Let's try some fake heritage for a change
An Iconic French Opinel pocket knife serving as a a prop background to a Smiths Everest. What more could I ask for proving that I can have some class and that I'm able to show respect to the legacy and heritage that these two objects represents?
Except that it's one big fake.
Just by moving the watch to reveal the blade we can see the word INOX stamped on its profile. The old Opinel knives that I remember from my childhood didn't even bother with specifying the type of steel because they were intended to be cheap and whatever steel they used for forging the blade was probably the cheapest one they could source that would not rust too fast and will be easy to sharpen. What I'm certain is that it was not made of stainless steel (INOX). Nobody thought of "heritage" or "legacy" when they bought an Opinel - they just wanted a cheap pocket knife with which they could easily peel an apple.
Some post war Opinel were probably made from the steel left from German wrecks with legacies better left in the past.
The same can be said about the Everest: What heritage and whose legacy? It's a clone of a competitor's watch that never went close to the Everest, it's housing a Miota movement and it's sold through an interface that wasn't even fantasied in science fiction books when Hillary and Norgay went out to make history.
However, it work. These two placed together this morning managed to make me think back to the past and recall childhood memories from the 60's. So there you have it: Perception is everything.
It's also a nice watch to wear with a pretty dial, but this is something that nobody is really interested in reading.
I'm a big fan of watches that are interesting because they are either unique, have interesting features, well designed or simply offer a great value for their price.
Here's my "Birth year watch" ....I wouldn't want anything from 1970, lower tech, lower quality materials, less precise manufacturing, and of course old & worn.
I also love my 2014 sm300 that apes the 1950's...
Love vintage style and heritage, but zero interest in actually owning anything old ( tho I do own a restored Pogue but I rarely wear it because feels too fragile)
Great comment about perception being everything! I love the Everest and picked up the black and white dials and the Commando variant as well. Fantastic value and really evokes that 50s, 60s vintage vibe.
Great shots!!! 🔥
The Smiths Everest is the best inside joke in watch collecting, and a history lesson all in one. A Smiths watch was on Hillary’s wrist when he summited, despite Rolex’s clever and careful marketing. Love that Timefactors put this out as a nod to history and a swipe at the Crown. It’s the anti-homage.
With Opinel you still have the choice of a high carbon steel.
Great comment about perception being everything! I love the Everest and picked up the black and white dials and the Commando variant as well. Fantastic value and really evokes that 50s, 60s vintage vibe.
Great shots!!! 🔥
Thank you, but please note that I'm actually a terrible photographer and the Canon G12 camera I'm using can be classified as an antique.
With Opinel you still have the choice of a high carbon steel.
True, but from a heritage or legacy POV it doesn't really matter. The old Opinel used whatever cheap steel was available and never bothered to stamp or identify the type used in forging the blade.
So yeah, the Opinel that I own has a stainless steel blade because I valued practicability and ease of maintenance more than trying to adhere to some nebulous concept of authenticity.
To ease my conscience the first thing I did with it was to slice a bit of Brie cheese to reaffirm my Frenchness and thus my INOX Opinel got its baptism and can now be considered authentic.
Of course I made sure before that the Brie was from France, packed in a traditional wood shaving box and came from farm that used real cows.
To go another level into this - even if one were to purchase an original Smiths from before the company was acquired, that specific watch would not have travelled to Everest either. All of this is marketing and nostalgia. I feel no allegiance to "support" giant watch corporations in the name of authenticity. Just get what makes you happy.