10 Things to know about Rolex...

[gwells]

his writing has always been mediocre, at best. and that's before you get to the watch info.

[JBZ]

Ah, nice to see that I'm not the only one who's less than impressed with Ariel "Timepiece Expert" Adams' "I'll-just-make-stuff-up-as-I-go-along" style. I cringe a bit whenever that clueless shill gets published; it's exactly the kind of thing that Jack Forster was talking about in his Forbes article on the sorry state of watch journalism, particularly this bit:

"Virtually every editor-in-chief of every major consumer publication from the lowest to the highest knows very little about watches and watchmaking; individuals who in every other respect are models of intelligent discernment, who wouldn’t dream of approaching wine, or style, or cars, or architecture, from an uninformed perspective, look at watches with a nervous suspicion (often largely justified, it pains me to say) that not only are they themselves not terribly interested in watches, but their readers aren’t either."




You know you're a hack when Jake Ehrlich is no longer the lamest writer in the group after your pudgy ass shows up. But perhaps the comparison is somewhat unfair; Adams does admit he's dealing in endorsements rather than journalism, so it might be too much to apply the comparatively high standards of the online fanzine world in this case.

What the hell is he wearing? You've been invited to tour one of the premier watch manufacturers in the world and you show up dressed like that? Look at how the other three are dressed, and then look at Adams - his clothing is ridiculous.

Also, I agree that the article has a lot of good information, but it comes across like a high schooler wrote it. Ah well.

[belligero]

Cripes, I would have failed my high school English class if I wrote something like that.

All he's doing is using his mangled sentence structure to ineptly regurgitate information from the tour along with his usual fluffy bullshit. I'd rather read a list of bullet points directly from Rolex in that case; at least then I could be confident that AA didn't stuff them up.

And yes, he certainly does dress like shit. You'd think that an influential media personality in the high-end watch world would be able to choose clothes that would get him through the door in a decent restaurant, or at least ones that fit.

[BBK357]

Looks like Rosie O'donnell and dresses like her too

[lilhoody]

Looks like Rosie O'donnell and dresses like her too

I love a good old fashion dog pile.

[BBK357]

[lilhoody]

If you guys don't watch it, the #Feets Mafia will exact revenge upon your jealous asses.

[marchone]

Very few WISs, much less the writers, know very much about watchmaking. Most just regurgitate personal biases and prejudices. Witness the deeply entrenched anti-Asian, and particularly anti-Seiko, biases displayed regularly in the blogs, columns and the various forums, including this one. It's equally perplexing to me the dismissive attitudes toward ETA and Valjoux designs, regardless of where they are made or who produces them.

Critique rarely ventures beyond (personal) aesthetics and the odd swipe at non-in-house Swiss timepieces.

[r.palace]

Forget his writing, he lost credibility when he hid behind this altered or otherwise old ass picture

Reminds me of the fat chicks on social media who take pictures but only from favorable angles

[marchone]

At least he used an old headshot of himself. There a few guys here that use avatars of guys they THINK they look like!

[CesarG]

At least he used an old headshot of himself. There a few guys here that use avatars of guys they THINK they look like!

Darin thinks he looks like AC

[belligero]

Very few WISs, much less the writers, know very much about watchmaking.[...]

True — I guarantee that Adams would be unable to explain, even in simple terms, how a movement works. And anyone who actually calls himself a "WIS" should be ignored on principle.

I don't see much anti-Asian bias online; the internet loves Seiko. They tend to get a lot of respect on any informed forum, and possibly even more on the uninformed ones where every thread seems to have some mom's-basement-dwelling autist propagandizing about how Grand Seiko is the pinnacle of all horlogerie.

Personally, I don't think Japanese companies can be beat when it comes to value for money in current-production watches. It's just that they're not the most common choice when it comes to actually putting one's money where one's mouth is once you get past the $2K-ish mark.

There's nothing wrong with ETA movements and their clones either, but I do think it's a bit foolish to pay premium prices for a generic movement. As long as they're priced fairly and aren't pretending to be something they're not, they're great. At a certain point, I do think it's reasonable to expect a watchmaker to be able to produce things on their own, or at least do something other than slap an off-the-shelf movement into a case. The tradition of ébauche finishing and assembly is respectable, but when all a company does is specifying its logo on a rotor, I tend to look elsewhere if they're charging big-boy prices.

Watches for me are as much about design and originality as they are about technical specifications. I value informed æsthetic critique, but it's an extremely rare thing to encounter from any source. What we usually get is warmed-over press releases or outright shilling.

[moishlashen]

2, 4, 1, 3




(BTW-which one is he?)

[marchone]

Very few WISs, much less the writers, know very much about watchmaking.[...]

And anyone who actually calls himself a "WIS" should be ignored on principle.

I don't see much anti-Asian bias online ...

I feel the same way about foodie. Anyone who calls themselves that is usually a poser.

As far as anti-Asian bias you must be reading different forums than I do. Seiko is rising it's true but a whiff of Asian sourced components often send guys off the deep end. They say it's deception but what is the basis? It reeks of bias because it's often accompanied with charges of using inferior parts.

[JBZ]

2, 4, 1, 3




(BTW-which one is he?)

The guy on the right in the wrinkled shirt that's too short and too tight, and the horrifying acid washed jeans with the giant leg openings.

[kfalk]

The guy with the somewhat confused looking grin on his face. Almost looks like he has gas?

Edit: looking at that pic again, that could be any of the 3 guys smiling.

[marchone]

Writers and photographers are the worst dressed at industry functions in my experience. They somehow think they don't need to fit in.

[belligero]

I feel the same way about foodie. Anyone who calls themselves that is usually a poser.

As far as anti-Asian bias you must be reading different forums than I do Seiko is rising it's true but a whiff of Asian sourced components often send guys off the deep end. They say it's deception but what is the basis? It reeks of bias.

Ah. I see that as a completely separate issue.

Of course people are going to get pissed off if you tell them that something's made in Switzerland, with all the carefully-managed mystique that entails, and then they find out that you’re using cheap labour with no environmental standards to produce most of the watch under the weaselly “Swiss Made” rules. I don’t consider that to be anti-Asian bias, I consider it to be anti-being-lied-to bias. There’s typically a strong emotional component to an expensive watch purchase, and where it’s made certainly contributes.

PS: “Foodie” just irks.

[BBK357]

Besides Ben and Rosie who are the others? That leaves Colonel Harland Sanders and beeno

[belligero]

The guy on the right in the wrinkled shirt that's too short and too tight, and the horrifying acid washed jeans with the giant leg openings.

Don't forget the turned-inside cuffs dragging on the floor and the idiotic smirk.

[moishlashen]

2, 4, 1, 3




(BTW-which one is he?)

The guy on the right in the wrinkled shirt that's too short and too tight, and the horrifying acid washed jeans with the giant leg openings.

He does need to mix in a salad or 2.

[marchone]

I wasn't clear. I'm not referencing lying about sourcing a la Yao 's or Kemmner's alleged deceptions. It comes from open specs too. "I don't want a Miyota or Sea-Gull in my micro no matter what you say. I want an ETA." And so it goes. Call it a subtext.

[belligero]

Besides Ben and Rosie who are the others? That leaves Colonel Harland Sanders and beeno

Colonel Sanders: James Dowling, aka Mr. Rolex. I'd consider him to be a legitmate expert in his field.

Beeno: Jake Ehrlich, Rolex, Panerai and Patek Philippe super-fan. He ain't about to win any writing or sartorial awards either, but at least he's not presenting himself as an influential timepiece expert.

[r.palace]

I wasn't clear. I'm not referencing lying about sourcing a la Yao 's or Kemmner's alleged deceptions.

Not to sidetrack too much but what have they said about Kemmners sourcing? I'm curious.

[belligero]

I wasn't clear. I'm not referencing lying about sourcing a la Yao 's or Kemmner's alleged deceptions. It comes from open specs too. "I don't want a Miyota or Sea-Gull in my micro no matter what you say. I want an ETA." And so it goes.

Oh. Yeah, I don't really follow the micro-brand world.

That being said, I'd be more inclined to trust a Japanese movement than a low-end "Swiss" one with mostly-Chinese parts and assembly. They ain't outsourcing to improve quality, I can assure you.