As member of the generation who saw significant technological changes in their lifetime, I learned to live and accept change. Now, in the midst of these transformations, there's one type of object that amazes me because of its defiant permanence, unchanged in a wave of constant renovation: my automatic watches.
Unlike the current timepieces that need a battery, automatic watches are entirely mechanical. Apart from an occasional winding, given that they're automatic, they wind themselves with the motion of its wearer's wrist. Thanks to this clever mechanism, automatic watches accompany us without resting from sunrise to sunset and beyond.
To me, they're a testament to the power and ingenuity of the human mind: years of work, research and innovation with a firm hand and a magnifying glass as main tools, led to the creation of a delicate instrument that doubles as a work of art, and allows us to see time as it is: a constant flow of seconds, shown by the seamless gliding of the secondhand over the dial. Unlike their digital counterparts, their autonomy will keep them ticking, and ticking for as long as they're on someone's wrist... And, if I'm still there, I'll be thankful for their service, and also suddenly aware that it's time for me to go to bed.
I am Francisco Solares-Larrave, and this is my timely perspective.
