Chromatic Fugue
1903
great questions!
You ask:
"Though neither mechanicals nor quartz watches keep perfect time, quartz watches come much closer. Why, then, do we largely exclude quartz watches from our quest for perfection in the context of luxury goods?
And similarly: "Why does the close to perfect driver/passenger experience of a Mercedes S-class constitute a luxury, but the close to perfect reliability of a Honda Accord not constitute a luxury?"
To any sociologist, the answer is actually pretty straightforward. Mechanical watches are valued more than quartz watches because they are much harder to make -- and are therefore more expensive and harder for ordinary people to buy. The same is true, in essential respects, for the difference between the Mercedes S-class and the Honda Accord. The very definition of a luxury good is a good that only a few can afford. Such goods facilitate what Thorstein Veblen called the "unremitting demonstration of ability to pay."
Of course, this doesn't mean that there isn't anything wonderful about mechanical watches. But I suspect we'd value, say, a 5960 much less if the market were suddenly flooded with them and they were selling for $2000 each.
Perfection and luxury: thoughts prompted by Thomas's talk to the industry
A quote from Thomas’s talk to the watch industry: “true luxury seeks perfection as its own end. It is this never ending search for perfection that justifies the sometimes absurd premiums that can be commanded by the luxury industry.” Very noble thoughts i...
Do you work for Consumer Reports?
It sounds as though you are one of those people that wants to quantify everything, put it on a spreadsheet, draw a line in the middle of the paper and list the pro's and con's, etc, etc. If you are-great. There are loads of watches out there to make you, ...
I agree, John, though not quite as harshly. and Rip...
projections are always dangerous, when projecting one's own expectations onto others, and what they write. Alas, like stereotypes, how else are we to economically and efficiently communicate, short of mind melds and data dumps? "Perfection" - you seem to ...
No projections intended, actually...
Thomas, I wasn't projecting anything onto your words, believe it or not; I have no idea, ultimately, what your definition of perfection encompasses. Your words, rather, were a springboard for my thoughts. Nor was I attacking your perspective about luxury ...
Belly-gazing: thinking aloud about things that may or may not
have any "answers" and the process of which may range all over the place, including positions that question, or are even inconsistent with, itself. Hi, Rip, That's my "simple" definition of belly gazing; I was engaging in it as much as you were (maybe mor...
Ah, Consumer Reports...
Hi Thomas, No doubt you won't be surprised to learn that I read Consumer Reports, too. I do think it's mundane--after all, it deals with the day-to-day functionality of such fascinating objects as disposalls and latex paint--and kinda boring too, but it s...
Thanks for provoking discussion …
Hi Rip, I realise that you are only trying to provoke discussion and its always rewarding to think a little more deeply about what these timepieces mean to us. The luxury of the mechanical watch for me is in the ‘humanness’, the history, and what time tel...
Intent versus perfection
Another angle of this discussion is the difference in terms of intent in the creation of an object, including watches. The intent of purity / perfection is what sets true quality pieces from mediocre ones – doesn’t mean they actually are perfect (rather i...
I think of watches as I think of violinists.
When was the last time you went to a concert and heard a violinist flub a few passages in a concerto? Probably it has never happened to you. A violinist who flubs a few passages is not competent to perform a concerto. Some concert violinists are known for...
Beautifully put!
And one could extend the analogy a bit further - you could program the notes of a violin concerto into a sequencer and have them played back by a violin synthesizer. The notes would be more accurately played than by any human, but totally lacking in artis...
As a PuristS, the pursuit of perfection...
is a worth goal, but unobtainable, in an economic sense. Are there "grades' of perfection, or merely some level approaching it that we will accept. As to quartz watches, the RC ones are not really perfect, because they rely on external signals to maintain...
Shouldn't equate luxury and perfection
Nice can of twisted worms to open A pseudo-philosopher's field day! I think that equating "luxury" and "perfection" creates confusion. It feels as though they should be intimately linked in a self-evident way, but I'm not sure that's the case. I think sev...
Marvelous post, Nick, and lots to think about...
whether the manufacturers "give a stuff" or not! You're right, I think, that the term "luxury" is a very tricky one to define. After all, I know there have been times when a nice warm bath on a cold night has seemed to me to be the height of luxury, but c...
I agree, Nick, you've expanded well on what by necessity was "intellectual shorthand."
Hi, Nick, Rip, 1. do you think it would have been possible to "present" Nick's expanded details into a 15 minute speech? 2. how many eyes would have remained open after 5 minutes, among an audience which probably consisted of 0 (as in zero) navel gazers? ...
Rip, i have to disagree strongly on the Honda Accord vs Mercedes
i have a 2004 honda accord 2.4 ivtec automatic tourer in executive spec. it has full leather, sat nav, cruise in fact nearly everything the S class has except double glazing. it is supremely comfortable at all speeds up to its top of 133. it handles super...
Rest assured, Graham...
I happen to own a Honda Element in addition to the Mercedes, and the Element is my daily driver. By choice. I could drive the Mercedes anytime I want, but I prefer the Element. Why? Because it works and I know it will never, but never, let me down. And it...
Rip, i'm sure you know...
Rip, i'm sure you know my reply was a bit 'tongue in cheek'. you actually put in a very good analagy between function and passion. G