19 November 2006
Photograph & Rambling: Mechanical Pocket Watch
Preview has been cropped.
Click the preview above for the full-size version (776x866 pixels, 72KB JPEG).
Gratis image hosting provided by Photobucket.
Last Friday, two pocket watches on sale at Wal-Mart caught my eye. They weren't the ultra-cheap quartz ones; they had mechanical movements, although they certainly weren't [monetarily] valuable (they wanted $29.98, I think).
What really attracted me, though, was the way they were designed - the clockwork was part of the artwork of the piece, permanently visible through double windows (one in the face of the watch [the obverse], and one in the back [the reverse]).
This Friday, I gave in, and bought one. I had a bit of a problem deciding which one to get - one had a hinged cover; the other was always open, but came with its own belt holster. Both were pretty (IMHO), and had the "open clockwork" styling.
I ended up getting the open-faced one - mainly because:
1.) I couldn't imagine wearing a vest, which would provide the proper pocket;
2.) Not all my pants have watch pockets - but with the holster, I'd always have a watch pocket;
3.) When my Grandfather came to look with me - which wasn't a bad idea, since it is an anachronistic item which he would be more familiar with - his eyes were caught by the bold Roman numerals on the face.
(The hinged one had Roman numerals, too; however, they are only visible when the cover is open. It is notable that the clockwork is visible through the front of that watch, even when the cover is closed - making it triple-windowed.
I have done one drawing - yet to be posted - which features a large analog clock face. It makes my preference for Roman numerals evident.)
Upon getting it home, I wound it up, and instantly thought of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III (FF VI for the purists..), which both had artwork and themes resembling the movement of this machine's clockwork. It helped me connect more deeply to this feeling.. which was a prime inspiration for the Fenrisian Universe in the first place.
(And yes, the Fenrisian Universe [circa 3300 A.E., the timeframe Fenris writes in this blog from] is basically far-future science fantasy [mainly magic science], while FF VI and most of Chrono Trigger are basically steampunk. However, I think it would be pretty evident where the connection is if you play Chrono Trigger for a while.. listen to what you feel in your bones, in your heart, when you step through a time portal in there - or when you look upon the mechanism of Setzer's airship in FF VI.)
I've decided to share a picture of the watch. I'm putting up a picture of the obverse of the watch first; I have a picture of the reverse on file, and may post it later, after working on it some more.
I'm not under any illusion that this is a valuable watch; its value to me is in the artwork of its movement. So please, no gloating about expensive timepieces.
(Even my friend Hiram L. - who took the "Double Rainbow" and "Desert Sunset" photographs posted previously on this blog - has me beaten on this. He has a railroad chronometer as a family heirloom! =:oD )
¶ 11/19/2006 04:33:00 PM
Preview has been cropped.
Click the preview above for the full-size version (776x866 pixels, 72KB JPEG).
Gratis image hosting provided by Photobucket.
Last Friday, two pocket watches on sale at Wal-Mart caught my eye. They weren't the ultra-cheap quartz ones; they had mechanical movements, although they certainly weren't [monetarily] valuable (they wanted $29.98, I think).
What really attracted me, though, was the way they were designed - the clockwork was part of the artwork of the piece, permanently visible through double windows (one in the face of the watch [the obverse], and one in the back [the reverse]).
This Friday, I gave in, and bought one. I had a bit of a problem deciding which one to get - one had a hinged cover; the other was always open, but came with its own belt holster. Both were pretty (IMHO), and had the "open clockwork" styling.
I ended up getting the open-faced one - mainly because:
1.) I couldn't imagine wearing a vest, which would provide the proper pocket;
2.) Not all my pants have watch pockets - but with the holster, I'd always have a watch pocket;
3.) When my Grandfather came to look with me - which wasn't a bad idea, since it is an anachronistic item which he would be more familiar with - his eyes were caught by the bold Roman numerals on the face.
(The hinged one had Roman numerals, too; however, they are only visible when the cover is open. It is notable that the clockwork is visible through the front of that watch, even when the cover is closed - making it triple-windowed.
I have done one drawing - yet to be posted - which features a large analog clock face. It makes my preference for Roman numerals evident.)
Upon getting it home, I wound it up, and instantly thought of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III (FF VI for the purists..), which both had artwork and themes resembling the movement of this machine's clockwork. It helped me connect more deeply to this feeling.. which was a prime inspiration for the Fenrisian Universe in the first place.
(And yes, the Fenrisian Universe [circa 3300 A.E., the timeframe Fenris writes in this blog from] is basically far-future science fantasy [mainly magic science], while FF VI and most of Chrono Trigger are basically steampunk. However, I think it would be pretty evident where the connection is if you play Chrono Trigger for a while.. listen to what you feel in your bones, in your heart, when you step through a time portal in there - or when you look upon the mechanism of Setzer's airship in FF VI.)
I've decided to share a picture of the watch. I'm putting up a picture of the obverse of the watch first; I have a picture of the reverse on file, and may post it later, after working on it some more.
I'm not under any illusion that this is a valuable watch; its value to me is in the artwork of its movement. So please, no gloating about expensive timepieces.
(Even my friend Hiram L. - who took the "Double Rainbow" and "Desert Sunset" photographs posted previously on this blog - has me beaten on this. He has a railroad chronometer as a family heirloom! =:oD )
¶ 11/19/2006 04:33:00 PM
