July 26, 2002
L'Horlogerie suisse
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| Head. 08 Juillet. |
The French have a philosophical culture. Not the USA, the cult of technoconsumption.
Par exemple, see how the French comment on this development: those zany Japanese are at it again, revising Occidental traditions. Nobody gives engagement rings anymore, they give watches!
Du Monde, 25.07.02, sous le titre "Le temps d'aimer":
Les temps changent. Les symboles ne suffisent plus. Pas question en effet de symboliser l'éternité, car il est aujourd'hui possible de la compter, de la mesurer avec la précision de l'horlogerie suisse. La société japonaise contemporaine, à l'image des mœurs occidentales modernes, recherche l'utile, le pratique. La montre : voilà enfin un bijou qui sert à quelque chose. Etre ponctuel, pouvoir dire l'heure, voilà le plus précieux.
<The Amol Translation>"Time to love"
Times change. Symbols aren't enough. Not a question, in effect, of symbolizing eternity, because today it is possible to count it, to measure it with the precision of Swiss watchmaking. The contemporary Japanese society, in the image of modern Western mores, looks for the useful, the practical. The watch: there it is at last a piece of jewelry which serves something. Being punctual, being able to say the time, there you have the most precious thing.</The Amol Translation>