" Rolex Prince
watches (given to employees of that Canadian department store as rewards for
25 years of service):
http://www.yorktime.com/search?cid=6:sku=158
As you can see, from a distance the watch looks very "passable" as a
pleasant dress watch, very clean lines, nothing remarkable about its
styling. Only when you get very close do you realize that this is no
ordinary watch but a very special piece that is not for everyone. You could
do worse than to do a "homage" of this watch in stainless. You don't have to
feel like you are stealing, because Rolex doesn't sell anything remotely
like this any more nor will they ever sell a watch again that doesn't have
ROLEX in huge letters on the dial. In accordance with modern taste, I'd do
it up a bit bigger, since 33mm looks small nowadays. I'd say 36mm but some
would even say 38. Anything bigger would look clownish IMHO, but then what
do I know when people walk around nowadays with watches as big as potatoes.
I must say that I am attracted to watches with ultra-clean styling such as
this one. For some reason, these seemed to reach their height in the '50s -
the pre-war rectangular watches were out of style, the wild excesses of the
'60s and '70s were not yet conceived. To me these are the archetypical
watches, maybe because my father wore watches like this when I was a child.
Post by Walter SpectorPost by Mark South...
What about making up an official alt.horology watch? We could have a
design competition and vote to choose the winner. (It could even be an
annual event.) The discussion to choose a design would at least be
interesting, and the watches would have some interest as curiosities.
(delurking)
1.) Styling-wise, something like an Omega DeVille. E.g., dressy enough to wear
to the office, but not 'flashy'. (NO DIVERS BEZELS.)
2.) Handwound mech is fine. Ability to hack seconds is desirable. Power reserve
feature would be great.
3.) Date not essential. Especially if hand-wound.
4.) Forget a chrono. They are a dime a dozen, and I rarely use the chrono features.
5.) As an alternative I'd *really* like a reasonable alarm feature. New Memovoxs
and Crickets are way to expensive. The need for an alarm is something which
forces me to use quartz watches much of the time.
"An alarm feature, combined with power reserve meter, means that one has
complete assurance that the appointment will not be missed."
6.) Since the internet is a 24 hour activity, consider a GMT hand.
7.) It must be easy to read in all lighting situations. To support this, there
should be obvious contrast between the hands and face. The hands should also
be luminous. (The Swiss Army Officers watch is a nice example of this.)
8.) Saphire glass would be nice. Display back not a huge requirement.
9.) Leather band is fine. I generally don't like bracelets.
10.) Don't waste a lot of budget on fancy boxes.
(back to lurk mode)
Walt Spector
(w6ws at earthlink dot net)
