One of the things I do in retirement is volunteer at a nearby tourist railroad. Occasionally, they’ll run what are called “photo charters”, where a historically interesting train is assembled, a group of paying photographers is loaded on board, and it takes off into the wilderness. At particular places it stops, disgorges the group, backs up, runs by the group belching smoke and steam and all manner of mechanical noise, and the group makes still and video images of it. Backs up, the group boards, and the assemblage takes off to the next location.
I’ve worked on a number of these as a “wrangler”, one who helps folk on and off the train (you’re in the literal middle of nowhere, no station platforms, steep track ballast, and the surrounding terrain ranges from high desert with lava flows to shelfs on cliffs in tall mountains) and generally try to keep them safe. Based on free-flow behavior, definitely a “gaggle”…
I have worn the same Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust since 1982. Just a plain old wristwatch. Autowinding, three hands, and a little date window. The date has to be reset, manually, after every month that has less than 31 days.
I love having a watch that doesn’t have to be replaced every five years.
An intrusion of photographers?
A rules-don’t-apply-to-me of photographers?
An in-yer-face of photographers?
A GAS cloud of photographers?
A clique (I see what you did there) of photographers?
A (sensor) size-matters of photographers?
A pixel-peeping of photographers?
An oversaturation of photographers?
A swirly bokeh of photographers?
An onion ring of photographers?
A focus group of photographers?
…
Yes, it has had maintenance three times, and unfortunately for my bank account, it is due, again. It is quite accurate. I have to adjust it only about every two months or so.
From what I understand (I would never play this game), you can’t just go in and buy a new Rolex from an authorized dealer, even if you have the money–unless you are very famous and/or very rich. There are waitlists for most if not all models (especially stainless steel ones). If you are just a regular dude with 10K to spend, you will likely have to wait a couple years for a Datejust (my favorite of all of them!), or up to seven or more for a Daytona chronograph. Not only that, you are supposed to kiss azz, buying all kinds of jewelry for your wife/girlfriend and lesser watches like Tudor (also owned by Rolex) in order to move up the list. You are supposed to check in at least monthly with a little gift for the dealer. What a joke–especially when there are Grand Seikos, JLCs, that you can just go and buy with no purchase history and no games. I LOVE the Datejust, but even for that, I would not debase myself with those games. For those with the money, who can’t wait, they will often pay double or triple from gray market dealers (who may or may not be friends of the AD). THEN, you’re in Patek, Vacheron, Lange und Sohne territory and those watches are in a whole other league above Rolex.
This is a very common for strategy for producers of Veblen goods; creating an artificial shortage adds to the air of exclusivity and they end up making more money on the long run since they can still keep the price reasonably high. You cannot just walk in and buy a Ferrari either.
Maybe in terms of price or exclusivity they are, but in terms of objective measures (eg accuracy, features), they are equivalent to mass-market mechanical watches (eg from Citizen). There are limits to what a mechanical watch can achieve (in terms of durability, accuracy, etc), and it was attained many decades ago.
From a marketing perspective, the whole mechanical watch sector is pure genius. The market was about to collapse in the 1970s, but they resurrected the concept and made it a Veblen good, marketing its shortcomings as exclusive advantages. Careful management of supply and brand image keeps the prices high and makes it practically impossible for new entrants to capture any market share, as they cannot produce the “history” which is part of the brands.
The world of item ownership isn’t based on objective measures alone though. People buy all kinds of outdated technology either for vanity or because they enjoy it. Valve amplifiers, old cars, horses, film cameras, flint and steel vs lighter or 9v battery + steel wool, fountain pens(though better for the environment), etc.
When it comes to watches, a simple thing like the seconds hand moving more than once per second is very common in mechanical watches, but I haven’t seen a quartz watch do it. I’m sure they do it, but I haven’t seen one yet, whereas every mechanical watch mostly does it.
IMO I’d say people do this for two reasons mostly: A lot of these items still feel better to use than their newer, or objectively better, counter parts. The other reason is probably some form of hauntology, which we are also experiencing in other fields at the moment.
Check out the new Bulova Jetstars that were released in 2023 as a 50th anniversary homage to the original. Quartz movement, second hand moves 16x/second (quartz crystal itself vibrates at 8X the standard) and is accurate to within 5s/month. I own one (“merlot” dial) and love it. The accuracy is closer to 1-2s/month in my experience, and at 16x/sec, the second hand looks very smooth, almost continuous. The ultimate for me in this realm (I love smooth second hands watches and clocks) is the Grand Seiko spring drive–pretty much a fully mechanical movement with a quartz oscillator instead of a hairspring/balance wheel. Absolutely smooth and accurate to within 1s per month. The finishing in some regards is second to none.
Strangely enough, look up the deadbeat mechanical movement–mechanical movement–second hand moves once per second. All examples I’ve seen are very expensive. Very exotic stuff.
I would buy a green one!!! However, the merlot is spectacular. The depth of color is amazing, varying with the light quite a bit. The photos of the Bulova website absolutely do not do it justice! I think there are much better photos on Hodinkee. Anyway, I love the case shape and that whole 70s vibe!
I also have a watch (something very modest) with such a feature, but never set the date, and then it gets out of sync with the calendar, which makes me annoyed. I prefer to have no day-of-month indicator to having one that shows the wrong day. It’s me that’s weird, I know.
Ever since I got a phone, I no longer wear a watch, neither the one I inherited from my father, nor the one from my wife, or those I received for my 5th and 10th work anniversary from my employer. Which is actually illogical, as I like analog watches. Yes, I 'm definitely weird.
The only exception is the one for jogging (I’ve just bought a new one, and will pick it up today).
Lucky one! When I retired last year I got some lies from my employer…
But I use my watch…it is faster to raise the arm than to pull out my mobile out of the pocket.
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