Hybrid watches are pretty appealing, i can imagine they unlock a market of people that just can’t get past mechanical watches are a bit crap at their primary function.
High end watches are somewhat appealing - the craftsmanship & precision engineering appeal (although today even most high end stuff is machine assembled i think?). Still there’s that huge sting in the tail… they’re just not great timepieces[1].
Your (network connected) phone is going to be more accurate. I can’t help feel like an absolute plum if i were to part with 5k+ for a watch with less accuracy than an £8 Casio.
The article talks about spring drive and that i can get behind, the constant smooth movement is mesmerising, the accuracy is entirely respectable and it charges itself just by wearing so you still get the benefits of an automatic. Then, depending on the model you choose, you get a hand-finished casing that uses a polishing technique that takes a craftsman years to qualify in. To top it all off, these GS spring drives are some of the cheapest “high horology” options out there. I’m sold…
[1] one exception, i’ll never be able to own one, but the H. Moser & Cie “Swiss Alp Watch” which i think i like mostly for the complete absurdity of everything about it
As Teddy Baldassare puts it "Mechanical Watches are expensive toys". And as an owner of a couple of mechanical watches which I use daily, I'm pretty aware of it.
However, wearing a mechanical watch makes me happy. It's a fascinating thing to keep time completely mechanically, and creates a nice counterbalance in my life filled with electronics.
Can’t say anything about mechanical watches, but I’ll disagree with this: in my experience, fountain pens aren’t just toys. I was given a fountain pen a few years ago, and I immediately found it made my hand hurt less when writing, because I didn’t need to press nearly as hard. Since then I’ve found a few models of gel pens which are similar in this regard, but when it comes to handwriting, I still find fountain pens to be by far the most comfortable for me.
How do you use it and not have it need refilling every time you use it? And not make a massive mess over work surface and hands when you do so?
It was never a problem with the cheap disposable cartridge ones we used at school, but I was given a nicer refillable (twist to draw up ink) one and nice as it is to write with it's a bit of a nightmare as a whole experience, which stops me using it as much as I'd otherwise like to.
What you need: A big paper tissue, ink bottle, pen, a sheet of paper.
Step 1: Make sure that your bottle's bore/lip is clean. Dip your pen just enough to cover feed, plus a little of the section (grip). Twist to empty, twist to fill. If there's too much air, repeat a couple times.
Step 2: Raise your pen, but do not remove from the bottle. Twist your piston to drip 4-5 drops of ink back to bottle. This is the amount which saturates your feed. Twist to fill in air, to suck some air, and the excess ink in the feed.
Step 3: Wait a couple of seconds to wait for any other drip, remove your pen from the bottle, wipe the feed, sides of the nib and section. Re-wipe with a damp cloth if you wish. Scribble a little on your paper, you're done.
Be careful while wiping the feed in step 3. There'll be some ink and it may transfer from your tissue to your finger.
If your pen dries very quickly, it might not be good sealer and may need frequent use to ensure to use all the ink inside before drying out. If you can share the make/model, I might be able to point to you to right way.
For me, A Lamy cartridge (or a converter fitted Lamy) lasts around two weeks if I use it every day, even more if I don't. I generally refill my pens when the ink drops below a certain level since more air means faster dry out inside the pen, and make it more prone to "burping".
> in my experience, fountain pens aren’t just toys.
As an avid fountain pen user, I agree on that regard. Also mechanical watches are not toys in the same perspective.
I'm solely using fountain pens for plethora of reasons, but practicality is not one of them. They need maintenance, needs ink selection if your daily paper is not the best, they get upset when they fly, etc. However even the cheapest Lamy safari can outlast many pens without much effort.
Same for mechanical watches. They're built better, with better materials. They live way longer, and any modern piece can hold time good enough for daily life, but they need maintenance. They need care sometimes.
They are not toys as in "simple and badly made", but are toys as in "There are more practical options, but we prefer to use them because of reasons".
High end watches are somewhat appealing - the craftsmanship & precision engineering appeal (although today even most high end stuff is machine assembled i think?). Still there’s that huge sting in the tail… they’re just not great timepieces[1].
Your (network connected) phone is going to be more accurate. I can’t help feel like an absolute plum if i were to part with 5k+ for a watch with less accuracy than an £8 Casio.
The article talks about spring drive and that i can get behind, the constant smooth movement is mesmerising, the accuracy is entirely respectable and it charges itself just by wearing so you still get the benefits of an automatic. Then, depending on the model you choose, you get a hand-finished casing that uses a polishing technique that takes a craftsman years to qualify in. To top it all off, these GS spring drives are some of the cheapest “high horology” options out there. I’m sold…
[1] one exception, i’ll never be able to own one, but the H. Moser & Cie “Swiss Alp Watch” which i think i like mostly for the complete absurdity of everything about it