Three hundred issues of the magazine give one pause for thought: are they many or few? When I think that it corresponds to almost three decades, I am bound to conclude that... It is a lot! Therefore, my first instinct in writing this editorial was to look back. But that would have been unfair to the people who contribute to the magazine today and whom I constantly urge to look forward instead. Because the future is already here.
For example, you will soon find our website online www.orologioblog.net completely rethought, and the activities of L'Orologio Club are being renewed, with some nice surprises for our circle of enthusiasts and collectors. I have deliberately preceded the definition of 'collectors' by that of 'enthusiasts', because L'Orologio Club wants to be, and is, a meeting point for people interested in watchmaking, not speculation.
Lately, the watch market has become a land of conquest by people attracted by easy money. There is evidently a large circulation of cash, which has found an outlet in the watch trade. As a result, the ordinary consumer finds himself no longer able to distinguish between investment and speculation, and in the collector's trade there are many dealers and few connoisseurs. The subjects that fascinate watch lovers are no longer talked about. The pleasure of discovering a masterpiece, buying it, enjoying it and seeing its value rise over time (in the appropriate timeframe) has been lost. But not forever.
I am convinced that it will return and that the signs are all there for the growth of a new generation of enthusiasts. So we persevere, with our eyes on the future - and continue to produce a magazine dedicated to those who love watchmaking. Real enthusiasts, the kind whose eyes sparkle at a hand-crafted skeleton or the crystalline sound of a minute repeater. This is the community we like. The one we have built over 300 issues of L'Orologio.
