Paging the horologisti

I probably *was* having a swipe at conspicous consumption. There
seems to me to be a whole class of goods which exist purely to
demonstrate that one can afford them - Louis Vitton luggage, Mont
Blanc pens, etc, and I would include Rolexes in with them. This is, I
think, a relatively modern phenomonem (the last 20~25 years); where
previously such good were *very* good quality, they are now so much
more expensive than itemns of comparable functionality that they
cannot possibly be judged to be "worth" their price.

 

Speaking of the BBC, I've got tickets for the open day at Kingswood Warren
tomorrow. Is it likely to be worth going, or should I just "work from home"
?

 

Er. Old country house on the outside, skanky public service building
on the inside. Populated mostly by freaks (all of whom are now
looking at Manchester house prices, hahaha), large collection of
industry awards in a display case by the main stairs.

It's not even outside the M25, so you won't be able to make the most of
the weather with a ride there and back.

What are you hoping to get out of it?

 

Well, Rolices [which must surely be the correct plural ;-)] have built up a
reputation over some 80 years, and do at least tell the time. Mont Blanc
pens do write rather nicely - but, no, I don't own one. The brand mania of
stuff like Vuitton, Gucci, Hermes and the rest is quite barking. The only
thing which is important is the label, the logo, the unsubtle "look, we both
know my handbag cost the same as your housekeeping budget for a year, so
**** off and drool with envy." Get it made in Vietnam by under-age cripples
for ****-all, bung a chi-chi logo on it, knock it out in Bond Street.
Vuitton key-cases, for God's sake; Gucci coffee-cups; Hermes ashtrays.
Utterly, utterly mad.

 

I'd heard it was a bit like Bletchley Park in the 1940s ...

haha indeeed

They've got some desktop production workflow stuff, apparently, and H.264
and Dirac demos, and hopefully some Daleks

 

Rolexen, surely?

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

Any more than one Rolex must be a Rolexessory.

 

We did this a while back, didn't we? I also think you're wrong, to a
certain extent.

Yes, there are people who like to flaunt expensive accessories. But
some 'quality' products really are just that - quality, and will last a
lifetime, if not several.

My Grandpa's Certina watch, for example. I use it as a back-up, now.
It's not waterproof, for one thing.

My own Oris Big Crown watch is not flash at all - but it keeps
excellent time, its simple dial is a pleasure to look at, and it's as
tough as shit, because when the leather strap broke, it was flung into
the road. I was riding my Dax at the time and it hit tarmac at 30mph or
so. Amazingly, it still worked. OK, the day/date function cried enough
after a day or two, and cost 20 quid or so to fix.

I was asked if i wanted the main crown replaced, because it was badly
gouged by the impact. I refused, on the grounds that like a few battle
scars on a bike, it's a badge of honour. And it makes the watch "mine".

I write with a fountain pen because I alweays have. Again, it's
expensive - not wildly so, but a couple of hundred quid. It was a lot
less when I bought it, mind. Assuming I don't throw that in the road as
well, it'll last indefinitely.

The thing about 'nice' items like these is that if you use them, day-in
and day-out, you really appreciate them. There's a pleasure in
ownership and use you won't get from a Bic or a Swatch, IMHO.

 

this, from the man who denies himself the simple pleasure of taking a
wodge of cash from a hole in the wall[1]...

[1] if you lived where I live, you could have the pleasure of using the
bank which had the first ATM in the world.

 

They play croquet on the lawn in the summer.

Wibble flip...

 

We did this a while back, didn't we? I also think you're wrong, to a
certain extent.[/QUOTE]

To a certain extent, I may be.

I do understand the pleasure in owning a quality item. Whether one
wants a quality watch or a cheap one is down to one's personal
priorities. On this occasion, however, I was having a go at those
items whose price tag is (imo) ridiculously high just in order to make
it more exclusive. I would include modern Rolexii [1] in this group.

[1] just joining in the plural fun

 

Would you buy an electric bike if they were just as good as petrol ones or would
you still prefer something with mechanical up and downy bits?
Its the difference between having a wank or sex with a real woman (or
what/whoever you
prefer to have sex with , he said in a non judgemental way).The end result is
the same
but ones more fun than the other.

Steve

 

This perhaps the worst metaphor I've ever seen. Well done.

 

Well, the examples you cite are [at best] extremely physical and involving
experiences, whereas Champ was taking issue with the more ephemeral pleasure
of having stuff which does X job at Y pounds rather than stuff which does X
[or even 2X] job at Y/100 pounds. Here's yet another way of looking at it:
would you always take the shortest route from A to B - brutally utilitarian
in terms of petrol, depreciation, wear'n'tear, tyres, service intervals,
time - or do you tend to turn a necessary journey into a challenging,
thrill-inducing, time-wasting, mainly self-indulgent thrash?

 

I would, if it was just as good as it's equivalent petrol engined
counterpart.
In fact, the prospect sounds exciting, to me.

Stealth gixer thou, anyone? I'd go for it.

--
Alex
BMW R1150GS
DIAABTCOD#3 MSWF#4 UKRMFBC#6 Ibw#35 BOB#8
http://www.team-ukrm.co.uk
Windy's "little soldier"

 

If I got the same pleasure out of telling the time as riding my bike,
this might work as a metaphor

 

Champ wrote

AOL, especially if it had them Carbon Lorraine brushes.

 

^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^

Well, taking that phrase at it's most obvious meaning, then obviously
the answer would be "yes". Hell, I'd be happy with a steam-powered bike
if it was "as good as" a petrol engined one.

no, it isn't.

This sort of analogy isn't exactly in line with your "as good as"
clause in your comparison above.

 

It was a pisspoor analogy, too.

 

You need to add a decent dictionary to your Amazon order.