Before there was Starbucks and iPhones, before there were laptops and iPads, before there were PCs and Microsoft Windows, indeed, before Gates and Allen met and created DOS, there was the Hamilton watch company in Lancaster, PA, making what they described as a "computer time piece." The technology was remarkable, grounding breaking for its time, causing celebrities like Johnny Carson to stare at it in wonder. When the Pulsar LED digital watch was introduced, it was ground breaking and sui generis- people stared at it as if it was from another planet-or time- and indeed it was from another time- a time twenty years hence.
This is a remarkable video we stumbled upon. The first two minutes are amazing, the first fourteen or so are the commercial for the "computer" and the remaining part of the video consists of film clips of people in 1970 staring at the thing from the future in wonder. If they only knew then what the world had in store for them…..
The Pulsar retailed for $2,500.00, or $400 more than you could buy a new car for at the time.
I had the most delicious meal at Narcissa in manhattan last night.
ReplyDeleteThe Lamb two ways ($26) had succulent rounds of loin rosy from edge to edge, and a crisp brick of belly drenched in musky fat. My companion had charred rotisserie rib eye ($48) which was so rich, you’d think the cow had been taking daily marrow supplements.
All in all, worth the cold weather.
Quartz + cheap (yet reliable) whereas automatic commands price.
ReplyDeletePlastic watches that costs $10 have quartz movements.
My have times changed
I'm having the filet at delmonicos.
ReplyDeleteKenny W. and former Judge Jon Colby --- say no watch for them other than the solid gold Rolex which they know is a "magnet"!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rumpole for printing that disgusting comment. It lets the world see that men still think of women as dumb objets attracted to something as ridiculous as a watch.
ReplyDeleteBeing a successful female lawyer as a partner at a large firm with a very nice high seven figure salary and bonus last year, and knowing that I am physically very attractive, I can tell you that I currently date a man who wears jeans and a work shirt and wears a $50 seiko and drives an eight year old beat up pick up truck. The fact that he has an IQ off the charts, runs ultra marathons, and is a "quant" for a hedge fund and earns a high eight figure salary was not part of the equation when we met. I thought he was charming and smart and not pretentious. The fact that he can buy and sell these idiots with their cheap 10K gold "magnets" just makes their post that much more idiotic.
Any idiot who spends money on a Rolex-especially a new one- is in fact an idiot. As a tie piece they are fair to poor, not in the league with IWC -affordable excellence at under 50K for most. If you want to really step up then you need to get the Ulysse Nardin line- the ones with the tourbillion mechanism which is an anti-gravity device that makes the watch close to a perfect time piece.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to be labeled as a watch snob who thinks he knows something and wants to be seen as better than the rolex owner-but really isn't and is just paying more for the same mediocre swiss movement- then buy the Patek-Phillipe and then you will have a story to tell the stripper about your Geneva manufactured watch (based on swiss movement).
Want to really impress a watch person (and not the silicon enhanced Miami bimbo)? Buy a reasonably priced Glashutte Perpetual Calendar for around 25K and get amazing value for the money for a hand made swiss watch by a watch master.
Enjoy your magnet chump.
Ooohh…I jus love me with the rolex.
ReplyDeleteLike digital or calculator watches before them, modern smartwatches have fallen squarely in geeky territory. They have plenty of functionality but aren’t exactly elegant, and consumers have complained about short battery life. Plus, most smartwatches need to be paired with a smartphone to work, essentially making the devices expensive accessories.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, posh legacy brands such as Omega, Rolex and Cartier have kept up sales because their products are perceived as a badge for telegraphing one’s sense of style and deliver an aura of exclusivity.
Several luxury brands have been losing favor with affluent shoppers as their goods have become too ubiquitous — Michael Kors and Gucci today, and before them, Coach and Burberry. Since new Apple product launches are regularly met with long lines of obsessive fans camping outside stores, high-end consumers might shun the Apple Watch as too ordinary.
Any guy who needs a watch for a magnet has a small one.
ReplyDeleteAt least one of those two "plays for the other team" so all these babes spouting sexism need to calm the f down. Everyone knows guys like watches. Clearly they are using the watch to attract other guys. So take a chill pill baby.
ReplyDeleteTop 10 comment of the year. Put those two jokey-jolly party boyz in their place.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of the judge. The other guy drives a Porsche. Actually never heard of either of the judges.
ReplyDeleteI have a Rolex, but can't afford it
ReplyDelete. It was my Dads, I wear it to remember him,
Sinn watch is best value
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to ….
ReplyDeleteDavid Bowie, take-out-drive-thru Fondue, Vinny Flynn, Karmenn Ghias, Barry Wax, Eco-tourism, Boo Radley, Gerald Weatherington, Those Spiral-sliced ham stores, White Castle, Solid Gold (the clip-strip joint), hand knit socks, DUI law firms, term limits, the contract with America, Warren Beaty, Jeff Goldblum, Chef Norman from Coral Gables, Chris Rundle…thats all for now.
Chris Rundle got divorced, moved to Springfield, VT, got remarried, and has a law practice up there along with his new wife. I guess it's happily ever after.
DeleteFor you losers out there with your no name watches - be aware that the Rolex Gold GMT is now $35k plus! That is some serious dough. Who would not want to be a lawyer partner at Weisman Colby law firm .... not to mention their Zegna suit allowance and lease on the new Ferrari 458?
ReplyDeleteEveryone, including "angry girl", knows that a man with a "magnet" is a real man and has a huge member in his pants. Isn't that obvious?
ReplyDeleteI'm offering $600 cold hard cash to the first lawyer who sends me a transcript where they call the judge "Dude".
ReplyDeleteSend your transcripts to "Former Judge Dude Contest, La Cienega Trailer Park, Unit 19B
Ocean City, MD, 21843
First in wins it.
No second places in my world.
Rolex gold GMT is 1) Ugly is 2) not a great time piece and 3) the price varies by the price of gold, so the watch has dropped a bit lately.
ReplyDeleteYou're better off with the Audemars Piaget Gold Royal Jumbo for the same price. A better watch.
Shumie time on Kenny, Colby, watches, and babes please.
ReplyDeleteif Ndamukong joins the dolphins, can he be known as Ndamukong Shum?
ReplyDeleteIs it true that Former Judge Murray Meyerson was the Godfather of Kenny W?
ReplyDeleteThe more expensive the Rolex, the smaller the penis and the brain.
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall the first public display of the Pulsar was on Sean Connery's wrist in an early James Bond flick and it caused a rush to buy.
ReplyDelete