Wabi-sabi (im)Perfection

[TeeJay]

I've mentioned it a lot recently, but, what is wabi-sabi?

Wabi-sabi (侘寂) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. The phrase comes from the two words wabi and sabi. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" (according to Leonard Koren in his book Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers). It is a concept derived from the Buddhist assertion of the Three marks of existence (三法印 sanbōin), specifically impermanence (無常 mujō). Note also that the Japanese word for rust, 錆 is also pronounced sabi (the borrowed Chinese character is different, but the word itself is of assumed common etymology), and there is an obvious semantic connection between these concepts.

Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity, simplicity, modesty, intimacy, and the suggestion of natural processes.

Richard R. Powell summarizes by saying "It (wabi-sabi) nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect."

Although it was other vintage watches which first made me appreciate this aesthetic, this was the watch were I first put it into practice as an active modification:

Since receiving this generous gift from Slartibartfast,

I decided to turn a watch I was not particularly keen to wear:

into one I would wear happily.

The watch has undergone some fairly extensive vintaging on the case (possibly too much) but overall, it is the crystal which has since guided my abuse of the new bezel insert. I never envisaged the totally stripped insert [seen above] as a permanent component, and didn't want to go for the same bleached out look of the vintage sub, but equally, I didn't want the new insert to look pristine, or it would simply look like an after-market replacement. I wanted it to blend with the rest of the watch. To that end, I used a 4-surface nail file to remove some of the paint at the edges of the insert, and then pitted the insert.

Here're the two blood-brothers:

The damage between 10 and 11 on the crystal, is from where I used a pocket knife to cut away the cyclops. I managed to buff out some of the damage, but some of it was permanant, so my only option, was to re-position the crystal so that the marks would appear to be impact damage sustained during wear, and then blend it in by crazing the rest of the crystal.

The crazing of the crystal was achieved by first slashing at the crystal with my pocket knife a few times, then using the 4-surface nail file in a circular motion all over, using all four rubbing surfaces, to reduce the scuffing from 'cloudy', to simply 'scuffed up'.

The pitting was achieved by placing the flat tip of a jeweller's screwdriver against the insert, holding it in place, then lightly tapping the back of the screwdriver once with a doorstop, and then using a thumbnail to remove any loosened paint. Individual indents was the aim here, not long gouges, which I grouped together to line up with the major scratches on the crystal.

Overall, I am very happy with the overall effect, and how the watch looks. I still have plans to obtain and install correct Snowflake hands, and a correct caseback, but those additions will be some time before I have the cash to put them into action. Infact, were it not for Slartibartfast's generous gift of the dial, this project may never have gotten off the ground at all, as a gen dial would be out of my reach, price-wise.

Of course, I had to get a decent wrist shot

Coming inside, I saw that the hands were 'flaring up', so decided to take a couple of quick lume shots to show just how nicely the dial glows.

If you'd be interested in acquiring the only other existing example of this dial, then hurry, as the auction for it ends soon here:

Tudor Snowflake Dial 100% (minus shipping costs) to RWG

Thanks for reading

[FxrAndy]

Looks very authentic TJ

[TeeJay]

Looks very authentic TJ

Thanks, my friend There's a lot of work that needs doing before it could be considered a decent homage to the Snowflake Tudor, but, it's a watch which I'm finally happy to wear (the previous composite was literally just an assembly of parts, not something I'd choose to wear...) my only beef, is the NATO strap... I don't like getting them wet, so I keep taking it off

[ubiquitous]

Over time, my personal pref has gone from heavy wabi/aging to only a moderate amount of wabi

It's always interesting to see the characteristics that aging tritium takes on over time; the inconsistencies truly makes each different dial unique in it's own right...

[TeeJay]

Over time, my personal pref has gone from heavy wabi/aging to only a moderate amount of wabi

It's always interesting to see the characteristics that aging tritium takes on over time; the inconsistencies truly makes each different dial unique in it's own right...

Thanks for the feedback, I would totally agree there, the way each dial ages differently, definitely leads to some interesting, and unique effects

To be honest, with my vintage sub, that is actually more heavily aged than I had originally planned, and when I have the cash available for parts, I will be performing a 'facelift' to take a few years off of it I didn't want the Snowflake Tudor to be in the same kind of heavy aging, primarily, because it is only a 70s vintage, rather than the 50s vintage of the sub case (which will also eventually receive a coin-edge bezel) I didn't want this one to look 'too old', but I wanted to make it at least look like it was potentially 30 years old, without looking totally beaten up. I'd like to think I've achieved that overall aim, and consider that aspect of the project completed, as the caseback and Snowflake hands I eventually plan to install, won't do anything for the age of the case, just the overall consistency to that specific model of watch