AndrewD
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A personal milestone

Hi All,

It is common practice to mark the passing of a significant number of posts. Perhaps, like birthdays, some have stopped counting, but I thought I would do something a little different and take the opportunity to mark the fifth anniversary of my first post on PuristS on August 30, 2005.

I had, like many of you, lurked for some time before finally posting. I discovered the usual crop of internet watch sites in 2004 following a Google search when researching a ‘significant’ watch purchase. I was interested in a JLC Master Moon, JLC Reverso and the GO Panomatic Moonphase at that time.

I ended up with a Reverso Grand Date (the subsecond dial remains my avatar) and over time read Purists more and more regularly. I was struck by the knowledge, experience and collections of some of the regular posters, but also the enthusiasm and warmth of the participants. No topic was too insignificant to discuss, no honest question was too silly or ever dismissed.

So what are my recollections and highlights over this period? PuristS has certainly evolved. From a site that had a strong hobbyist vibe, PPro was spun off three years ago with a slicker, more upmarket feel. But the enthusiasm and passion remained – and the new photo uploader allowed me to easily post images; not that my early photos were worth seeing.

Participants have come and gone and some that were active in early days are less so now. I am sure many of you have found that as your level of knowledge evolves, the types of questions you ask, and answers you give, also change. And I love the variety of approaches, experiences, skills and knowledge of those who participate. Some bring humour, others their photographic skills, some have very ‘specialist’ in-depth knowledge in certain areas, but all bring their passion.

There are many purists whose regular contributions I miss. Some are still active elsewhere, or in the industry, and so I am able to see and read them in other venues. And of course most of their posts are available in the ‘archives’ – an ever expanding resource on the history of horology, at least as the Internet views it. New Purists have joined and the ‘membership’ remains vibrant and interesting; remember that while the timepieces are central, it is our intellectual and emotional responses to them, and the way we interact and learn from one another, that makes PPro so involving.

One of the things that I enjoy about Purists is that occasionally the discussions give us insight into ourselves and our motivations. And sometimes we can be raised above ourselves in the responses we make. One personal example is a contribution I made to Pplater’s thread on “Watches as Machines/Machines as Watches”. When I re-read my response some time later I was surprised by what I had written; I learned something about myself from my own response!

What would I like to see in the future? More discussion on mechanics and the ‘basic’ building blocks of horological complications: an “Under the Bonnet” series; PuristS, and other horology sites, are at their best with the regular contribution of watchmakers. Remember when real world watches were dismantled and studied? There are many hurdles to this, but if you have a friendly watchmaker, the next time he is servicing your Cal. XX, get him to take a series of photos and to comment on the movement. I would also like to read more from industry leaders about where they are heading; interviews are always fascinating. As my photographic skills have improved, I would like to see more posts on watch photography techniques; perhaps even a dedicated Watch Photography Forum. And now we can add video to the expanding multi-media platform.

I have met only a few of you face-to-face, but I feel I know many of you quite well from what we share here. There is something powerful and emotional in horology that brings us together. Even after all this time I am not exactly sure I understand what that bond is. But I do know that the watches themselves are only an expression of a much broader approach to life that we share. Perhaps they will have a genetic test to identify Purists at birth one day; it would save a lot of trial and error ‘discovering’ this site!

My most memorable posts from others are almost too numerous to mention, and I started a thread a couple of years ago on “Memorable Posts” that identify some of these. Feel free to browse these links and add more.

I have collected together some of my favourite personal posts (click on the title to link to the original thread). I am not blowing my own trumpet here, even though these are posts that I initiated – what makes them memorable to me are the discussions that ensued, which many of you participated in:

Breguet La Tradition review and labelled movement

Novel ways of telling time

The Steampunk movement

How we ‘describe’ ourselves to others

Watch epitaphs and a Latin class …

Rolex, Dr Seuss and a bed time story …

What makes a classic?

JLC 8-Day Endurance Challenge

The Watch/Brand Association Game

My only “please help identify this watch” post ever

Apollo 11 Anniversary

Celebrity endorsements

 

Where would we like to see PuristSPro head? [Circa 2008]

 

Trendy watch case materials

 

Plus plenty of ‘odd’ topics on TimeOut including B-Grade movies and movie posters, music, tag-lines, fountain pens, dinosaur dung and many more.

 

Perhaps you can add some of your favourite topics that we might have discussed? Things I have forgotten about.

If I had to nominate my enduring favourite watches I would say:

F.P.Journe tourbillon, in most iterations (my grail watch as many of you know)

Beat Haldimann H1 central tourbillon (PuristS Edition shown)

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Gyrotourbillon II (thanks to BrunoM1 for the image)

Girard-Perregaux Three Gold Bridges tourbillon (skeleton)

Interesting that they are all tourbillons. My actual (real life) wish list is a moving feast and would be stale the moment I wrote it down, so I will refrain from sharing that. Suffice it to say, there are so many interesting watches, and too little time to enjoy them all!

Hopefully you have found me as interesting as I have found reading all of you!

I look forward to seeing where horology and life heads in the next five years and sharing it with you all. And of course catching up at IGOTT2 in Las Vegas and celebrating PuristS tenth anniversary in 2011.

Kindest regards and admiration for this web site and community.

Andrew

Ps. I have embedded links to the threads I mention. Just click on the text to be magically transported …

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