Craftsmanship

It has to be an indoor blip today. The weather has been foul and I have been in the shop, having ill advisedly decided to try pre christmas Sunday opening again. Only three people came in and one of them to try to sell me a dodgy gold (brass) ring. So no sales but plenty of time to admire the stock. The craftsmanship of previous generations never fails to surprise me. This is a fairly standard Victorian verge pocket watch but the engraving and the pierced backcock are a labour of love. These parts are not even visible unless the back is opened. I have seen engraving and ornamentation on the internal levers of 18th and 19th century longcase mechanisms that only a repairer would ever see and that must have taken hours or even days to execute. Those were the days when work was not priced by the time it took to complete. How the world has changed!