Althouse: I resist even examining why I have a strong mental barrier that stops me from reading this article.

June 18, 2024

I resist even examining why I have a strong mental barrier that stops me from reading this article.

63 comments:

rehajm said...: His Patek is a 2499 perpetual chrono. Very nice…

High end watches are the bees knees right now. The branda have been aligning with the right celebs and trumping it up on social media. These kind of stories pop up during auction season. This watch is not new news so why New Yorker is pumping it now…; 6/18/24, 6:40 AM
Leland said...: Imagine being so materialistic that you care about a watch worn half a century ago.; 6/18/24, 6:41 AM
Cappy said...: Probably Yoko.; 6/18/24, 6:44 AM
Amexpat said...: Perhaps the idea that Yoko would give John such an ostentatious luxury gift conflicts with how you'd like to remember him?; 6/18/24, 6:44 AM
typingtalker said...: Patek Philippe ... will it sync with my iPhone?; 6/18/24, 6:49 AM
Chuck said...: That looks like a fascinating article. I will definitely read it (when my print edition arrives in Friday's mail). But knowing that Althouse has rejected it, and thereby won't reveal any spoilers, I'd really like to know what about it repelled her. Without seeing this blog post, I would have guessed that this would be one of the first things she'd blog, and not the first thing she would go out of her way to reject.; 6/18/24, 6:49 AM
rehajm said...: Imagine being so materialistic that you care about a watch worn half a century ago.

I see what you did there…; 6/18/24, 6:49 AM
Meade said...: Ass Chuck, you should count your blessings that she allows your spam comments to be published at all.; 6/18/24, 6:52 AM
rehajm said...: I love horology. As a kid I would stand in front of the jewelry store window while mom ran errands. They had a big magnifying glass focused on the watchmaker’s bench. Now I have my own bench. Vintage watches are beautiful pieces of craftsmanship and history. The US used to be the finest makers in the 19th and early 20th century, long before the Swiss…

My image is an Omega Dirty Dozen military watch- British Dod contract from the end of WWII. Collect all twelve…; 6/18/24, 6:54 AM
Dave Begley said...: Super interesting article combining law, commerce, love, music and celebrity.; 6/18/24, 6:58 AM
Danno said...: Chuck, what in the hell is the matter with you?

TDS on steroids?; 6/18/24, 6:59 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Here's an excellent novel with a lead character who's into extremely expensive watches: "Lake Success" by Gary Shteyngart (commission earned).

I've read that. Recommended for many reasons, including insight into the expensive watch craze.; 6/18/24, 6:59 AM
Iman said...: Chuckles greets a new day…; 6/18/24, 7:01 AM
Dave Begley said...: Yoko Ono is the worst. More proof in the story.; 6/18/24, 7:04 AM
Terry di Tufo said...: Looking forward to comments on why people don't like John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Patek watches, The New Yorker, and 40th birthdays.; 6/18/24, 7:06 AM
Iman said...: Working Man’s Hero!; 6/18/24, 7:08 AM
rehajm said...: There’s a strange connection to someone through their watch. US military usually have nice watches- either issued to pilots, divers, others or soldiers have always been able to buy nice watches through the PX/BX on the cheap. Family of deceased soldiers usually keep their watches tucked in a drawer somewhere but I offer to restore them to good order for free and encourage them to wear them. There’s usually tears involved…; 6/18/24, 7:16 AM
Leland said...: Blogger Ann Althouse said... "Lake Success" by Gary Shteyngart (commission earned).

I've read that. Recommended for many reasons, including insight into the expensive watch craze.

I've read his insights on inexpensive cruises that his employer overpaid him to take.; 6/18/24, 7:18 AM
rehajm said...: I think we should be discussing John’s sock tie. Who does he think he is- Simon Le Bon?; 6/18/24, 7:19 AM
Kate said...: "I would have guessed that this would be one of the first things she'd blog, and not the first thing she would go out of her way to reject."

But it *is one of the first things she blogged. It's in the drop of morning posts, and she gave it a cheeky title that invited discussion.; 6/18/24, 7:28 AM
Flat Tire said...: that's the most New Yorker article ever.; 6/18/24, 7:33 AM
John henry said...: It is a nice looking watch and perhaps functions well as a piece of jewelry.

But I doubt that it is as accurate as a $30 digital Timex. Certainly not as precise. If I need a watch, to tell time, I will go with the Timex.

One of the things I've learned from the History of Rock and Roll podcast was how rich Yoko's family is. If she wants to buy an expensive watch, she can afford it.

Do people even wear watches anymore? I've not worn one for perhaps 10 years. Other than the $30 Timex I carry in my backpack and occasionally wear on the factory floor for stopwatch and timer functions.

John Henry; 6/18/24, 7:45 AM
rehajm said...: But I doubt that it is as accurate as a $30 digital Timex. Certainly not as precise. If I need a watch, to tell time, I will go with the Timex.

Yup. A brand new Rolex not as accurate as a cheapo Mickey Mouse quartz…; 6/18/24, 7:54 AM
Dave Begley said...: “Who the hell needs to own a Rolex?” Charlie Munger

Munger was super smart, but he didn’t understand the psychology of luxury goods and branding.; 6/18/24, 8:11 AM
Old and slow said...: GPS running watch. That's all a person needs.; 6/18/24, 8:17 AM
jaydub said...: I have a Rolex Oyster Precision (model 1955?) that I purchased from a ship's store for $75 when I was a 3/c midshipman in 1964. It's still working and I still wear it every day. Not all Rolex watches are luxury watches, but it seems they are durable enough to last through some pretty rough usage for 60 years.; 6/18/24, 8:23 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Unreadable but bloggable. Is there a tag for that?; 6/18/24, 8:39 AM
cassandra lite said...: I think I’ll read it so I can laugh further at the lyrics of Imagine, something I’ve been doing nonstop for 53 years. My laughter had grown weak, attenuated, by repetition, but will now be revivified by knowing John “no possessions” Lennon owned a Patek Philippe watch. And now I’ll have to go back and view the photo of him and Yoko waiting while the maid changes the sheets in the bed they were lying in ‘cause they were only trying to get us some peace. Was he wearing it?; 6/18/24, 8:52 AM
Whiskeybum said...: “Who the hell needs to own a Rolex?” Charlie Munger
Munger was super smart, but he didn’t understand the psychology of luxury goods and branding.

I'd say that Munger was right with that sentiment: Who the hell needs to own a Rolex? To address the psychology of luxury goods, he would have needed to ask: Who the hell wants to own a Rolex?

BTW - I was in Geneva, CH recently and learned there that the Huguenots brought watchmaking to Switzerland from France during the diaspora in the 1600s.; 6/18/24, 8:54 AM
Original Mike said...: I stopped wearing a watch decades ago. Even before cell phones, you could always find a clock somewhere. At work, in every room. Out and about, in the car. I had one for hiking/camping that cost me $10.; 6/18/24, 9:00 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: I wont read it because I'm extremely bored when anyone talks about souvienuers (sic), antiques, jewlerey, knick-knacks, autographed baseballs, watches, furniture, or clothes.

Two of the worst moments of my life occured when I was stuck at a business lunch with some client who talked for 30 minutes about his antique milk bottle collection. The other was stuck in airplane having to listen to two guys talk about their $4000 (!) watches.; 6/18/24, 9:08 AM
Rusty said...: My smartwatch keeps perfect time. It also monitors my heart rate. Keeps track of my AFib and how far I've walked. Pretty damn cool when you stop and think about it.; 6/18/24, 9:10 AM
Dave Begley said...: cassandra lite:

You'll be shocked about Lennon's possessions.; 6/18/24, 9:30 AM
Roger Sweeny said...: David Landes' Revolution in Time: Clocks in the Making of the Modern World is a fascinating book by an economic historian who writes well and has wide-ranging interests.; 6/18/24, 9:39 AM
Josephbleau said...: “Yup. A brand new Rolex not as accurate as a cheapo Mickey Mouse quartz…”

My Rolex Oyster Quartz is, the only quartz watch Rolex made in the 1980’s.; 6/18/24, 10:24 AM
Joe Smith said...: "High end watches are the bees knees right now."

I've forgotten more about watches than most people will ever know.

There has been a huge bubble that is still there but is slowly deflating.

Of course, this does not apply to watches such as Lennon's as it is not only rare but has an interesting provenance.

But even things like stainless steel Rolex and other stainless steel sport watches were unattainable just last year.

My friend (through whom I live vicariously) has a huge budget for watches. He wanted to buy a special Audemars Piguet at about $200k. He had the money and the contact with the dealer.

They suggested he buy one or more of their 'normal' models at $60k apiece and perhaps he'd be considered. He passed.

But had I the cash, I would certainly be up for spending it on an interesting piece...; 6/18/24, 10:28 AM
Dave Begley said...: When my $ENVX hits $100, I'm buying a Patek Phillipe watch. Sorry, Charlie!; 6/18/24, 10:31 AM
Joe Smith said...: 'Yoko Ono is the worst. More proof in the story.'

My theory: John gave the watch to a hitman in exchange for killing his annoying wife.

The hitman reneged on the deal but kept the watch.

Now what does John do...go to the cops to get the watch back?; 6/18/24, 11:05 AM
PM said...: 1. I know this much, if I didn't wear a watch, I'd be glancing at my bare wrist a hundred times a day.
2. Swiss Army w/date.; 6/18/24, 11:08 AM
swierczekml said...: "John 'no possessions' Lennon"

A good example of the fallacy of assuming the lyrical point of view is the same as the author's point of view; 6/18/24, 11:08 AM
swierczekml said...: I'm torn between wearing my FitBit watch or my Dad's Omega Speedmaster from the early 60s. Both great examples of the tech of the era...; 6/18/24, 11:13 AM
mccullough said...: The sock-tie goes hard in that photo.

It mesmerized me. The US flag pin flourishes.; 6/18/24, 11:41 AM
Oligonicella said...: Imagine no possessions
Ignore the golden band
Apartment two fur storage
Chilled cold as you can stand
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
Not me though-ooh-ooh

Those are words that I use to fool you
'Cause our bank balance says we've won
Even this crap has made us money
Though it didn't make number o-o-one; 6/18/24, 11:47 AM
guitar joe said...: Elvis Costello: "Was it a millionaire/who sang 'imagine no possessions?'"; 6/18/24, 11:53 AM
Hassayamper said...: Limousine liberals and Patek Philippe progressives....

Interesting that Sean Lennon has turned out to be, if not exactly conservative, at least an independent and iconoclastic thinker who is contemptuous of the left-wing pieties so common among show-biz types.; 6/18/24, 12:15 PM
Joe Smith said...: "John 'no possessions' Lennon"

To be fair, this was an expensive watch at the time but not outrageous.

It just turns out that Yoko had very good taste of very good luck to choose this particular model...; 6/18/24, 12:23 PM
swierczekml said...: And just when we think we have John figured out, we come across this:

In a 1968 interview, Lennon referenced "Taxman" as part of the Beatles' anti-authoritarian outlook; he said it was an "anti-establishment tax song" and that the band still protested against having to pay the government unless it was for a "communal or Communist or real Christian society". He was taken aback when the Dutch interviewer, Abram de Swaan, criticized the song's message and insisted that taxes should be high to benefit the whole of society.

(H/T wikipedia); 6/18/24, 12:25 PM
Dogma and Pony Show said...: All of this piling on over "Imagine" gets so tiresome. Don't underestimate the possibility that Lennon wrote that song not as a manifesto of his innermost beliefs, but because he happened to be a pretty masterful writer of popular songs who understood that a composition didn't need to express the songwriter's innermost thoughts or values in order for people to like it and want to buy the record. Lennon made it clear over and over that people shouldn't look to him or the Beatles for the answers, so at least give him credit for that.

As for "Imagine" itself, I'm pretty sure that, if he were alive to talk about it, he'd admit the lyrics are laughably naive, and not to be taken seriously. He'd be the first to point out that it's just a song. I'm sure it paid for a lot of heads of cattle when Yoko was investing in livestock.; 6/18/24, 1:10 PM
cassandra lite said...: All the comments that the song didn't have to reflect the songwriter's actual thinking must not have been sentient in those years, because that's exactly what songwriters intended then. Especially Lennon, especially on his first two solo albums, Imagine being on the second.

Which of his songs then were incongruous with the particular worldview he was purveying? Not one. Listen to interviews with him on radio and in RS. He was considered an oracle, and in no way tried to debunk that perception of him.

Yoko was obviously a good mom to have raised such an interesting and level-headed kid with that weight on his shoulders.; 6/18/24, 1:22 PM
Oligonicella said...: As with Biaz, National Lampoon had him pegged way back on Radio Dinner.; 6/18/24, 1:23 PM
Oligonicella said...: Forgot to add. That jape of him on RD (17:30) was composed of his words taken from an interview.; 6/18/24, 1:26 PM
Joe Smith said...: 'As for "Imagine" itself...'

Along with 'Bobby McGee,' one of the worst songs ever written.

"Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na, hey hey hey Bobbie McGeeee yeah!"

Absolute fucking drivel.; 6/18/24, 1:35 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: Quartz watches are junk. They can drift off by as much as half a second a month. If you really want to know what time it is you need an atomic watch. For less than 50 bucks you can get one from Casio that will keep time to within one second for the next 300 billion years.; 6/18/24, 3:10 PM
Joe Smith said...: 'For less than 50 bucks you can get one from Casio that will keep time to within one second for the next 300 billion years.'

As I am immortal this would be a bad investment...; 6/18/24, 3:33 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Way, way back in these threads I suggested that Althouse should buy a Patek for Meade when they were a new thing.

Nothing too fancy. A 36mm Calatrava would be fine for him. And it should be white gold.

Same now as then: still great advice. IMHO.

Backup option would be a white gold Malte from Vacheron.

Yur welcome.; 6/18/24, 7:14 PM
Dave Begley said...: Sprez.

What about Calatrava 3520D?; 6/18/24, 8:09 PM
Josephbleau said...: "Quartz watches are junk. They can drift off by as much as half a second a month. If you really want to know what time it is you need an atomic watch. For less than 50 bucks you can get one from Casio that will keep time to within one second for the next 300 billion years."

But only as long as the watch can communicate with a standardizing station for updates. Around 100 Billion or so years from now you may want that quartz watch, if you stockpiled enough batteries. Or a regular Rolex without batteries, if the bearings last for 100 billion years.

Compared to the radio station WWV (Ft. Collins CO, dit da da dit da da dit dit dit da.) my Rolex Oyster Quartz is always spot on. Because Rolex cares, unlike the Chinese.

So the reality is, if you want to know what time it is, look at your cell phone. All else is vanity.; 6/18/24, 8:19 PM
Josephbleau said...: GPS time is the most accurate, so get a garmin.; 6/18/24, 8:22 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Dave B,

Exactly. A great fit for Meade.

My most go to Patek is 7234G-001. But I mostly wear a quite basic platinum Breguet and a white gold dual time Blancpain. And I do very frequently wear a white gold Vacheron Malte (one of my suggestions for Meade). I have other white gold and platinum watches that don't get out of the safes too much. But of course I have steel sport watches that get a lot of use.

I like the color of white gold and platinum and steel. My only yellow gold watch is a day-date and I only wear that when being really casual such that most folks would probably assume it's fake.; 6/18/24, 8:49 PM
Oligonicella said...: All my life I have hated having jewelry of any kind hanging on my body. Probably stems from a very early childhood incident of almost choking. So, no necklaces, rings or watches and I can barely stand glasses.

All that time I have never needed to have a watch on me as time pieces have been ubiquitous the whole time. That and I learned to get a decent estimate from the sun.

And not care that much.; 6/18/24, 8:53 PM
Sprezzatura said...: If Althouse wants to baby step into getting a nice watch for Meade she could go with an Hermes H08 as a first step.

Really cool fonts (and the date wheel font matches the other numbers (something that too many watch companies screw up inc. Patek)). And a lot of other nice details re the style and build quality. Also this one watch can straddle sportiness and sorta dressy-ish. For getting different looks, Meade can rotate between the bracelet and the colored straps.

Plus not a ton of dough.

Yur welcome.; 6/18/24, 9:09 PM
Dave Begley said...: Sprezzatura:

I just looked at that Patek. Holy cow! And it sells used for $38k-$40k. You must have quite the collection.

When my ENVX hits $100, I will buy my Patek.; 6/19/24, 9:25 AM
Rusty said...: Now that I don't have to be anywhere I have a really cool watch.; 6/19/24, 11:30 AM