irlca
April 11th, 2006, 23:47
Do they notice?
What I am referring to here is do people notice your watch? This may be a little uncomfortable to some people as they see it as trying to impress people, get ahead etc. " I'm better than you" kind of angle. I put it this way: I like to present a true enough representation of myself to others; clean cut, tidy maybe somedays even elegant. I believe this is the persona the Longines VHP flagship suits. It always looks this way. I sometimes do.
That reminds me of an ad for Seiko watches years ago on the telly: If I remember it right this guy was about to be tortured, tied to a chair with his forearms tied to the arms of the chair, watch upward. The camera zoomed in on the watch and you could see the quartz ticking away clean and tidy, and the voiceover said "Seiko performs, the rest is up to you" . It's funny I remember that but not what I did last week.
The purchaing of the watch (Longines) was actually the pursuit of a feeling I used to have when I was younger ages ago "self containedness" & well being when I wore my dad's mechanical Omega seamaster deville (at least I think thats what it was). It was a time when watches were waterproof! (Ah the arrogance). He bought it in the mid sixties I think, but apparently could not wear it as it always stopped on him. I wasn't born yet so I don't know. It was automatic. Then my mother took to wearing it and did so for years. It had a black leather strap. Where the hell is it now? I remember she was given a present of a ladies Pulsar and the Omega was put to one side. I lit on it. I wore it to school in the early eighties but had to change the strap as it had absorbed years of perfume and stunk to high heaven (the things you remember). The watch kept pretty much perfect time at age 20 approx. without a days servicing from new. Pure quality. I remember it well. It was still a "chronometer" effectively (even though it never held the title) as it was +/-3 sec in a day. I remember it had a steel case, I think a Hardlex cover, I remeber the face was kind of self healing, if you polished it it would kind of erase any scratches (to a point). The hands and hour markers were gold (probably 18 Karat yellow gold) and the hour hand lined up exactly with the hour when the minute hand pointed at 12. Later I guess I got tired of it and got a Casio W-400 (again form memory; it had a swordfish on the face). Remember I was young. The Casio still lives and works 21 years later. I wish now I had the Omega instead. Anyway I digress.
Back to VHP. I got it Oct 2004 and just started wearing it, as you do. On a visit to the parents house sometime later my mother remarked "Where did you get the watch? That's a good watch" (meaning I see the quality written all over it). I was a little embarassed. She would never spent that kind of money on a watch.
Sometime later I was at a funeral and my brother noticed it. I just knew he did. It's the kind of watch whose looks are sufficiently understated to last if you know what I mean. You wear it and occasionally you are stuck in traffic or whatever and it catches your eye and you are struck with the elegance of it. It's so shiny. Even if I do say it myself it suits me like a shirt can sometimes suit me well for example.
Next thing I notice my brother has a stainless steel Seiko, brand new, with all kinds of dials and whatever (maybe an Arctura- I'm thinking vaguely). The kind of watch I do not like ie. in a word cluttered. I go for the classical watch look (Longines VHP flagship L4.722.4 (with the black face; I can't remember the rest of the ref#); some of "the citizens", Grand Seiko SBGX005, Omega prestige quartz deville steel gold on steel gold)
Sometime later my dad went on holiday and showed up with a "Rolex" on his return. Actually it was a cheap imitation but looked okay. He just does not wear watches nowadays, hasn't for years at any rate. Again on the way to a funeral (sign of the modern times; many of the family meetings are occasions- there is something wrong with that- in a word increasing isolation) he turns to me and says what make is that watch you're wearing. I was immediately embarrassed- again he would not spend that kind of money but wait a minute it is only occurring to me now he had to have bought the Omega so maybe I don't understand exactly where he's coming from on this). I said Longines knowing it would mean nothing to him. He said mine's a Rolex (of course knowing it was a fake). I don't know if he was making fun in a kind or unkind way; I suspect the former).
Actually my other brother does have a genuine Rolex, and the first Christmas I had the Longines he was home for Christmas and took hold of my arm as the family sat to relax after the Christmas dinner and said what's that watch- a Breitling? I said no- Longines (again embarrassed) and he drew a blank and just said "nice watch".
So I guess in my case a resounding YES, they do notice even if only part of you wants them to. I own a Longines for me- not to impress others (okay maybe just a little).
Irlca
PS That reminds me of another ad. This time for the Sony trinitron TV, where the camera pointed out from just behind and above it so you could see the TV top on the foreground. A long couch faced the TV and the family lead their lives in a speeded up way, now watching the TV, now two young lovers kissing on the couch, and finally granddad progressively sinking into the couch as he got smaller as the years passed. Then there was just his pipe (i think). -inference Sony TV's last and last (which in fact they do; My parents had several pieces of **** TV's in the 70's always breaking down, then we got a trinitron in 78 and it gave up in 1990. Then we got another. Today it still sits there (2006- in front of the couch!). Enough reminiscing for today.
What I am referring to here is do people notice your watch? This may be a little uncomfortable to some people as they see it as trying to impress people, get ahead etc. " I'm better than you" kind of angle. I put it this way: I like to present a true enough representation of myself to others; clean cut, tidy maybe somedays even elegant. I believe this is the persona the Longines VHP flagship suits. It always looks this way. I sometimes do.
That reminds me of an ad for Seiko watches years ago on the telly: If I remember it right this guy was about to be tortured, tied to a chair with his forearms tied to the arms of the chair, watch upward. The camera zoomed in on the watch and you could see the quartz ticking away clean and tidy, and the voiceover said "Seiko performs, the rest is up to you" . It's funny I remember that but not what I did last week.
The purchaing of the watch (Longines) was actually the pursuit of a feeling I used to have when I was younger ages ago "self containedness" & well being when I wore my dad's mechanical Omega seamaster deville (at least I think thats what it was). It was a time when watches were waterproof! (Ah the arrogance). He bought it in the mid sixties I think, but apparently could not wear it as it always stopped on him. I wasn't born yet so I don't know. It was automatic. Then my mother took to wearing it and did so for years. It had a black leather strap. Where the hell is it now? I remember she was given a present of a ladies Pulsar and the Omega was put to one side. I lit on it. I wore it to school in the early eighties but had to change the strap as it had absorbed years of perfume and stunk to high heaven (the things you remember). The watch kept pretty much perfect time at age 20 approx. without a days servicing from new. Pure quality. I remember it well. It was still a "chronometer" effectively (even though it never held the title) as it was +/-3 sec in a day. I remember it had a steel case, I think a Hardlex cover, I remeber the face was kind of self healing, if you polished it it would kind of erase any scratches (to a point). The hands and hour markers were gold (probably 18 Karat yellow gold) and the hour hand lined up exactly with the hour when the minute hand pointed at 12. Later I guess I got tired of it and got a Casio W-400 (again form memory; it had a swordfish on the face). Remember I was young. The Casio still lives and works 21 years later. I wish now I had the Omega instead. Anyway I digress.
Back to VHP. I got it Oct 2004 and just started wearing it, as you do. On a visit to the parents house sometime later my mother remarked "Where did you get the watch? That's a good watch" (meaning I see the quality written all over it). I was a little embarassed. She would never spent that kind of money on a watch.
Sometime later I was at a funeral and my brother noticed it. I just knew he did. It's the kind of watch whose looks are sufficiently understated to last if you know what I mean. You wear it and occasionally you are stuck in traffic or whatever and it catches your eye and you are struck with the elegance of it. It's so shiny. Even if I do say it myself it suits me like a shirt can sometimes suit me well for example.
Next thing I notice my brother has a stainless steel Seiko, brand new, with all kinds of dials and whatever (maybe an Arctura- I'm thinking vaguely). The kind of watch I do not like ie. in a word cluttered. I go for the classical watch look (Longines VHP flagship L4.722.4 (with the black face; I can't remember the rest of the ref#); some of "the citizens", Grand Seiko SBGX005, Omega prestige quartz deville steel gold on steel gold)
Sometime later my dad went on holiday and showed up with a "Rolex" on his return. Actually it was a cheap imitation but looked okay. He just does not wear watches nowadays, hasn't for years at any rate. Again on the way to a funeral (sign of the modern times; many of the family meetings are occasions- there is something wrong with that- in a word increasing isolation) he turns to me and says what make is that watch you're wearing. I was immediately embarrassed- again he would not spend that kind of money but wait a minute it is only occurring to me now he had to have bought the Omega so maybe I don't understand exactly where he's coming from on this). I said Longines knowing it would mean nothing to him. He said mine's a Rolex (of course knowing it was a fake). I don't know if he was making fun in a kind or unkind way; I suspect the former).
Actually my other brother does have a genuine Rolex, and the first Christmas I had the Longines he was home for Christmas and took hold of my arm as the family sat to relax after the Christmas dinner and said what's that watch- a Breitling? I said no- Longines (again embarrassed) and he drew a blank and just said "nice watch".
So I guess in my case a resounding YES, they do notice even if only part of you wants them to. I own a Longines for me- not to impress others (okay maybe just a little).
Irlca
PS That reminds me of another ad. This time for the Sony trinitron TV, where the camera pointed out from just behind and above it so you could see the TV top on the foreground. A long couch faced the TV and the family lead their lives in a speeded up way, now watching the TV, now two young lovers kissing on the couch, and finally granddad progressively sinking into the couch as he got smaller as the years passed. Then there was just his pipe (i think). -inference Sony TV's last and last (which in fact they do; My parents had several pieces of **** TV's in the 70's always breaking down, then we got a trinitron in 78 and it gave up in 1990. Then we got another. Today it still sits there (2006- in front of the couch!). Enough reminiscing for today.