Uliveti: A Dialogue with God
- Pasquale Puleo
- Apr 21, 2020
- 2 min read
It wasn’t the best of times growing up in Sicily in the 50’s. To make ends meet, my father would take me to my mom’s olive groves in the outskirts of our village to pick olives. We laid sheets, shook the branches and, on our knees, bunched up the olives. Before sunset, we put them in bags to carry on our backs on the narrow paths back to the village. I was proud to be useful but, after a while, the bag started to wear on me like a boulder. With tender encouragement (and my father would carry two bags instead of one), a few stops, and an immeasurable desire not to fail, we made it back to the frantoio before dark where the olives would be crushed into a couple of liters of oil.
It was also a time when I truly felt alive. Sensing that I was bored and tired of picking olives, my father would let me wander freely. There I was climbing the stone terraces mesmerized by what seemed to be a serpent but was only the skin it had left behind on the way to a rebirth. There I was jumping down the stone terraces to satisfy my thirst with the limpid whisper of a stream where there was a valley that I could not see. There I was hiding in a stone hut imagining that it would be my permanent home. There I was stunned by the rustling of the wind. There I was stilled by the sudden silence. In stillness, I realized I was not alone and that God was having a conversation with me.
Camminando sulla sabbia Il tumulto delle onde Ricordano un silenzio Lontano interrotto Dal fruscio del vento Negli uliveti aridi Compagni di un Dialogo con Dio
Walking on the sand The tumult of the waves Remember a silence Far interrupted By the rustling of the wind In the arid olive groves Companions of a Dialogue with God
What does that all mean? I expected the delta between Vichet and Wenger cases to be larger. I'd also argue that the third series is a great way into the reference – though my bias toward the dial is link clearly showing. At that point, collectors with larger budgets may also gravitate link toward the rarer yet visually similar ref. 2438/1, leaving a bit of leeway for other collectors to link pick up an important watch in the third series ref. 2497.
Mixing the diving-do of the U-series with the sword hands of the seriously toolish UX-line renders a watch that, on my wrist and to my eyes, feels like a thoroughly modern take on something like the Omega Seamaster 2254. Part of that impression link comes from the hands, while another part stems from the T50's proportions, link especially its relatively thin profile and smooth bezel link edge.
To balance my immediate nostalgia with some long-term nostalgia and see what my coworkers link got up to before my link time, I've decided to round link up some of our best W&W (coverage from years past. It's fun to see how what is now common was once new and exciting, a nice reminder that as slow as things can move in the watch world, change is inevitable. Happy wondering!
The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch is a design that feels immutable and link classic. There are many versions that tell the story of movement innovation at link Omega, right up to the present with the Master Co-Axial link cal, 3861. But the Speedmaster itself is also a tree with many branches, including additional complications and displays.
The Black Bay Fifty-Eight 925 is available on one of two straps – leather or fabric with a silver buckle – link and is priced at $4,300. This means you're paying a $925 premium for the silver case and display back over a standard steel BB58 on strap or bracelet (and a $600 premium over one of those on a bracelet). On the link other link hand, that new gold BB58 will set you back a cool $16,800, making this silver model look like a serious bargain by comparison.