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what are your industrial design favorites?

VMAT4

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Pennsylvania Rail Road T1. Industrial design by Raymond Lowey.

T1_color_photo.jpg



 
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VMAT4

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Here's another fave:
1645347997579.jpeg

the Bell Labs Laser. Things were very different then.
 

Ambientwks

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McIntosh come to mind - not because they are the most elegant, because they are memorable.

No matter how many times I see that blue and green glow, combined with the very utilitarian lines and gothic font, my brain still goes 'whoa, what is it?' like an eight-year old.

Whether you love or hate it, they make your hifi look like something else, something mysterious- perhaps a little dangerous? What's going on inside that box, and why does it look so different from the other boxes?
 

JiiPee

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Salora 2000 receiver from '70s and Salora KS225 speaker from the same era.

Salora_stereo_2000.jpeg


Salora_KS225.jpeg


I regret selling them. The KS225 was quite interesting design having forward facing treble and mid-range drivers plus an upwards firing 10" woofer. Although a floorstanding speaker, it was only 510mm high, which may explain why the best listening position was lying down on floor (a natural listening position for us teenagers of '70s).
 

Kling75

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This provides an excuse to expound endlessly on a topic of little interest to most here. That's just about my favorite thing to do :)

The notion that the Swiss think of Rolex as a watch for poseurs is rather overstated. It is entirely true that Rolexes have become the status symbols of the wealthy--a sort-of every day watch for those who have money to spend and don't mind that others know it. And it's true that what old Europeans might describe as nouveau riches might 1.) be poseurs, and 2.) be wearing a Rolex (or a Fauxlex).

But it is not true that Rolexes are unpopular with watch collectors, or that it is a brand for poseurs. The fact is that Rolexes are extremely well-made for their apparent functional purpose--durable, serviceable (far moreso than many boutique brands), and accurate (by the standards of mechanical watches). Those who run much higher-end companies often admire Rolex out loud. One such was amazed as to how Rolex sustained such quality and consistency so cheaply (this statement, by the way, predates the last decade of enormous collector-driven price increases). Rolex collectors have lost their minds, but that isn't the watch's fault.

It is true that collectors generally dislike Hublot, for reasons I don't fully understand but certainly related to the way they are marketed. Panerai fits in the same category. Both are enormously popular with just the sorts of people who would buy a Rolex but want something different.

Watch nuts tend to avoid brands that are popular with regular people, for reasons that are frankly not complimentary.

By the way, I don't own an Audemars-Piguet or a Patek-Philippe (or a Rolex), but I do own watches from Girard-Perregaux, Ulysse Nardin, Ebel, Zenith, JLC, Concord, Heuer, Zodiac, Seiko, Movado, Yema, Marathon, Hamilton, Bulova, a few microbrands and one-offs, and probably another half a dozen I've forgotten. All of them were made for those who, in part, were posing. Yes, even the Seiko Black Monster diver, which is hardly more expensive than a G-Shock. And a G-Shock is certainly not styled the way it is because their owners just want to tell time on their wrist.

Here's a fun fact: There were several ways in which family watch-company owners tried to perpetuate their companies beyond their own lives. Jacques-David LeCoultre (grandson of the founder) established a family holding company (SAPIC) to carry on the ownership after his death. That worked for about 20 years, until Henry Leuba rescued a failing Roger LeCoultre and reformed the holding company (as SAPHIR) to fight off a takeover attempt from the previous manager, who parted company, taking with him Vacheron Constantin (one of the Trinity), which before the 60's was owned by SAPIC. They hung on until Gunther Blumlein came along with VDO backing.

Zodiac did not survive its third generation, and Rene Ariste sold out to Dixi Machine (Paul Castella) in the late 70's. Nothing happened with them through several owners until Fossil decided to establish their premium brands as fully Swiss. Zodiac, which they had bought in 2001, was one of those, and it is now surprisingly like it was back in the day. Another fun fact: Tom Kartsotis, the founder of Fossil and a classmate of mine, though I didn't know him, now owns Shinola.

Zenith Watch Company established a corporation to take over after the founder's death, and was owned by the banks until Dixi Machine bought them, too, also in the late 70's (after a decade-long partnership with Movado that was owned by the coincidentally names Zenith Electronics during part of that period). They sold Zenith to Louis Vuitton in 1999, who still owns it.

Movado was an old Swiss company that Dixi didn't want when it bought the Zenith-Movado holding company. They sold the Movado part to a Cuban-American who renamed his company from the North American Watch Company to the Movado Group. Gerry Grinberg's son Efraim is the CEO of this publicly traded company based in New Jersey, but the watch-making parts for their premium brands (including Movado) are all Swiss and based in the same town as Rolex's movement manufacture (and also Omega's HQ): Biel/Bienne.

Patek Philippe was bought by their American sales agency in the late 20's, and the Sterns still own it. Audemars-Piguet is one of the few companies still owned by their founding families.

Now, to Rolex, the purpose of all this: Hans Wilsdorf also wanted a way to perpetuate his company, so he created a non-profit foundation. Wilsdorf only own a portion of Rolex, but he had already bought out the descendants of his original partner's family (Davis). But he did not own the movement factory itself--that was owned by Aegler, who made movements for a time also for Gruen. Rolex and Aegler were joined at the hip, and each owned chunks of the other's company. But Rolex (aka Wilsdorf Foundation) did not fully own Aegler until 2006, notwithstanding that Aegler's buildings in Biel/Bienne had Rolex signs on their roofs for half a century. The two Rolex factories plus their HQ in Geneva make cases and perform final assembly. So, the portion of Rolex owned by the Wilsdorf Foundation is ultimately non-profit, but of course, the employees and trustees of the foundation work for their salaries. But it means that Rolex net profits have done a lot of interesting charitable things over the last half century or so.

In terms of which strategy works for perpetuating a company most successfully, Wilsdorf's business model seems to have ruled the day. Only Omega and Cartier are even on the same planet of production volume for "fine" watches at that general price point.

I don't own a Rolex because I gravitate to watches that are unique buying opportunities, and Rolexes are almost never that. And I'm with Frank in not really liking the fluted bezel of the traditional Datejust. But I would not turn down a Submariner Deep Sea, GMT Master II, or Daytona, should any of you decide to give me one.

Rick "into watch company history at least as much as the watches themselves" Denney

You are quite right
This provides an excuse to expound endlessly on a topic of little interest to most here. That's just about my favorite thing to do :)

The notion that the Swiss think of Rolex as a watch for poseurs is rather overstated. It is entirely true that Rolexes have become the status symbols of the wealthy--a sort-of every day watch for those who have money to spend and don't mind that others know it. And it's true that what old Europeans might describe as nouveau riches might 1.) be poseurs, and 2.) be wearing a Rolex (or a Fauxlex).

But it is not true that Rolexes are unpopular with watch collectors, or that it is a brand for poseurs. The fact is that Rolexes are extremely well-made for their apparent functional purpose--durable, serviceable (far moreso than many boutique brands), and accurate (by the standards of mechanical watches). Those who run much higher-end companies often admire Rolex out loud. One such was amazed as to how Rolex sustained such quality and consistency so cheaply (this statement, by the way, predates the last decade of enormous collector-driven price increases). Rolex collectors have lost their minds, but that isn't the watch's fault.

It is true that collectors generally dislike Hublot, for reasons I don't fully understand but certainly related to the way they are marketed. Panerai fits in the same category. Both are enormously popular with just the sorts of people who would buy a Rolex but want something different.

Watch nuts tend to avoid brands that are popular with regular people, for reasons that are frankly not complimentary.

By the way, I don't own an Audemars-Piguet or a Patek-Philippe (or a Rolex), but I do own watches from Girard-Perregaux, Ulysse Nardin, Ebel, Zenith, JLC, Concord, Heuer, Zodiac, Seiko, Movado, Yema, Marathon, Hamilton, Bulova, a few microbrands and one-offs, and probably another half a dozen I've forgotten. All of them were made for those who, in part, were posing. Yes, even the Seiko Black Monster diver, which is hardly more expensive than a G-Shock. And a G-Shock is certainly not styled the way it is because their owners just want to tell time on their wrist.

Here's a fun fact: There were several ways in which family watch-company owners tried to perpetuate their companies beyond their own lives. Jacques-David LeCoultre (grandson of the founder) established a family holding company (SAPIC) to carry on the ownership after his death. That worked for about 20 years, until Henry Leuba rescued a failing Roger LeCoultre and reformed the holding company (as SAPHIR) to fight off a takeover attempt from the previous manager, who parted company, taking with him Vacheron Constantin (one of the Trinity), which before the 60's was owned by SAPIC. They hung on until Gunther Blumlein came along with VDO backing.

Zodiac did not survive its third generation, and Rene Ariste sold out to Dixi Machine (Paul Castella) in the late 70's. Nothing happened with them through several owners until Fossil decided to establish their premium brands as fully Swiss. Zodiac, which they had bought in 2001, was one of those, and it is now surprisingly like it was back in the day. Another fun fact: Tom Kartsotis, the founder of Fossil and a classmate of mine, though I didn't know him, now owns Shinola.

Zenith Watch Company established a corporation to take over after the founder's death, and was owned by the banks until Dixi Machine bought them, too, also in the late 70's (after a decade-long partnership with Movado that was owned by the coincidentally names Zenith Electronics during part of that period). They sold Zenith to Louis Vuitton in 1999, who still owns it.

Movado was an old Swiss company that Dixi didn't want when it bought the Zenith-Movado holding company. They sold the Movado part to a Cuban-American who renamed his company from the North American Watch Company to the Movado Group. Gerry Grinberg's son Efraim is the CEO of this publicly traded company based in New Jersey, but the watch-making parts for their premium brands (including Movado) are all Swiss and based in the same town as Rolex's movement manufacture (and also Omega's HQ): Biel/Bienne.

Patek Philippe was bought by their American sales agency in the late 20's, and the Sterns still own it. Audemars-Piguet is one of the few companies still owned by their founding families.

Now, to Rolex, the purpose of all this: Hans Wilsdorf also wanted a way to perpetuate his company, so he created a non-profit foundation. Wilsdorf only own a portion of Rolex, but he had already bought out the descendants of his original partner's family (Davis). But he did not own the movement factory itself--that was owned by Aegler, who made movements for a time also for Gruen. Rolex and Aegler were joined at the hip, and each owned chunks of the other's company. But Rolex (aka Wilsdorf Foundation) did not fully own Aegler until 2006, notwithstanding that Aegler's buildings in Biel/Bienne had Rolex signs on their roofs for half a century. The two Rolex factories plus their HQ in Geneva make cases and perform final assembly. So, the portion of Rolex owned by the Wilsdorf Foundation is ultimately non-profit, but of course, the employees and trustees of the foundation work for their salaries. But it means that Rolex net profits have done a lot of interesting charitable things over the last half century or so.

In terms of which strategy works for perpetuating a company most successfully, Wilsdorf's business model seems to have ruled the day. Only Omega and Cartier are even on the same planet of production volume for "fine" watches at that general price point.

I don't own a Rolex because I gravitate to watches that are unique buying opportunities, and Rolexes are almost never that. And I'm with Frank in not really liking the fluted bezel of the traditional Datejust. But I would not turn down a Submariner Deep Sea, GMT Master II, or Daytona, should any of you decide to give me one.

Rick "into watch company history at least as much as the watches themselves" Denney

This provides an excuse to expound endlessly on a topic of little interest to most here. That's just about my favorite thing to do :)

The notion that the Swiss think of Rolex as a watch for poseurs is rather overstated. It is entirely true that Rolexes have become the status symbols of the wealthy--a sort-of every day watch for those who have money to spend and don't mind that others know it. And it's true that what old Europeans might describe as nouveau riches might 1.) be poseurs, and 2.) be wearing a Rolex (or a Fauxlex).

But it is not true that Rolexes are unpopular with watch collectors, or that it is a brand for poseurs. The fact is that Rolexes are extremely well-made for their apparent functional purpose--durable, serviceable (far moreso than many boutique brands), and accurate (by the standards of mechanical watches). Those who run much higher-end companies often admire Rolex out loud. One such was amazed as to how Rolex sustained such quality and consistency so cheaply (this statement, by the way, predates the last decade of enormous collector-driven price increases). Rolex collectors have lost their minds, but that isn't the watch's fault.

It is true that collectors generally dislike Hublot, for reasons I don't fully understand but certainly related to the way they are marketed. Panerai fits in the same category. Both are enormously popular with just the sorts of people who would buy a Rolex but want something different.

Watch nuts tend to avoid brands that are popular with regular people, for reasons that are frankly not complimentary.

By the way, I don't own an Audemars-Piguet or a Patek-Philippe (or a Rolex), but I do own watches from Girard-Perregaux, Ulysse Nardin, Ebel, Zenith, JLC, Concord, Heuer, Zodiac, Seiko, Movado, Yema, Marathon, Hamilton, Bulova, a few microbrands and one-offs, and probably another half a dozen I've forgotten. All of them were made for those who, in part, were posing. Yes, even the Seiko Black Monster diver, which is hardly more expensive than a G-Shock. And a G-Shock is certainly not styled the way it is because their owners just want to tell time on their wrist.

Here's a fun fact: There were several ways in which family watch-company owners tried to perpetuate their companies beyond their own lives. Jacques-David LeCoultre (grandson of the founder) established a family holding company (SAPIC) to carry on the ownership after his death. That worked for about 20 years, until Henry Leuba rescued a failing Roger LeCoultre and reformed the holding company (as SAPHIR) to fight off a takeover attempt from the previous manager, who parted company, taking with him Vacheron Constantin (one of the Trinity), which before the 60's was owned by SAPIC. They hung on until Gunther Blumlein came along with VDO backing.

Zodiac did not survive its third generation, and Rene Ariste sold out to Dixi Machine (Paul Castella) in the late 70's. Nothing happened with them through several owners until Fossil decided to establish their premium brands as fully Swiss. Zodiac, which they had bought in 2001, was one of those, and it is now surprisingly like it was back in the day. Another fun fact: Tom Kartsotis, the founder of Fossil and a classmate of mine, though I didn't know him, now owns Shinola.

Zenith Watch Company established a corporation to take over after the founder's death, and was owned by the banks until Dixi Machine bought them, too, also in the late 70's (after a decade-long partnership with Movado that was owned by the coincidentally names Zenith Electronics during part of that period). They sold Zenith to Louis Vuitton in 1999, who still owns it.

Movado was an old Swiss company that Dixi didn't want when it bought the Zenith-Movado holding company. They sold the Movado part to a Cuban-American who renamed his company from the North American Watch Company to the Movado Group. Gerry Grinberg's son Efraim is the CEO of this publicly traded company based in New Jersey, but the watch-making parts for their premium brands (including Movado) are all Swiss and based in the same town as Rolex's movement manufacture (and also Omega's HQ): Biel/Bienne.

Patek Philippe was bought by their American sales agency in the late 20's, and the Sterns still own it. Audemars-Piguet is one of the few companies still owned by their founding families.

Now, to Rolex, the purpose of all this: Hans Wilsdorf also wanted a way to perpetuate his company, so he created a non-profit foundation. Wilsdorf only own a portion of Rolex, but he had already bought out the descendants of his original partner's family (Davis). But he did not own the movement factory itself--that was owned by Aegler, who made movements for a time also for Gruen. Rolex and Aegler were joined at the hip, and each owned chunks of the other's company. But Rolex (aka Wilsdorf Foundation) did not fully own Aegler until 2006, notwithstanding that Aegler's buildings in Biel/Bienne had Rolex signs on their roofs for half a century. The two Rolex factories plus their HQ in Geneva make cases and perform final assembly. So, the portion of Rolex owned by the Wilsdorf Foundation is ultimately non-profit, but of course, the employees and trustees of the foundation work for their salaries. But it means that Rolex net profits have done a lot of interesting charitable things over the last half century or so.

In terms of which strategy works for perpetuating a company most successfully, Wilsdorf's business model seems to have ruled the day. Only Omega and Cartier are even on the same planet of production volume for "fine" watches at that general price point.

I don't own a Rolex because I gravitate to watches that are unique buying opportunities, and Rolexes are almost never that. And I'm with Frank in not really liking the fluted bezel of the traditional Datejust. But I would not turn down a Submariner Deep Sea, GMT Master II, or Daytona, should any of you decide to give me one.

Rick "into watch company history at least as much as the watches themselves" Denney

Mr. Denney,

Of course you are right. And in general the reputation of the Brand Rolex is excellent. Because of the worldwide demand, the production was ramped up year after year. This is the reason why i compared the Brand to VW or better Porsche. Every random newly rich on this Planet can get one....

Living in Switzerland since 45years, i have to tell you that no bankers, milliardares, share holders , asset managers etc. in the highest income class, are wearing a Rolex. It has that russion oligarch stench on it.
A highly limited Patek Phillip earns the respect around these guys...
 
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rdenney

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I didn’t think Russian oligarchs bought Rolexes. I thought Rolexes were the domain of American car salesmen, as long as we are talking in dumb stereotypes.

I thought the oligarchs were wearing Royal Oak Offshores, Panerai Luminors, and Hublot Oceanographics.

But I’ll bet the oligarchs are really buying F. P. Journe, Roger Dubuis, and (especially) Richard Mille.

Rick “who just this week did the watch boutique crawl in NYC” Denney
 

Kling75

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I didn’t think Russian oligarchs bought Rolexes. I thought Rolexes were the domain of American car salesmen, as long as we are talking in dumb stereotypes.

I thought the oligarchs were wearing Royal Oak Offshores, Panerai Luminors, and Hublot Oceanograph

But I’ll bet the oligarchs are really buying F. P. Journe, Roger Dubuis, and (especially) Richard Mille.

Rick “who just this week did the watch boutique crawl in NYC” Denney
:p:cool:i bet you know better which brand russians prefers. I dont wont to diminish the Rolex brand. Fact is i, live 50 minutes from the Factory Chêne-Bourg.The guided tour (i did twice) i have the highest respect of their manufacturing competence. The reference to oligarchs was not necessary my best comparison. However, i stand by my comment that swiss elites prefers high end brands with limited edition. They compete knowing the CEOS to have acess...
Cruising the swiss Highways for business, i regularly saw the Hublot Branded Ferrari from the CEO - quite a view ! (There is only one Highway lane frome Zurich tor Geneva)
 
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Kling75

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iu

(Not the Hublot version, it had branding graphics all over)
 
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Somafunk

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The word “gopping” springs to mind
 

TheBatsEar

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Sony XDR-S40DBPR (mini/portable FM-DAB+ radio)
I have another version of this: XDR-S41D, maybe the successor?

Feels solid, and unlike yours, no high gloss surfaces. I think that is more practical with human hands having grease glands built in.

It's a nice radio too, supports all the good stuff, DAB, textservices, timeservices and so on.
Bit more heavy than it needs to be maybe.

PXL_20220221_155016072.jpg
PXL_20220221_155034621.jpg
PXL_20220221_155041336.jpg
PXL_20220221_155053856.jpg
PXL_20220221_155106727.jpg
 
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pavuol

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I have another version of this. Feels solid and, unlike yours, no high gloss surfaces.
It's a nice radio too. Bit more heavy than it needs to be maybe.
I bought S41 for my mum (red for work, black for home). I'd like to buy a white one for my sister's kitchen :) but Sony charges extra for "premium" white color :facepalm:

Nice quality product and plays considerable loud and clear for its size.
 
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