Desk Clocks
The Watch Snob: The Only Clock That's Worth Owning
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Jaeger LeCoultre
" It is nothing short of brilliant, and if you have an Atmos desk clock, you will have at least one thing in common with me."The Watch Snob is in.
A Clock The Watch Snob Can Get Excited About
Dear Snob,I have read enough of your columns that I think I know where you stand on many watches. However, I have a question regarding clocks. I am looking for something to sit in my office. What do you think of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos desk top clocks?
The Clock Snob is the next office down the hall, but I’ll render an opinion nonetheless. While clocks and watches seemingly have a good deal in common, you’d be surprised at how different the worlds of each really are. First of all, while watches can still pretend to have some legitimate use in the modern world and are also the only acceptable form of man jewelry, mechanical clocks are truly in the realm of the eccentric.
Sheamus once convinced me to spend a regrettable few hours at a gathering of clock collectors in Prague. It was in a dusty, poorly lit library, and the attendees and their prized possessions looked like they inhabited the place. Aside from one enthusiastic young clockmaker who was doing some innovative work with magnets, the rest drove me to the limits of boredom, and I was all too thankful to slip out a side door and find a wine bar next door. Let’s just say the clockmaking world is slightly less dynamic than watchmaking.
Having said all this, the Atmos is one clock even I can get excited about and is a piece that should be on the desk of any aspiring Watch Snob. It should come as no surprise, since it comes from Jaeger-LeCoultre, that the brand is doing some of the most exciting work in horology these days. For those of you still gazing into your Tissot as if it is the epitome of haute horlogerie, pay attention. For slightly less than a weekend in Cap d’Antibes (or a handful of Tissots), you get a bona fide perpetual motion machine. Simply put, the Atmos is powered by changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature. These changes, no matter how small, wind the clock’s mainspring, making interaction by the owner redundant. It is nothing short of brilliant, and if you have an Atmos desk clock, you will have at least one thing in common with me.
A Classic Watch For A Husband
Hello,First off, I'm a woman, a wife who is on the search for a classic men's watch for her husband. You seem to know what you're talking about when it comes to quality watches, so I thought I'd ask you for advice. My budget is no more than $2,000, but I would prefer closer to $1,000 if possible. I want to buy a budget-friendly, high-quality, long-lasting (and I mean for multiple generations, not a few years) classic watch for my husband. Nothing trendy or the "it-thing" of the moment. Something that oozes class, looks dashing and is a classic timepiece. My husband has a thinner-than-average wrist. Recommendations?
While your price range places you squarely in Watch Knob territory, I’ll give you a pass because you belong to the fairer sex and have approached me for your husband. My first piece of advice is to change your budget. This will serve two purposes: You’ll actually be able to find the high-quality, long-lasting watch you seek, and you will lay down the expectation for a reciprocal gift for yourself. Save a little and double your top end, and you can find a watch like a Zenith Elite Ultra-Thin, which is not only a fine heirloom-worthy timepiece but also fitting for your thin-wristed Jack Sprat.
Question from a Watch Knob
What is your opinion on the Russian watch industry?The Russian watch industry is nonexistent. Now, the Russian watch market is a different story. Look around any first-class cabin en route from Moscow, and you see wrists bristling with Hublots and diamond Rolexes. President Putin wears Blancpain and Lange, and even the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church wears a Breguet (though he hides it).
Half a century of Communist rule was not kind to manufacturers of anything in Russia. Is it any wonder that after the wall came down, the nouveaux riches rushed to buy pretty much anything made outside of Russia, including watches? Decades of building things on the cheap for the masses and a lack of any incentive to excel (other than avoiding the gulag) doesn’t exactly produce the next F.P. Journe.
