Plenty of negatives to widespread glabalization of markets, but there's definitely upsides too.
The same ubiquitous infrastructure makes even localish trade so much more efficient and easygoing.
What's your ideal watch?
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The same ubiquitous infrastructure makes even localish trade so much more efficient and easygoing.
My outlook is, we're never going to stop the Globilization of Markets.
It's one of the biggest reasons why most things in America are no longer made in America, by hard-working Americans. No longer made to the quality standards that our grand-parents were used to, expected to get, and indeed received! So since that ship has not only sailed but sunk to the bottom of the seas as well.... Might as well take advantage of one of the few good things to come out of that never-going-away trend.
Though I still buy my clothes at physical stores. Trying them on before buying is actually more convenient than ordering online, realizing they don't fit, and then boxing them up to return with a special trip to the post office. Assuming you can even return something you bought. Learned that lesson the hard way. With the exception of Pharmacies, and clothing stores, along with certain other specific businesses where buying locally is still more pragmatic; most Brick & Mortar stores, will be fully bricked up in another decade.
I've already started seeing big-ticket stores (appliances and such) slowly transitioning over to glorified showrooms for years now.
You go look at all the stoves or refrigerators on display, you can even buy there, but often can't leave with it because they don't keep stock there. It gets delivered later.
Stock warehouses get more centralized and larger, cheaper just to rent space for your stock there than build your own warehouse.
Suddenly, you've got something similar to Amazon's business model, just with more name-branded middlemen.
Offshoring those warehouses (wherehouses?) would hardly be noticed as long as shipping times weren't affected too terribly.
As for the watch thing I and the Mrs. had a brief encounter with automatics. All but one required warranty service in the first year. Yes it was repaired but it doesn't feel good to buy something and a short while later it goes in for repair. The maintenance is part of it and after a few $300 ETA service rebuilds, when they stopped working that was it. The Oris has had something internal break at 2-3 year spans. Add in the warranty service it has been in 3 times within 5 years.
Grew up with Casio's and I like them today. I have one that I wore in college and it still works. The solar, atomic time sync is great along with other features Casio builds in. I have more though these three are the usual rotation. I like that they are conservative and don't attract attention:
Grew up with Casio's and I like them today. I have one that I wore in college and it still works. The solar, atomic time sync is great along with other features Casio builds in. I have more though these three are the usual rotation. I like that they are conservative and don't attract attention:
From a related angle, I shudder to think how my life could have been wrecked had I lived within commuting distance of B&H when I was younger like some people I know;-). They (and others in that district) were only a catalog/ad and an '800' number to me, but that was 'bad' enough. That said, the way things are today in "the future", these increased efficiencies bring with them the need for even more self-restraint. One can do a lot of damage in a short period of time without that!
OTOH, I recently purchased a relatively obscure electrical accessory that was made, and almost exclusively sold by small concerns in the UK, and I discovered it, located it, and had it here in the desert in days.
I have my favorite stores and now then I'll stop in and gawk at stuff. I have developed restraint now but if this had been in my 30's to mid-40's I'd have bought it. Little by little I've been in minimize mode so all the stuff bought back then is basically gone now. Realized/reflected that buying it wasn't necessary but impulsive satisfaction essentially. Became enough $ tied up that wasn't used or useful so it was have for the sake of having it.
Now people with flashy stuff are targets. Sucks that having nice stuff makes one wary of enjoying it among others.
Now people with flashy stuff are targets. Sucks that having nice stuff makes one wary of enjoying it among others.
My ideal watch a 1964 Gruen Precision "Comet" has a sentimental value as it came along shortly after my ideal dog Comet went home to meet his maker.
The dog was a 50/50 great dane/ black lab mix who was rescued from a fight dog group where he was used as a bait dog. He absolutely hated a pit bull when he first arrived. When the neighbors behind us brought home a big one they fought daily across the fence until the day they became buddies.
He was the kind of dog who laid by the back gate every day until my wife arrived home from work regardless of the weather. It was not unusual to see him rain soaked or covered in snow while waiting patiently for her to arrive. If he got out of the yard he'd run to a nearby light pole and pee on it then return to his back yard. He was destined to live 10-12 years and almost made it to 15 but his arthritic back bone became an issue that was too much.
The wrist watch is a basic hand wind/ automatic with some lume and a 60+ hour power reserve. The ultra hi-beat of the day (24k) Fesla 580S17 movement still keeps good time after 60 years. In today's market the new price would be a bit under $500. I paid 35. They are hard to find and go for $250 and up in good condition. It was really dirty when it arrived, hence the low price. A bit of spit shine got mine looking really shiney. A crystal polish is needed to remove the shallow scrathhes. After months of searching for a factory stretch bracelet I settled on a similar one with a clasp.
I still mourn for Comet the dog but his memory remains on my wrist.
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Thanks for telling us a little bit about Comet. Sounds like he was more of a friend/family member than a pet.
Wife got son this timepiece. He likes it.
Wife got son this timepiece. He likes it.
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Picked this up the other day. Couldn't resist the polar face and caught a good deal on it.
For 'the rest of us' less knowledgeable but interested, who is the manufacturer?
NTH watches. Doc Vail's company. He's sorta the godfather of the Kickstarter microbrand. If you remember Lew & Huey about a decade ago and the splash they made, that was him.
NTH is his latest venture, they do legacy divers but specialize in doing things to the "nth degree", all the little details are as looked to as possible. The name is also an acronym of their design philosophy as in a Nod To History.
When it came out, it was the thinnest 40mm diver on the market. They use Miyota 9xxx movements and all are hand regulated before shipping. They really punch above their price point and easily hang with a lot of the more expensive but better known brands.
I've got one of their larger 660m saturation divers too, and it's a fantastic bit of kit.
Doc is pretty active over at the WUS boards, so it's nice to be able to chat with the man behind the curtain as well.
Haven't been on WatchUSeek in years! Not since the place was sold. That wasn't the problem. Months later, I'm still there. One day, looking around the place.... and I realize that literally all of the Regulars who made it a fun place to visit, had left. As usual, I stayed too long after the party ended. So I left too.
If I leave the house, I need a watch on my wrist. To me, my watch is like clothes - I would know if I don't have any while at the grocery store.
But I'm not picky when it comes to watches - all I need it to do is tell time, at all times, period.
I started wearing a watch rather early, I think around 3rd or 4th grade, and as far as I can remember, it always was a Casio. And I have been through quite a few of them (or so it feels like, considering I'm still only on my second phone), as I am at least on my 5th watch in 30 years.
My current watch, and has been for the last decade or so, is a Casio G-Shock Mudman G9000-8V
It's a sizable watch, but not cumbersome. And it's worth the required wrist real estate, considering this one actually survived my later years of carpentry, which 2 other Casio's did not (one suddenly found itself without the glass one day, still don't know how that happened, and the previous one - with a convex glass
- ended up getting more scratches in 3 months than the road to damnation).
The G-Shock on the other hand (...though I rarely switch which wrist I wear it on)...4 years of carpentry, and it never seemed to care. And obviously it took another 7 years of IT-work in its stride.
Only downside of it, and this is apparently a known weakness of that particular watch button...every time I have to change the time to summer time, I have to pretty much put the watch in a vice to be able to push the Start/Stop-button to shift the single hour forward. So there is a lot of swearing for 60 seconds every year.
But I'm not picky when it comes to watches - all I need it to do is tell time, at all times, period.
I started wearing a watch rather early, I think around 3rd or 4th grade, and as far as I can remember, it always was a Casio. And I have been through quite a few of them (or so it feels like, considering I'm still only on my second phone), as I am at least on my 5th watch in 30 years.
My current watch, and has been for the last decade or so, is a Casio G-Shock Mudman G9000-8V
It's a sizable watch, but not cumbersome. And it's worth the required wrist real estate, considering this one actually survived my later years of carpentry, which 2 other Casio's did not (one suddenly found itself without the glass one day, still don't know how that happened, and the previous one - with a convex glass
- ended up getting more scratches in 3 months than the road to damnation).The G-Shock on the other hand (...though I rarely switch which wrist I wear it on)...4 years of carpentry, and it never seemed to care. And obviously it took another 7 years of IT-work in its stride.
Only downside of it, and this is apparently a known weakness of that particular watch button...every time I have to change the time to summer time, I have to pretty much put the watch in a vice to be able to push the Start/Stop-button to shift the single hour forward. So there is a lot of swearing for 60 seconds every year.
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My first was the Casio shown below. It lasted me 20 or 25 years. Ever since I was an elementary school student. My first watch. The digital display partially crapped out on me many years after getting it. I put it on the stop-watch setting which ironically worked perfectly, and just left it on that. (Learned how to tell time on an analog clock face early in elementary school. It was a one-day required math lesson. Doubt that goes on anymore.)
One day it just picked up a deep but very short gouge. No clue how. Didn't realize at the time that it was a cheap disposable watch not meant to last longer than just a handful of years. One day, at my 2nd real job, the alarm just started horribly malfunctioning. Going off by itself constantly. Took it off my wrist and chucked it into the garbage bin. Maintenance guy found it, asked if I wanted it back. I said "No."
Years later during my only prolonged stay at a hospital, the male nurse who came in to check on me.... wearing the exact same model. But on a S.S. accordion style strap. Had to smile at that. As far as building memories with it? School + first real job. That was literally it.
One day it just picked up a deep but very short gouge. No clue how. Didn't realize at the time that it was a cheap disposable watch not meant to last longer than just a handful of years. One day, at my 2nd real job, the alarm just started horribly malfunctioning. Going off by itself constantly. Took it off my wrist and chucked it into the garbage bin. Maintenance guy found it, asked if I wanted it back. I said "No."
Years later during my only prolonged stay at a hospital, the male nurse who came in to check on me.... wearing the exact same model. But on a S.S. accordion style strap. Had to smile at that. As far as building memories with it? School + first real job. That was literally it.
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Thank you! Now that's an informative (and interesting) reply! There is yet hope for my ignorance;-)
I suppose I should clarify.
Comet went home to meet his maker in January of this year. The Comet watch was purchased not long after that from eBay.
I learned of Gruen watches here at CPF and bought the watch not knowing the model name. I just thought it was a cool watch. While researching the watch I learned at a Gruen forum that it was called "Comet".
(Gleaned from comments) Accurate 8-12 seconds per month.
Might not be ideal for extended cave use (don't think there is an AM/PM designation)
Seems like it can be used as a timer.
Rechargeable battery with magnetic charging dock on back.
Might not be ideal for extended cave use (don't think there is an AM/PM designation)
Seems like it can be used as a timer.
Rechargeable battery with magnetic charging dock on back.
I recently popped my NTH sub on a timegraphers app to see what the Miyota 9xxx movement was doing. Was pleasantly surprised.
This is my second Casio G-Shock, and ideally it's my only watch, that I've purchased in many years.
So, far I'm really digging it!
GW 5000U-1JF
So, far I'm really digging it!
GW 5000U-1JF
