Masterpieces for the Gentleman

Masterpieces for the Gentleman

The Watch
A Swiss watch maker 1 will tell you the only non-negotiable item in the world is time. It can't be bought, sold or traded, therefore its measurement is precious. It marks the joys, the 1)melancholy 2, the sadness and the great moments of our life, and to some that requires nothing less than the genuine article.

Those 2)prestige watches include names like Piaget, Lockman and Chopard, manufacturers who like to use 18 carat gold bands, 3)studded with 4)mother-of-pearl and diamonds to create spectacular jewelry 3 that 5)outshines a simple ability to tell time. Others like Rolex or Omega are famous for their solid dependability.

Leading that field is no minor 4 achievement. Swiss brands have dominated watch making since the early 16th century, but before that workforce 5 could develop into the five-billion-dollar industry it is today, the watch had to evolve to being more than just a lady's 6)trinket.

All watches tell time, but a good watchmaker wants to do far more than that. And that breeds a fierce sense of craftsmanship 6 and competition which has led to some of the great treasures in watch-making.

Darym Schnipoer (International Director, Sotheby): One of those watches which is known as the "Henry Graves Supercomplication", this particular watch has the night time sky over New York city, giving the proper 7)longitude 7 and 8)latitude 8 of course, gives you sunrise, sunset, 9)equation of time which is the difference between 10)mean time and 11)sidereal 9 time. On the other dial, we had the feature that 12)chimes the time like a clock. In this case it had 13)Westminster chimes, which means that is sounded just like 14)Big Ben.

Henry Graves’ watch sold at auction 10 in 1999 at the highest price ever bid for a time piece, which is just as well because according to 15)Bill Prince, a man’s only legitimate 11 piece of adornment 12 is his time piece.

The Pen
It is that ability to convey character that makes a fountain pen so treasured. Part of that personality comes from the design of a fountain pen that has changed little since Louis Waterman's 1884 16)patent for the channeled feed. Fine pens like Cartier, Visconti and Crowe have been appreciated and collected for nearly a century. But one French manufacturer has captured the imagination and hearts of pen-lovers throughout the world.

John Frampton (Boutique Manager, Mont Blanc): We're not about being a 17)disposable item. It's about having an item and having it for years and years. And that's an important part of our culture at Mont Blanc.

18)Tipped with 19)iridium and 20)platinum 13 for extra strength, Mont Blanc 21)nibs are cut, 22)ground and finished by hand in a process that has not changed over the last century. Why? So that no two pens are ever alike. It is both this uniqueness of character and 23)innate 15 ability to convey emotion that defines your pen as your own. Some manufacturers specialize in placing a piece of history in your hand.

John: We go all the way up to the 24)Solitaire 25)Royale and this is a 26)phenomenal writing instrument. It's 27)encrusted with 4,810  diamonds. 4810 is actually the height of the mountain Mont Blanc in metres, so 4810 is a very important number to Mont Blanc. But this is not a writing instrument for everyone. It's perfect for the client who for a desk writing instrument or going out on a formal occasion, where we're using it as a piece of jewelry, putting it on a 28)lapel, withdrawing it from a handbag. It's probably more a piece of jewelry than a writing instrument.

Host: It's a 29)showstopper, isn't it?

John: It's a showstopper.

People who collect and use fine pens all say the same thing: it's one of the most practical luxuries they can imagine. And even if the reader never knows it, the writer has the satisfaction of using nothing less than the genuine article.

注释:
1) melancholy [5melEnkEli] n. 忧郁
2) prestige [pres5ti:dV] n. 声望
3) stud [stQd] v. 装上饰钉、装钮或类似之物
4) mother-of-pearl n. 珍珠母，珍珠质
5) outshine [aut5Fain] v. 放光，照耀
6) trinket [5triNkit] n. 小装饰品
7) longitude [5lCndVitju:d] n. 经度
8) latitude [5lAtitju:d] n. 纬度
9) equation [i5kweiFEn] n. 平衡，equation of time即时差
10) mean time 太阳时
11) sidereal [sai5diEriEl] a. 由星座决定的，sidereal time即恒星时
12) chime [tFaim] n. 类似钟声的声音
13) Westminster 威斯敏斯特教堂（全称是Westminster Abbey，又译西敏寺），位于英国伦敦，英国所有国王和女王都是在此地加冕，死后也多半长眠于此。
14) Big Ben 英国伦敦的大笨钟是著名的旅游景点，以它巨大的钟面闻名，大钟于1859年建成。
15) Bill Prince 《GQ》 杂志副编辑（Deputy Editor of GQ magazine）
16) patent [5peitEnt] n. 专利
17) disposable [dis5pEuzEbl] a. 用后即丢弃的
18) tip [tip] v. 覆盖（或装饰）……的顶端
19) iridium [i5ridiEm] n. 铱
20) platinum [5plAtinEm] n. 白金，铂
21) nib 14 [nib] n. （钢）笔尖
22) grind [^raind] v. 磨
23) innate [5ineit] a. 天生的
24) solitaire [7sCli5tZE] n. 单粒宝石
25) royale [rCi5Al] n. 蛋奶糕饰块。Solitaire Royale是Mont Blanc的一款钢笔。
26) phenomenal [fi5nCminl] a. 杰出的，不寻常的
27) encrust [in5krQst] v. （用贵重物品）装饰外层
28) lapel [lE5pel] n. 翻领
29) showstopper [5FEu7stCpE] n. 因赢得掌声而使演出中断的台词、表演等

浪漫绅士

时光永恒　——　表

瑞士制表商会告诉你，这个世界上惟一不能讨价还价的事物就是时间。时间无法买卖和交易，因此它的测定是宝贵的。它记录了我们生命中的欢欣、痛苦、悲伤和每一个重要时刻; 对于某些人来说，他们需要真品来计时。
全球极负盛名的表，如伯爵、洛克曼和萧邦，其钟表制造商都喜欢用18K金做表带，再镶嵌上珍珠母和钻石，打造出一件光彩夺目的珠宝工艺品，使得指示时间这种简单的功能退居次位。其它名表，如劳力士或欧米茄，都以稳定可靠而著称。
在制表业要处于领先地位并不是一件容易的事。自16世纪初期起，瑞士生产的表一直统领着制表业。今天，制表业已经发展成了一个价值50亿美元的行业; 而在这之前，手表就得突破只能作为女士们的小饰物这种限制。
所有的手表都能显示时间，但一个优秀的制表商所想做到的绝不仅限于此。这就催生了一丝不苟的制作工艺和强烈的行业竞争意识，并使得制表业出现了一些不可多得的珍品。

达琳·施尼珀尔（苏富比国际部经理）: 那些表中有一只名为“享利·格雷夫超级复杂计时器”，它的表盘是纽约城的夜空，显示精确的经度、纬度，有日落、日出的时间，还有时差，即太阳时和恒星时的差异。在另一个表盘，设定了类似于时钟一样的报时功能，它会响起威斯敏斯特的钟声，听起来就像英国大笨钟敲出的声音。

享利·格雷夫的这只表在1999年的拍卖会上卖出了计时器中的最高价，这也印证了比尔·普林斯的话：男人惟一真正的饰件就是表。

个性迷人 —— 笔

正是因为能体现个性，钢笔才尤为珍贵。这种特性的一部分就来自于钢笔的设计--自从1884年路易斯·沃特曼获得了钢笔墨水管的发明专利以来，钢笔的设计变化不大。做工优良的钢笔，如卡地亚、维斯康提和克罗，为世人所欣赏和收藏已近一个世纪。但一名法国制造商满足了全世界钢笔热爱者们对钢笔的想像和热衷。

约翰·弗兰普顿（万宝龙门市部经理）：我们要做的不是那些用完即丢的笔，而是适合多年收藏的一种物品，这是我们万宝龙文化中很重要的一部分。

用铱和白金做笔尖使之更耐用，万宝龙的整个工序，包括笔尖的削割、打磨至最后完成均为手工制作，这种工序从上世纪以来从未改变过。为什么？因为只有这样你才不会找到两支一模一样的钢笔。正是因为这种特性和特有的工艺才能传达出情感，才能使你的钢笔真正属于你自己。某些制造商非常擅长将一段神奇的历史融入你手中的笔。

约翰: 我们最花心思制造的是这支名为“Solitaire Royale”的钻石钢笔，这可是笔中极品。它的外壳嵌有4810颗钻石。4810本是万宝龙山的高度，所以4810对万宝龙来说是一个非常重要的数字。而这支笔并不是适合所有人随身携带以作书写之用，最理想的是摆在桌上作书写工具，或是携以出席正式场合，把它当成一件珠宝，将笔别在翻领上，或从提包里取出来，这样，与其说它是一件书写工具，倒不如说它更像是一件珠宝。

主持人：十分抢镜，是吗？

约翰: 十分抢镜。

收集和使用精致的笔的人都会说同样一句话: 这是他们所能想像到的最实用的奢侈品之一了。即使阅读者从不知道这是支好笔，但书写者却因使用这样的真品而满足。