I've not been to Beijing but the National Palace Museum in Taipei has some
remarkable mechanical clocks, including water clocks.  My Significant Other
is Taiwanese and whenever I get smug there is nothing like a visit to the
NPM to remind me that the Chinese were crafting breathtaking objets d'art
and wonderfully functional machines when we arrogant Euro-Americans were
still swinging by our tails from the trees.




On Sat, Jul 9, 2011 at 8:26 PM, Morris Odell <vilgo...@bigpond.net.au>wrote:

>
> > Bravo, Rob.  I thought I was the lone voice crying in the wilderness in
> support of watches.
>
> >My "beater" is an Omega Seamaster that goes everywhere and does everything
> all the time.  My others tend to sit in their rocker boxes and seldom get
> worn.
>
> This was a very interesting thread. I have worn a watch for the last 50+
> years and feel that something is missing without one. Even though my
> professional activities (to say nothing of hobby pursuits) mean I have to
> take it off from time to time I won't be without one. Looking at the time
> of
> a mobile phone or computer just isn't the same and you can't trust wall
> clocks you have no control over. There's nothing like the gesture of
> pushing
> up a sleeve to see it or the ability to glance at it surreptitiously during
> boring meetings :-)  My current quotidian timepiece is a Longines quartz
> with an analog dial and a date window. It keeps very accurate time and the
> crystal is remarkably scratch resistant. I have a Forbes nixie watch too
> for
> appropriately nerdy occasions and an assortment of cheapies for travel.
>
> I was in the amazing clock museum in the Beijing Forbidden City recently.
> Has anyone else seen that? It houses an incredible collection of 18th and
> 19th century extreme high end clocks, from the collections of successive
> emperors. They are of course all mechanical ( or water powered) and some
> are
> of amazing complexity. One had a little automaton of a man sitting at a
> desk
> writing down the time! I also saw my first Congreve clock while I was over
> there. I am tempted to try and make a version of one if I ever get a year
> or
> three to spare...
>
> Cheers,
>
> Morris
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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