Horological Meandering

As I work on processing the photos I took at SIHH 2012 (totalling 3450), here are a selection of ones already completed. My full report will be out soon.

- SJX

Happily looking forward your legendary full SIHH report

It was nice running into you at SIHH, too bad we didn't get a chance to talk more. Looking forward to your full report.

Jon

Great pics. 

 

Looking forward to the rest of the menu.

 

 

I'll share mine soon also.

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

Vte

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is the slight blue tint new this year..?

Amazing...thanks for the pics.

Andy.

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and found this

"Spinel is the great impostor of gemstone history: many famous rubies in crown jewels around the world are actually spinels. The most famous is the Black Prince's ruby, a magnificent 170-carat red spinel that now adorns the Imperial State Crown of England in the British Crown Jewels after a long history: Henry V even wore it on his battle helmet! The Timur ruby, a 361-carat red spinel now owned by Queen Elizabeth, has the names of some of the Mughal emperors who previously owned it engraved on its face: an undeniable pedigree!

In Burma (Myanmar), where some of the most beautiful colours are mined, spinel was recognised as a separate gem species as early as 1587. In other countries the masquerade went on for hundreds of years. Spinels were most often referred to as 'balas rubies', which may have referred to their colour or their country of origin.

Now treasured for its own sake, spinel is a favourite of gem dealers and collectors on account of its brilliance, hardness and wide range of spectacular colours. In addition to beautiful rich reds, spinel can be found in a range of gorgeous pastel shades of pink and purple. Of particular interest is a vivid hot pink with a tinge of orange mined in Burma. It is one of the most spectacular gemstone colours seen in any species at all. Spinel also comes in beautiful blue tones called cobalt spinel, but these are very, very rare.

Because some spinels made in a laboratory are used for imitation birthstone rings, many people think 'synthetic' when they hear the name spinel. Often enough, they have never even seen the real thing.

The main factor preventing the spinel from achieving greater recognition is its rarity. Fine spinels are now rarer than the rubies they used to imitate. Strangely, they are also more affordable: in the gem world, being too rare can be a drawback because so few people even get a chance to develop a fondness for the varieties in question.

In addition to Burma, spinel is mined in Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Tadzhikistan, part of the former Soviet Union.

Spinel is a durable gemstone that is perfect for all jewellery uses. It is most often faceted in oval, round, or cushion shapes and is not currently found in calibrated sizes due to its rarity."

Laureato Tourbillon with 3 Spinel Bridges...

And my first question was " What is Spinel? ".



Best,

Nicolas

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Someday you really got to teach me how to take proper macro shots. Pleeease.

cen@akaroa

Ever hear the old adage, "Those who can't do, criticise"?

- SJX

This message has been edited by amanico on 2012-01-25 20:33:24

as a gentleman to other gentlemen, the watermarks are indeed

1. protecting SJX's intellectual property from web cut-and-pasting, yet also
2. lessening the images' appeal somewhat to innocent viewers,

thus we have a dilemma with two valid perspectives that is tricky to resolve.

Cazalea
This message has been edited by cazalea on 2012-01-25 20:47:53

I do not have your talent for taking splendig photographs
but, as demonstrated, I can place unsightly watermarks.

I have noticed on this forum that some very few do use watermarks and others don't.
There no question watermark can affect the appeal of a picture if not completely ruin it.
May I invite you to look again at the otherwise splendid detail of the dial displaying a tiger? I am sure you will understand want I mean.

Respectfully
Ztirual

thank you for making your point in a gentlemanly manner.

You are right that the watermark does affect the beauty of the photo somewhat. But it doesn't change the fundamental purpose of the photo which is to inform and enlighten about what happened at SIHH.

And you are wrong that I can do without the watermark. Already with the watermark some people steal my photos and misuse them, you'd be surprised at how many emails I get asking about various watches I have for sale that were just launched at SIHH. Without a watermark it would make it even easier for these thieves.

- SJX