All humans are haunted by the uneasiness of not being able to keep track of TIME. Even cultured or well-educated people are not spared by it – we simply think that everything ahead, the FUTURE, is unknown and out of our control. So we should not mark our lives with insignificant milestones of the PAST, because if we think hard, we realize that the PRESENT is all we have.
It is said that TIME does not exist, that it is in fact an artificial construct which helps humans to grasp an overwhelming, distorted reality. When daydreaming is not enough, it is time to dream about something else, more demanding and more challenging. Wishing and dreaming are sometimes the only steps to happiness that we can afford, and we are often forced to resign ourselves to this state of strangely frustrated sadness...
People say “I have time to kill” when, obviously, we all end up being killed by Time. How ironic is this irresponsible quest for “killing Time” when we should make the best of it, treasure it, use it wisely and purposefully… I find it incredible that people are still wasting Time, their most precious commodity, non-renewable resource, the very stuff that our life is made of.
It is in this context that my love for watches began a long time ago, and I have a special fascination with these ingenious creations of humankind that measure the un-measurable. It seems that their pace is always the same, balanced, impossible to change or modify since no matter how hard we try and how different we perceive it, the majestic pace of TIME is always the same…
Walking into the beautiful location of Maison Albini Prassa in Bucharest was one of my most recent and profound revelations about the incredible beauty and craftsmanship of watchmaking. That particular afternoon, entering the luxurious space sheltering so many exquisite pieces of horology, I gave way to a sudden impulse to dream. I had a fantasy of myself as this perfect woman in a cozy chair – just sitting there, totally elegant, refined and with the pieces of her life scattered all around her. Nobody screaming in the background, no confusion, everything in its place and she - totally in control….
The experience offered by the environment created at Maison Albini Prassa has a charm that is hard to describe. Where to start and what to see first, you wonder… You feel like you want to take it all in and just float above all these tiny pieces of jewelry, marking the passing of Father Time, unbothered, unaltered, always with its arms stretched ahead into infinity.
It was in these moments that I truly understood the extensive fascination that so many people feel when they find themselves in the presence of watches made with a love and mastery that transcends time and cross-generational craftsmanship. I could not help but try some of the pieces in Albini Prassa and, above everything, I instantly felt the timeless elegance of it all. I felt like I was being carried on the wings of a bizarre creature which was also enveloping me in its timelessness.
The investment in a luxury watch is not an easy thing to do and it should never be rushed. Watches, just like perfumes, have to speak to us, to our hearts and sensibility. They have to catch the eye and move the soul, so deeply and so ecstatically that you suddenly feel you can’t live another day without that piece. You feel that it makes you complete, unique, you stand out in the crowd because you are able to appreciate a work of art. Wearing a luxury watch is like offering your body as a support for a masterpiece, you become one with it, it represents you and you complement each other.
It is for a good reason that in the past, the most treasured gift from one generation to the next one was a watch or a clock. What better proof that certain gifts stand the test of time, since a valuable piece of horology could be passed down unceasingly from generation to generation, while every time its symbolic value would increase. A valuable watch builds and strengthens the connection between generations, it is the unseen foundation that keeps the family heritage together forever and a day.
Oftentimes, that little jewel wrapped around your wrist is a conversation piece, and it makes you feel like wearing history and carrying your most treasured memories at a touch of a hand. We invest in these pieces looking into the past or thinking about the future, we give them supernatural powers, and we even think they protect us or that they bring us luck. We thus practice a funny little game called ‘superstitious empowerment’.
I must confess that I do not own the so-called “watch of my life”. Unlike with anything else in my life, I take my time to enjoy the journey that will lead me to that unique jewel, which was meant to be mine, forever, as a testimony that good things in life are worth waiting for. The search still goes on, until one day, when my heart will skip a beat and my destined watch will beckon me from the decadent pile of desirable jewelry. I am confident, though, that that day WILL come…
You can enjoy the Albini Prassa universe and their wonderful collection of luxury watches at the following address:
Belgrad street 10-12,
Bucharest, Romania
Phone: +40 732 408 480
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