[LRflex] Re: leicareflex Digest V4 #128
- From: KEITH LONGMORE <keith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 11:53:10 +0100
Hi Phil
I don't want to prolong the off-topic slant, but:
you said:
BTW: The Swiss also had tremendous problems a couple of years ago when
watches went electric/tronic. Here again they made the right choices to
face Asian competition; Swatch is just one example, but other more
expensive brands are also thriving on high-end mechanical time-pieces.
The Swiss were in deep trouble earlier than that - the 1976 oil crisis
caused a massive slump in sales, and many Swiss companies were
effectively bankrupt then (competition had decimated profits in a
saturated market). In the History of Tissot, there are photographs of
large crates full of watches (without straps) being sent for scrap in
1976/7, because they could not be sold. Four years later, as the
'proper' electronic watches started to become popular, they decided to
shut down some 80-90% of their industry. Now they (a) can't keep up
with demand for mechanical watches, and (b) can't attract new blood into
the industry. It's easy to over-react!!
FYI:
Swatch is a part of SMH Group, owned by Nicolas Hayek, of Smart car
fame. Also in the Group are: Omega, Tissot, Lanco, Lemania, ETA, to
name the active ones. Most expensive mech watches now have ETA
movements - e.g. Breitling, TAG-Heuer, Mido, Longines, etc., as well as
SMH Group members.
Rolex (as I understand it) is South African-owned, IWC, Zenith -Movado,
Oris are largely US owned; TAG is Saudi owned.
Scary what can happen if you get it wrong, isn't it?
Gun cameras: ever tried walking into an airport carrying one...? ;-)
Seriously, they are likely to be made illegal here shortly: but who is
going to try to rob a bank based on carrying in a WWI Lewis-gun camera?
The danger is, it seems, that our poor police are likely to shoot anyone
carrying a gun camera in public, so they need to be protected from such
trauma.
And, finally - your history lesson! May I just add the comment: over
the main entrance to Auschwitz nowadays is a quote of, as I remember,
Schiller: "If we allow history to be forgotten, it will happen again."
When I'm over this Detroit bug - I'm still poorly, and my wife is
suffering, too - I'll get some more pics to post.
Maybe I should post some from my youth.......
Cheers
Keith
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