Learning About New (to me) Old Technologies During the Pandemic

I will never own a Rolex, or a Tudor, or an Omega.  However, I was given a Seiko — made in Japan — watch for my big birthday last month that was roughly $160.  It sparked an intense period of learning for me.  I became fascinated in these tools for our wrists that are able to keep time and produce 21,000 + vibrations per hour WITHOUT a battery.  I am referring to watches with a mechanical movement, whether they be automatic, hand wound or both.  (Of course, there are wonderful quartz watches out there with batteries too.)  Over the past 6 weeks, I think I have become quite knowledgeable on the sub-$500 watch market.  There are awesome watches you can get out there for under $300 and in some cases under $200 as well.  I haven’t found a way to incorporate this newfound love into my business as some kind of formal proposition, but I would definitely be willing to discuss this arena with you informally by e-mail or perhaps at the back end of an appointment. 

Some insights I would be able to share with you include… There are many fine watches out there with Japanese movements.  It is possible to get affordable Swiss made watches.  I can help you understand the difference between a grey market watch and one from an authorized seller. (My Seiko came from a grey market store in NYC that also has an authorized division as well.)  Sometimes the right strap can make all the difference on a watch, especially a nylon “NATO” strap.  I don’t think we should think of watches by traditional gender distinctions.  A lot of so-called ladies watches are very stylish but not functional.  Why can’t a lady wear a nice man’s watch?  Of course she can!  There are so many possibilities if we think outside the watch box.  There are a lot of garbage watches coming out of China, but I can let you know about the one Chinese made watch that “watch people” really admire.

Watch Out For Google Search Results

Over the past couple years, I have seen some clients come up with bad luck on Google search results.  It often starts with Googling for a phone number for customer service for a particular company.  While Google has improved this type of searching and can often provide you with an obvious and legitimate number, you have to deal with paid search listings.  I have tried to install ad blockers for all of you on your browsers and shown you how to turn that ad blocker on and off.  However, if you do not have an ad blocker installed you are going to see at least 3 search results from Google that are ads.  They should be clearly identified.  However, you may not notice what you are looking at.  Please be careful.  Unfortunately, scam companies have been buying up key word ads from Google.  So that when you search for XYZ bank customer service or Frontier customer service (for example), those first few results may not be what you are looking for.  You will have to scroll beyond the sponsored listings to truly find what you want.  Goggler beware!