pan971 0 Posted May 4, 2013 (edited) today the new york times' book review section had an essay on the book "a grand complication" by stacy perman. it is a good, brief review by a Cornell economics professor and can be accessed here. basically, it is the story of the pissing contest between messrs. packard & graves, jr in commissioning the most complicated "grand complications" from patek philippe. apparently the first one to commission was mr. packard, the founder of packard motor car company, and the watch was simply known as "the packard". i am sure many members of the forum knew that, but i did not. i am not posting it on patek section-- the book is a general piece on complicated watch design and mechanisms. the review also has the best simple definition of a tourbillon movement i've read: "a tiny contraption that slowly rotates the main mechanism, thus reducing the distorting effects of gravity". thought the book and its review may be of interest to some of the RWGdom members. i ordered it for my library but i am doubtful if i'll have time to read it. but i am sure i'll skim through. the release of interesting books make me sad-- i am an avid reader-- been keeping track of my reading for the last decade or so. i usually average anything between 100 to 130 books a year. some years are good reading years, others not. used to be, i would read any book that falls into my hands. but, keeping track of my reading, made me realize that even if i do nothing but read for the rest of my life, i will not be able to read all the books i want to read. hence, i have to make difficult choices in what to read cover to cover and what not to read. this book, and hundreds like it, fall in the middle: the books i would like to read, if only i can find the time. so they wait patiently in my library, but, looking at them makes me sad, knowing i'll kick it before i get through most of them.... oh, well, hope some of you will find this book interesting and read it... have a great weekend! Edited May 4, 2013 by pan971 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnPilot 1 Posted May 6, 2013 These watches are amazing. I love the IWC GC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
