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No. 134: Probably costs a lot of clams.

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Probably costs a lot of clams.

First | Previous | 2017-08-16 | Next | Latest

Permanent URL: https://mezzacotta.net/pomh/?comic=134

Strip by: Ian Boreham

{A sequences of images from a Rolex video advertisement.}
Narrator: The precision of a watch is a function of its movement...
Narrator: For Rolex and for Hans Willsdorf, to guarantee the precision of a timepiece, the pressing question was how to protect the movement itself from the elements.
Narrator: Not only water, but also tiny particles of dust.
Narrator: In 1926, a major step was taken with the creation of the world's first waterproof and dustproof wristwatch. the Rolex Oyster was born.
Narrator: As dirt particles enter, the integral genetically modified watch mollusc secretes nacre, which surrounds the particles and traps them, forming pearls. This increases the value of the watch and augments the jewelled bearings.
Narrator: Carbon particles entering the watch are compressed into diamonds, and displayed on the watch face.
Narrator: Eventually, this process results in an elegant, valuable timepiece, The Rolex Oyster Pearlmaster.
{Image of a Rolex Pearlmaster watch.}

The author writes:

I've never personally owned a wrist mollusc, and have never felt the urge. I suppose if I were an extreme sportsperson or an adventurer, it might make sense.

Mind you, I rarely do anything to decorate my person in any way, which is kind of odd, since I am an amateur jeweller, and enjoy making beatiful decorative things. Part of the problem is that when a thing is worn, it gets worn. It seems a shame to take, say, a beautiful freshly polished ring, and then wear it, scratching and dulling the surface.

Speaking of molluscs, it still weirds me out that an octopus is more closely related to an oyster than to other lifeforms of similar intelligence.

Assembled in Inkscape from screencaps of a Rolex advertisement.