Horological Meandering

Hello,

I seldom state so simply and directly a negative, but I'm sorry, you are wrong.

"But i think he lives this passion in such a strong way that pushes him beyond the limits....or he forum's policy."

re: Bernard Cheong - I won't go into the details regarding Bernard, suffice it to say that you seem to buy wholecloth his carefully crafted online persona, and that's fine. All I can say is, I sincerely hope you are a little more discerning when it comes to other aspects of your life...

..."i do really appreciate collectors like him because they buy without thinking too much on investments, auctions' results and so on."

Have you read many of Bernard's previous writings? How price, investment perspectives, future monetary returns, auction results, etc etc etc were MOST of the entire long post, in SPECIFIC AND DIRECT VIOLATION of this site's policies, past and present?

If you have, I am simply rendered speechless that you would write " ...collectors like him because they buy without thinking too much on investments, auctions' results and so on." 

Just simply dumbstruck...

"I told you that i was MOD and i was banned (me and many old forumers) because they took a different path (not so bright as it seems in the frontpage)."

I am curious what the previous means? I don't understand.

"I accept the rules but every forum becomes important, relevant, and gets a solid reputation by the people who type there, not from the mods, which role is to read but not to interfere."

This is simply incorrect - the mods role is WHATEVER THE OWNER OF THE FORUM / SITE DEEMS IS MOST APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR FORUM / SITE.

In our case, we really really try to keep the moderators' touch as light as possible, while still enforcing, both the letter of the "local rules," but also informed and guided by, the spirit of the "local rules"

I'm sorry you don't see it that way; many others do see it that way.

"For instance, i tried many times to ask to AP or RM owners if they are aware that they buy watch with modular (awful) caliber (at outrageous price tag)....never got an intelligent answer, it means people buy just to show off."

Did it ever occur to you that maybe many AP or RM owners don't agree with you?

That it isn't an "objective irrefutable TRUTH" that AP or RM are watches "with modular (awful) caliber..."

"Modular (awful) caliber..."  ?!?

I HATE movement snobbery and elitism, almost as much as I hate hypocrisy. and certainly as much as I hate BRAND snobbery or RICH VS POOR VS RICH snobbery and elitism...

(no, that was not a stuck key typo; it seems that historically RICH looked down with disdain on the POOR; today, it seems the flavour of the moment for the POOR to attack the RICH, deservedly or not...NEITHER forms of bigotry are appreciated or tolerated here...and this is one of the many reasons we discourage discussions of price...)

I am well aware of the "movement purist" (lower case "p") disdain for modular movements; I've also been around horology (going on 40 years now) and various other forms of OCD obsessiveness about how people think, appreciate, conclude;

to, for myself, have concluded that "it's all good" -

for example, an AK is not as "beautifully engineered" or "precision finished" as an H&K or SIG but damn it, it works just as well for its intended purpose, maybe BETTER if reliability, dependability, and "it just damn works" is a matter of life and death and not paper lion virtual mind wanking...

I appreciate and respect both.

Same goes for American iron push rod motors vs fine and complex and "beautifully engineered" European MOHV multi-can jewels...

What about column wheel vs coulisse vs navette chronographs? Vertical vs horizontal clutch?

I appreciate and respect all of them, even if I might have my personal preferences in any given context (remember, context is everything, and everything is context)

So to your specific point, "AP and RM" "modular calibers" -

1. what is wrong with modular? 
NOTHING. there are strong engineering and practical reasons for integrated designs, and there are strong engineering and practical reasons for modular designs.  Each has its place and each has its legitimacy.

To CONCLUDE and STATE, universality implied, that one (modular) is "(awful)" or somehow unworthy is simply WRONG.

2. AP and RM do NOT use only modular calibers. Some of their calibres are some of the most spectacular revered and coveted integrated designs in the history of horology.

3. to an implicit point that you hinted at but did not specifically state -
Watch ownership is a very complex, multi-variable psycho-dynamic which involves different priorities at different times, in different contexts -

sometimes, I just grab what is the most visually appealing, overall;

othertimes, I just sit there and stare for hours at the finishing;

yet other times, I pick the watch that serves a specific functional purpose(s) -

a sonnerie set to grand sonnerie mode when I will be in a likely very long meeting to mark off the passing of time and possibly too much blah blah;

a Chronograph when I know I will probably need to time something like a parking meter, a laptime at the race track;

a highly water resistent watch if I think I might find myself underwater...

and sometimes, SOMETIMES, I have no trouble admitting, I pick a Rolex, AP, Patek, Dufour, Voutilainen or Haldimann when I know I might need to make a "statement" and depending on who I am likely to meet.

Does this make me superficial? Does this make me more of a purist? less of one?
Please go back and reread the preceding statements, and add this point - I really don't care what others think of WHY I wear something, I wear it for me, EVEN WHEN I KNOW WHAT I AM WEARING WILL AFFECT OTHERS A CERTAIN WAY.

Design, both mechanical and aesthetic; finish, engineering, prestige, fit, function, etc etc etc - all of these things weigh into the decision, differently and with different weight and priorities depending on the situation and context (and my mood)


" never got an intelligent answer, it means people buy just to show off."

That "conclusion" is so offensive I don't even know where to begin, but it helps me understand why, with an attitude like that, you might not have gotten any "intelligent answer."

Which is not to say that there are people who buy AP or RM (or PP or VC or ANY branded product or expensive product) "just to show off" - there are many, maybe even most.

But that is EXACTLY what ThePuristS, and now PuristSPro, was created and maintained to be a counterpoint for.

But we are a COUNTERPOINT, not a religion and we do NOT preach dogma; we do not belittle or disrespect those who do buy AP or RM or PP or any branded product or expensive product "just to show off" - it's their money, they can spend it any way they want.

We simply provide an ALTERNATIVE.


If you have spent any time around here, and still don't see that, I am very very sorry, the mods and admin of this site have failed you.

"I wish there were more people like bernard, that "waste" their money from GF to Seiko.  "

Most of us around here appreciate and respect everything from Miyota based Seven Friday to basic Seiko 7's to GF and Dufour.  In fact most of us OWN the entire range and gamut...

but most of us also don't feel the need to MEGAPHONE BLAST how "pure" we are as though it were some bully pulpit religious mantra...

Cheers,

TM

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