#so naturally the perfect Nautilus would be a mix of the two

[shinehalley]

My only audiovisual references of Nautilus are from the 1954 film and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie so I'm imagining as I read the book a mixture of the two

[phynxrizng]

SEA SHELLS, THEIR MEANINGS AND MAGICK

SeastarsMermaidsCove MENU AND WIDGETS Day 21~ Sea Shells, their Meanings and Magick

Long before fancy new-age tools became readily available through specialty shops, our magic-using ancestors turned to nature for their power objects. Natural objects are imbued with spiritual energies that we can harness for our own use in spells and charms. Seashells in particular have a long history of magical uses, as they were associated with the powers of various sea gods and goddesses of different cultures.



Being born of the ocean, shells are strongly associated with the element of water. They are also associated with the moon, which drives ocean tides. Both the element of water and the moon have strong feminine energies that are receptive in nature, so shells are primarily used in magic to draw things you desire into your life.

Shells taken from the ocean need little ritual preparation for magical uses; however, if your shells were bought from a store or have been stashed in a box for a while, they may benefit from cleansing and recharging. To do this, place your shells in a bowl of water mixed with sea salt. Set them aside to soak for a day or overnight. Recharge them by setting the bowl in the sun or under the light of the full moon for several hours.

Love

One of the main symbols for Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, is the seashell. Invoke the power of Aphrodite for love spells using shells by wearing seashell jewelry or hair ornaments to attract a mate. Use a hinged seashell with the two parts still attached as a powerful love talisman to keep two lovers together. Write the initials of the lovers on the inside of the shell, one on each side, then seal it shut with glue.

Prosperity

Many cultures used shells as a form of currency. Cowrie shells were used in Africa and North America, and Native Americans used wampum—beads made from clam shells—as money. Because of this, shells are suitable for money spells. Fill a small green or gold pouch with seashells, a silver coin and mint, which is a money-drawing herb. Hang the bag where you do business, and rub it when you desire prosperity. Place a small seashell in your wallet or purse to continually keep money coming to it.

Protection

Protection is a shell’s primary purpose in nature, as it is made to keep small, defenseless sea creatures safe from harm. Because of this, shells have strong protective energies. Many cultures in coastal areas use shells in folk magic to protect the home by placing strings of shells over windows and doors. Necklaces of strung shells can be worn by children to keep them close to home and safe from harm. Placing a small, round shell on the collars of your pets will keep them safe should they wander from home.

Seashells that wash up on the shore come from a netherworld where ocean meets land. Because of the Moon’s influence on the tides, these seashells hold the energy of the Moon goddess. Many shells, particularly sea snails and the chambered nautilus, form or contain a spiral—the powerful symbol of the Great Mother Goddess. Spiral shells can be used to stimulate energy in your home or in ritual. Other shells have a calming effect because of their smooth surfaces. Shells can be placed anywhere singly, or they may be in jars, bowls, and baskets. A summer wreath for the front door could include a few seashells to add their magic to the energy that enters your home.



“Shells are gentle healers and messengers, and very powerful tools of transformation. Each seashell was created as its home by an individual animal who had their own package of DNA and their own consciousness. Each shell, therefore, has its own bundle of information to share with us. That information is waiting to be accessed whenever we hold a particular shell, or even just look at one in a photograph.”  Tracy Holmes Shells and their Meanings

Sea Shells can be used as a magical component for any spell. Naturally, each type of shell has its own particular associated which lend itself more to some spells than others.

Abalone:

Abalone Shells have a strong elemental bond with the Earth and it’s healing capabilities. Abalone is closely connected to that of the Water element and the vibrations of Love, Beauty, Gentleness, Caring, Compassion and Peace.

Abalone Shell has been used in jewelry making and religious spiritual ceremonies for countless ages. It is also known as “the Sea Ears” because of it’s flattened, oval shape with iridescent interior. It was used by Native Northwest American Indians for cleansing, offerings and prayers. Usually Abalone is found off the coasts of South America, Japan and China.

On an intuitive level, Abalone helps to stimulate psychic development and intuition while promoting the power of imagination. It has a soothing vibration that can help calm emotions during deep healing and will emotionally support the growth of Self.

Physically, Abalone can heal the body within the Chakras but resonates most with the Third Eye, Heart and Solar Plexus Chakras. Within Third Eye Chakra, it will stimulate psychic intuition. Within the Heart Chakra it will help to gently clear and release emotions of fear, sorrow or any other negative feelings held. Within the Solar Plexus, it will use the power of Nature to re-instill the Power of Self.

Abalone can be used for chakra balancing because abalone has all of the colors of the rainbow, abalone can be used with almost any chakra balancing techniques you have learned.

Abalone will help with anxiety and stress related issues in high strung individuals. It will also help with relief with arthritis, joint disorders, muscular problems, the heart and the digestive system. It is very helpful for athletes that would like to help build and protect healthy muscle tissue while strengthening the heart muscles!

I use mine as a Smudge pot!!

Lined the bottom with a bit of tin foil to protect the shell from being scorched and made cleaning it much easier!!

Abalones power to protect from negativity helps protect your magick spells and rituals. Incense burned in an abalone shell incense holder is empowered for any kind of magick.

You can also use to contain empowered herbs, and stones.

The Abalone is useful for finding things hidden and good fortune. It is also a good shell for meditating upon inner beauty and strengthening self love.

 Common Atlantic Auger shells Auger: Frequently found on local beaches, lovely shades of purples and periwinkle blue.

This is a large family of very long and slender shells, ranging in size and with numerous whorls. Due to it’s phallic shape it may be used for any male oriented magic, e.g. fertility, courage, power and in the aid to healing male ailments.

 Knobby Cerithium Shells Ceriths-also plentiful on Gulf beaches

Most species of this major family are also small, long and thin. Due to its phallic shape it may be used for any male oriented magic, as well.

 Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (c. 1486) Clam (Many families of Clams, Tridacna, Mactra, Solenidae, Cultellidae, Veneridae)

The giant clams are a small but well known family of large to very large shells. The Goddess Venus is often depicted standing in a Clam (the Tridacna Gigas). This shell is perfect for Goddess related spells and rituals. It is also ideal for love and friendship spells.

Used for purification and love. A small clam shell may be etched with a rune and made into a potent talisman.

Cockle: The basis of the expression “warming the cockles of the heart,” this shell is best used in spells for love, friendship, relationships, emotions.

This is a large and very well known family, composed chiefly of edible bivalves, which live in worldwide locations in both shallow and deep water. This shell is suitable for spells of love, friendship, family and emotions and we are reminded of it with the saying “to warm the cockles of my heart”.

THESE are plentiful in January and February here!! I use them as dishes for everything!!

 Queen Conch Conch: When blown, this shell produces a loud noise. It can be used effectively in spells of summoning, for difficulties in communicating, and as an aid in clearing up misconceptions.

The conch shell was one of Buddhism’s eight auspicious symbols, signifying truthful  speech and strength.  It also appears in the Hindu tradition of prayer, and was the weapon of choice of mystical mermaids and mermen, looking up to the magnitude of waves across the ocean.  As such, its mystical meaning  alludes to strength and fortitude.

The Queen Conch is the epitome of the femaleness of the sea!! She stands in for the Goddess on my altar alongside the Horse Conch for the God.

 Horagai The conch, or shankh, is the most ancient musical instrument known to man.

Horagai  are large conch shells that have been used as trumpets in Japan for many centuries. They are used for religious purposes or as a signal for samurai.

Obtained as a gift from the great ocean, it was held as sacred, and reference is found all over ancient Indian literature.  It is seen in the hands of almost all gods and goddesses, whenever they were happy or going off to war.  In Buddhism the conch shell’s call is meant to awaken one from ignorance, and is a sign of victory over suffering.  In Chinese Buddhism, the conch shell signifies a prosperous journey, and in Islam it represents  hearing the divine world.

The spiral formation inside the conch is symbolic of infinity.  The space , which gradually expands in a clock-wise direction.  The shell is like the human journey of life.  The hard casing protects life.  The pearl inside (a scallop or oyster), and its aquatic nature associates it with the feminine, lunar, and virginity that is symbolic in music. The conch shell’s spiral form and relation to water cause it to represent the beginning of existence.

 Horse Conch Horse Conch, Florida’s official state shell since 1969. This large conch is called a ‘horse’ for a good reason. The Horse has long held deep and rich symbol meanings which would apply to the Horse Conch.

Power Grace Beauty Nobility Strength Freedom Forward Movement  Fighting Conch The Fighting Conch has a richly deserved reputation. A small, scrappy shell it is very aggressive in its defense. If you find one of these the Message is to ‘stand your ground’ and even ‘put up your dukes’. Sometimes we have to defend what we believe in, what matters the most, what our principles stand for.

 Crown Conch Crown Conch is a small royal purple shell with a ‘crown’ of protruding spines. Reminds us to remember our own Royal Divinity, as Daughters and Sons of the Sea Goddess.

Cones– May suggest it is time to “take charge” of a situation you have been hoping someone else would address. Conversely, it may suggest that it is time to “give up command “ of a situation, retreat or take cover… “circle the wagons”, or just plain, “lead by example”

There are many cone shell varieties but they are similar in their appearance and the meaning remains the same for each.

Cowry: Just look at a cowrie shell and you can guess why it has traditionally been used as a symbol of fertility. If you look closely you will see that it resembles the female genitalia.   Shaped like labia, small cowries were sewn into the hems of Indian women’s dresses to encourage love and fertility.

This shell can be used for female magic, in particular fertility, pregnancy, birth, menstrual problems, difficult menopause and female sexuality.

 Jingles Jingles-Money and Prosperity

Put a handful loosely in your hand and see why they are called ‘jingles’. Like a pocket of change they tinkle!!

 rough key hole limpet LIMPETS: Courage, confidence, physical strength. These funny looking little shells look like a volcano , with its conical shape and opening at the top.

There are certainly situations which require endurance, confidence, courage and physical strength just dont go overboard. Finding a Limpet is either saying more is called for or less is  more. You’ll know which is which.

Olives

Lettered Olives are just that, markings that look like an ancient script.

They are Messengers of Friendship, Hope and Healing.

A Love Letter from the Sea!

 Tigers Eye Moon Snail Moon snail: As its name implies, the shell resembles a small moon.

It can be used for lunar magick of all types.

Psychic awareness, purification, and peace.

It’s spiral pattern speaks of the Continuity of Life reminding you life is ever unfolding, developing and progressing.  The final chapter has yet to be written.

Murex: The sharp spikes of the murex shell immediately suggest it can be used for protection, defense, and preservation.

We call these ‘jewel boxes’ because of the soft pink interior, like the velvet inside a jewelry boxes. They always remind me of my own ‘treasures’, to not take one day, one friendship for granted. Then someone comes to mind who needs a call, a visit, a reminder of their own that they are treasured by me!!





Nautilus: (meaning “sailor” in Greek) Most of its existence is spent in some of the deepest regions of the sea, and when seen, only seems to come out at night. The Nautilus shell, being a sacred representation for growth and rejuvenation, forms into progressively greater chambers throughout its life, and they are coated with mother-of-pearl.

The Nautilus has in fact been around since the time of the dinosaurs. It starts as a very small shell to protect the animal inside. As the animal grows, it outgrows it’s safe chamber and the Nautilus shell grows a new chamber to accommodate it (slightly larger). This continues until the animal dies. If you have ever seen a cross section of a Nautilus shell you will notice all the small chambers that spiral around and around. These are all the ‘homes’ the shell has created.

In Hindu mythology, the sacred Nautilus Shell symbolized the multiplicity of creation. The internal elegance of nature can also be represented by the Nautilus Shell. The golden mean number (known as PHI – 1.6180339…) can also be found in the shape of the Nautilus Shell.  The universal design of the golden mean seems to be a geometrical blueprint for life itself. PHI can be seen in all biological configurations such as the seed pattern of a sunflower, the spiral pattern of a sea shell, the proportions of human and animal skeletons, and in the patterns of certain types of cactus plants. This value was known by Plato as being “the key to the physics of the cosmos.”

From a symbolic viewpoint, it is interpreted that the Nautilus is therefore about growth and evolution.This shell, which is shaped almost exactly like the brain, can be used for any mentally related spells. This would include term papers, examinations, and writings of any kind.

Oyster: Due to their pearl generating abilities, oysters are best used in spells for good fortune and also banishment.

In order to protect itself from irritating grain of sand, the oyster will quickly begin covering the uninvited visitor with layers of nacre — the mineral substance that fashions the mollusk’s shells. Layer upon layer of nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, coat the grain of sand until the iridescent gem is formed.

This is the Oysters greatest message. To take our irritants and make them into something beautiful.

 Pen Shell Pen Shell– These interesting creatures feed in wet shallow sands, the tip dug down deep looking for smaller mollusks. Usually you find them in pieces but on a good day you may well find one more or less intact. On a GREAT day you will find the entire shell, void of occupant, just waiting for you to scoop up and take home to place on your altar!!

Shaped like a quill or “pen” they are excellent for writers, artists and other creative types to help dig in and draw from that well deep within to bring forth the beauty we are called to do.

They are often covered with barnacles which writers, artists and other creative types know are those nagging voices of self-doubt and self-criticism. Let it remind you that if you couldnt do it, then it wouldn’t have been given (inspired) to you to do.

Scallop: Scallop shells are good all-purpose shells. They can be used in place of any other shell.

Because of the diversity of pattern and colour, and because they are easy to store, the scallops are very popular with collectors. It is a large group with several hundred species, occuring worldwide. Most are found in tropical waters. Because of its diversity, the Scallop Shell may be used in any form of magic, especially when you can’t find just the right shell for the job.

Their meaning relates to Travel and movement and could speak of temporary move “a trip” or an actual change of address.

 Sundial Sundials These lovelies speak to the Power of the Sun, of Solar timing, Success and Victory.

They are Messengers of Hope and Encouragement.

If you’ve been struggling, then Dawn is just around the corner. Hold on just a little bit longer. Your answer is on its way. Victory is assured.

Banded Tulip– these little beauties are found in grassy beds and among mangrove roots. They speak to the ‘ties which bind’ (bands) and those who ‘encircle’ us, our ‘posse’ as it were. If a Banded Tulip comes into your life it is telling you to look at your ties, are there some who are tied too close? Other ties which need ‘tightening’ which happens when life gets in the way. Or perhaps you are feeling ‘hemmed in’ and needing a longer (or less) leash.

Whelk: A curved shell that is easy on which to get a grip, whelk shells are used for spells when you need to ‘get a handle’ on things and gain control of a situation. They make great ‘dippers’ and I have one which had a hole on the bottom, turned over, filled with lamp oil, add a wick and I have a great Lamp for my altar!!

There are a great many Whelk varieties. All but one rotate clockwise, all but the Lightning Whelk, it rotates counter clockwise. Just hold it up by its ‘stem’ with the opening facing you and you will see which way is which.

 Lightning Whelk The lightning whelk  is an edible species of very large predatory sea snail or whelk.  This species has a left-handed or sinistral shell. It eats mostly bivalves.

Sometimes when you think you need to go right, left is better. Don’t see those detours in life as you losing your way. Rather choose to see the Universe working in your favor, preventing you from falling in a hole or  making a mistake. Sometimes Left is Right!!

 Pear Whelk Pear Whelk

Smooth and right hand whorled, like other Whelks it tells us to ‘get a grip’, take charge and move forward!



Egg casings are a great find, their spiral form full of the potential of new life.

Sign of happy Whelks who find the waters more than satisfactory to meet their needs. Happy Whelks means healthy Ocean.

Worm snail-not the prettiest of seashells but the most tenacious, these little buggers are they which bore through other shells and slurp up the contents (hence the holes seen on other shells found). Thus is the cycle of life! We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Worm snail for many of the shells we find (seabirds account for many of the rest).

This shell grows, at first as a corkscrew but the older it gets the more elongated it becomes.

Our life is like that, at first full of twists and turns, as we find ourselves, our way. If this turns up in your beach bucket either you or someone you love is going through seemingly twisted and turned life but the Worm Shell sends out a Message, all is not lost. You (or they) will soon find their way.

These are a ‘few’ of my favorite things!!

Waves of Blessings~~

Seastar

Reposted by, PHYNXRIZNG

[wristwatchjournal]

Dietrich TC Pure Timepieces Launches As Collaboration Between Swiss Watchmaker & aBlogtoWatch

Sponsored post presented on aBlogtoWatch by advertiser

Today on aBlogtoWatch, we debut the Dietrich TC Pure wristwatch collection. The Dietrich TC Pure is produced by Swiss watchmaker Dietrich and represents a new flavor of the popular existing Dietrich TC-1 (“Time Companion 1”) product family. The watch is sold and produced entirely by Dietrich but was designed and conceived in direct collaboration with aBlogtoWatch, namely our Art Director Matt Smith-Johnson. The TC Pure would not have happened without a direct and personal relationship between Mr. Emmanuel Dietrich and Matt Smith-Johnson.

The pair met in person around 2017 at a small watch industry event where Dietrich was displaying timepieces. Smith-Johnson happened to be there and, as the story goes, he accidentally knocked over a “wobbly” watch display stand that Dietrich watches were secured on. No damage ensued, but it resulted in Matt Smith-Johnson later designing a brand new display concept for Dietrich — demonstrating to Mr. Dietrich that they shared a passion for design. The TC Pure project took well over a year, with the duo going back and forth on numerous designs. From a design perspective, Dietrich wanted a dial for the TC-1 that he himself could not come up with. He gave design direction and feedback to Smith-Johnson, who created the TC Pure dials for Dietrich’s direct approval. The result is a new “sterile” (no branding) watch face experience for the Dietrich TC product family.

aBlogtoWatch’s Ariel Adams was the first timepiece writer to showcase the world of Emmanuel Dietrich online over a decade ago. Dietrich is an accomplished designer who, in the context of watches, brings a unique mixture of industrial design sensibility with a biomorphic aesthetic. He takes established principles of timepiece legibility, proportions, and ergonomic comfort and renders unique shapes and forms around them. Dietrich’s current most “mainstream” watches are within the TC-1 collection, which is designed to be an original take on the popular “integrated bracelet steel sports watch.”

This classification of watches that includes the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus has proven to be exceptionally popular with timepieces consumers and collectors alike. This is due to their mix of fashionable versatility, unmistakably masculine looks, and a distinctive aesthetic. The TC-1 watch features a unique look on a popular theme, something Dietrich excels at. With the TC Pure, aBlogtoWatch wanted to create a new dial variation that even further refines the face of the TC collection down to its core properties using sophisticated tenets of minimalism. Hence the name Dietrich “TC Pure.”

Dietrich and aBlogtoWatch have designed two versions of the TC Pure featuring the product in a natural steel case and bracelet or with a black-colored PVD coating. The watch is 42mm-wide, 9.3mm-thick, and wears smaller than the width might suggest given the narrow lug structure. The 50-meter water-resistant case has Dietrich’s signature hexagonal shape, which is mirrored in the design of the bracelet’s links. Inside the watch is a Swiss-made ETA 2824-2 automatic movement, of which only the time is displayed on the dial of the TC Pure. For a full look at the standard Dietrich TC-1 watch, you can read the aBlogtoWatch review here.

Now let’s hear from Emmanuel Dietrich and Matt Smith-Johnson about the TC Pure watches, as well as the design process that led to them.

Ariel Adams (AA): Emmanuel, you are known to be both meticulous and protective of your unique design sensibility. What did it take to convince you to work with a third-party designer such as Matt to publicly offer a new variation on a watch design platform (the Time Companion) that took you years to develop and perfect?

Emmanuel Dietrich (ED): I am 100 percent a product designer and in this domain, for sure, I am quite protective. Or better said, I wouldn’t easily give up to the pleasure of designing an object. But saying that also indicates that I am primarily thinking in three dimensions. This is my strength. Imagining a form in space is as easier for me than for most other people to calculate or analyze. Each human has special capacities and can only be champion in the domains where we perform naturally. But in a complex context, if you want to make a top job, it is very important to know your limits and seek the help of people who have the same level of ability in the sub-domains you are lower-performing in.

For me, this limit is graphic design. Thinking in two dimensions is a different approach or mindset, even if it belongs to design. My passion for three dimensions led to designs like Organic Time, where the dial is freely composed like a small universe, not drawn on a flat surface as with a classic watch.

Knowing this, I sought first for the help of a typographer — the great Raymond Larabie from Typodermic Fonts, and had him design a beautifully balanced figures alphabet especially for my watch dials. (Standard fonts usually have figures that are not “stable” when used alone on a dial, with the result that the entire industry  — even Rolex — uses almost the same classic Eurostile font. And this is one of the reasons for the success of vintage dials; their numbers were designed by hand and carefully balanced in a pre-computer era.)

A second logical step was to ask for a pure graphic designer like Matt to play with these figures and create a very strong graphic design that prolongs the DNA of the brand but explores territories I wouldn’t penetrate myself.

AA: Matt, over a number of conversations, you and Emmanuel learned that you had a lot in common. Tell me about some of the shared interests you two have and perhaps how some of your overlapping passions ended up in the TC Pure watches from a design or detailing perspective?

Matt Smith-Johnson (MSJ): When it comes to design, I think it’s fair to say we both enjoy the process itself. Working within a predetermined set of constraints and managing to make something different or unexpected brings great satisfaction to us both. For the brand and products of Dietrich, Emmanuel has built a visual language from the original Organic Time onward. In a way, he set up the constraints I ended up working within to design the TC Pure dial.

I’ve always been a fan of Dietrich watches, I even bought the first edition of the TC-1 as soon as it launched. This influenced me in a way I was initially unaware of. When designing the first few concepts, I was trying to predict or emulate what I felt Emmanuel would do. Almost as if I were following a strict design brief, ya know?

After presenting the first few concepts, Emmanuel brought up some of the logo work I have done. We had a call, and he said something like, “With these logos, you see how you do things so efficiently and minimal? That’s your style. That’s what you do naturally when working on your own — do something like that for me. That is what you can bring to Dietrich: something I wouldn’t think of.”

This really gave me the permission and confidence to just be myself. It changed the process for me, which led to the “TC Pure” you see here.

AA: Emmanuel, explain how the TC watch collection actually represents a very time-tested and approved timepiece concept, even though its shape and form feel distinctive.

ED: First, the combination of stainless steel case and bracelet, combined with a three hand-date automatic movement, is the most successful combo out there. Simply because it is the best “form-follows-function” package available for daily use. And design is a lot about form following function!

Second, the case construction of the TC uses the same idea of a flat surface sharply bent to go into the bracelet that Gerald Genta used with so much talent and success. This “Genta bend” allows us to have a perfectly integrated metal bracelet compared to watches where the metal bracelet needs a complex first link to go from flat to the curved form of the case. If you look at Rolex, which is the only brand to perfectly master this exercise, it needed 50 years to improve from an approximative flimsy piece of metal to the beautiful solutions it achieves now. But in terms of design, I would consider the Genta bend much more modern and consequential.

Then, on this basis, it’s up to you to develop your own language. And here, as ever, it is about finding a strong formal expression that stays approachable and likable. It is about being yourself and being recognizable in the overcrowded watch world. It is about generating passion. And this is an alchemy none can really explain that just happens or not.

AA: Matt, how do you explain to watch lover novices what is special about Dietrich? You and I agree that it takes some experience and exposure to understand what particular designers such as Emmanuel Dietrich bring to the table. To newbies, his work might just seem different for the sake of being different. How might you describe it?

MSJ: Dietrich has a conceptually driven design language that I typically only see at the “haute horology” level of watchmaking. Every Dietrich collection uses organic shapes and forms, resulting in a unique biomechanical looking watch. It sort of reminds me of H.R. Giger, without being frighteningly dystopian.

For me, Dietrich watches are a celebration of the relationship we have with things more precise and imperishable than ourselves. People are imperfect, we’re organic, we make mistakes — and yet we build machines that complete tasks with astonishing accuracy. We’re capable of measuring time with great precision yet, nevertheless, our perception of carefully measured time remains inconsistent. What a fascinating paradox!

If you look closely, you’ll notice that each collection plays with this concept. I just don’t think you’ll find another brand out there with a philosophy quite like this.

AA: Emmanuel, tell us about your design work outside of the Dietrich brand. What are some other watches or products you designed? How did you get your formative training and experience as an industrial designer and then as a wristwatch specialist designer?

ED: My passion for design goes back to my sixth year, when my mother told me, “If you want weapons to play with, you will have to fabricate them yourself!” Starting from that instant, I consequently ordered tools for all my following birthdays and Christmases and started producing not only the wooden swords and guns I was dreaming about but all possible items. Bicycles and watches were especially in my focus, and one friend of the family who was my mentor in the DIY world was, indeed, working on watch prototypes at the LIP factory in Besançon (I grew up in the French watch region, close to Switzerland). I learned a lot from him and inherited his passion for precision work

This led me to study cabinet making and then interior design — in Paris, at the Boulle school. I went immediately freelance afterward and started proposing my ideas to potential clients. Since watches were in my blood, I tried and succeeded with two first designs, one made entirely of plastic for a theme park in France (a concept I also presented to Hayek Senior for Swatch, who loved it but eventually turned it down) and another one made of leather that I to sold to Hermès, thanks to the exceptionally open-minded Jean-Louis Dumas, who was leading the company in this time. The watch was called “Harnais.” These two projects opened a lot of doors for me in the industry, and I designed over the following 20 years for many brands, especially the creative ones like the Calvin Klein license of the Swatch Group, in its bright years.

Apart from watches, I was so curious I designed almost everything. From disposable plastic spoons for Häagen-Dazs to office furniture for Haworth, from home furniture to technical items like garage tools or even medical devices. I learned a lot about various techniques, and a lot about watchmaking, visiting all my client workshops and factories and working with them on product development.

That led me to create my own universe in the watchmaking world, a logical step, even if I remain primarily a designer.

AA: Emmanuel, tell me a little bit about what type of wearing experience you intended for the TC collection when you originally conceived it. What type of watch lover did you see wearing it? In what types of contexts? In other words, what problem or style were you designing the TC as a solution for? Answer that for the TC Pure, and explain what new solution is being solved with the addition of a more minimalist dial for the Time Companion product collection.

ED: The TC should also be a perfect match for the independent-minded watch lover who seeks an alternative to the classics. He wants to show he has made a choice centered on his taste and not on social ranking. He wants to have a talking piece that opens a discussion with like-minded watch aficionados.

My first intention was to transport the wearing comfort I was able to achieve in the Organic Time to an integrated stainless steel watch. I think men are approaching fashion and accessories with strong functional criteria, and I like this, too. A suit must be as comfortable as it is good-looking. A watch, too. So, this was the start, a smooth metal bracelet (that doesn’t pinch hairs), a well-sized and formed case that lays comfortably on the wrist.

On this basis, I started to interpret the formal language I had developed with Organic Time in this context and decided to go for extensive work on the rounded six edges that I love so much. You can find this shape everywhere in the watch, and that gives the design a very strong, coherent identity.

I am still very happy with the result, but as a designer, maybe I had the feeling I went a bit too far toward classicism with the dial, and always dreamed to have some more daring and pure, where the visual link with the case and bracelet would be stronger. Being able to do this with Matt was the perfect occasion, and being a team gave us the strength to make the dial sterile, which I personally adore.

AA: Matt, you’ve designed watches before (together with me, for instance, on such products as the Laco RAD-AUX and Undone Aqua BLK + YLW) in a collaborative environment. What was it like collaborating on design with Emmanuel Dietrich?

MSJ: Since we are both design nerds, it was easy to communicate with Emmanuel. Quite simply, it was a very enjoyable and relatively relaxed process. Once I had Emmanuel’s blessing to be myself, I went off and developed some more concepts. One design became the “seedling” for the TC Pure.

We both kept pushing to explore different paths from that seedling concept. At one point, we thought of making a dial that clearly contrasted with the case. I played around with materials and colors for some time, but it just felt off. After that, we thought it would be cooler to just make it look like the whole head of the watch was milled out of a single chunk of metal. Like the whole of the watch was just some singular, unified thing. I’m glad we went that route.

At another point, Emmanuel had the idea we shouldn’t use dial feet, but rather two simple screws that would be visible on the surface of the dial. It was a real no-nonsense sort of utilitarian look that we both liked.  However, it took away from the dial’s simplicity and symmetry, so it didn’t make the cut.

Gaining the courage to drop the logo took us both a while. We agreed that the sterile dial worked best with the concept direction, so after conferring with trusted colleagues, we got the guts to go ahead. We know that, typically, you want to see the branding on a product, but we both felt keeping the dial pure was the overriding factor. The dial is intended to echo the other forms already present in the design. It’s the pure, boiled-down essence of the greater thing. It couldn’t be interrupted by branding and work to the same effect.

AA: Matt and Emmanuel, what are just a few things you want timepiece lovers and the larger aBlogtoWatch audience to know or think about when viewing a Dietrich TC Pure watch on their wrist? What does this overall design and product mean to you, and what do you want people to know about this project years from now when TC Pure watches might be discovered by a new crop of enthusiasts eager to understand where they came from and what artistic and utilitarian purposes the line is meant to serve.

ED: I hope the watch community realizes this is a project fueled with passion and the love of sharing. Surely, the outcome should be business, and a reward that allows for further developments for all of us. But when I think back to the way this came to life, I am quite amazed and pleased that none of us three spoke of money for his involvement in the process at any time. There was always the idea to share the results, but we invested our talents and energies from scratch, without hesitation, for the sheer pleasure of doing it. This is something rare and the kind of moment I am living for. And then, as Matt is saying, each object we create is a bit of ourselves and our seeds of -hopefully good- taste in this world. We did our best here and tried hard to give an excellent product and a lot of pleasure at a fair price. I really cannot wait to see one on an unknown wrist one day. This is always my best reward.

MSJ: I really enjoy seeing how the light catches the dial when I’m wearing the TC Pure. The vertical brushing just pops at times, and I quite enjoy it. I’m not sure how to answer the rest without sounding grandiose, overblown, or slightly mad. I’d love for this watch to simply be remembered by the time future generations of watch enthusiasts crop up. Echoing an earlier point, the TC Pure is an imperishable extension of our creative selves. I’m just happy to be a small part of Dietrich’s legacy and make something cool with a designer I thoroughly respect. Price for each model is $2,000 USD. Purchase the stainless steel version here and the Black PVD version here.

aBlogtoWatch and Dietrich have a commercial relationship regarding the sale of TC Pure watches. Sales of Dietrich TC Pure watches will lead to some revenue-sharing for aBlogtoWatch, an important piece of information transparency the audience is entitled to.

The post Dietrich TC Pure Timepieces Launches As Collaboration Between Swiss Watchmaker & aBlogtoWatch appeared first on Wristwatch Journal.

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[tophateliquids]

The Vapes I Must Bring Along If the End of the World was Coming

  Last weekend I watched the hit sci-fi film from China, The Wandering World, which depicts how people around the world manage to save the Earth from being swallowed by the continually swelling Sun. The topic like such natural disaster is commonly seen on the screen. To my surprise, I noticed one thing that is different in this movie, the vape. It appears in the scene that an engineer, who joins the troop, and cuts the wires to save lives. Before taking action, he seems to smoke so that he can keep calm. Considering the background of the setting, it is my opinion that it would be impossible to produce real tobacco. Some audience deduce it is not real cigarette but a vape.

This familiar scene provokes my imagination on the possible tragic ending of the world: I tend to vape when I feel stressed, Armageddon would surely make me nervous. What if I was in the same situation as the characters are in the movie, which vapes do I want to puff for the last time?

Apparently, the planet won’t explode without any warning signs. In other words, the whole system of the Earth could operate as we are used to, the logistics may fall apart, and the communication at that time would be a great problem. I’m not a passive person or trying to cause unnecessary worries, but imagining and preparing for the worst future. Here are some devices that I have to bring with me until my last minute on this planet.

  Choose an AIO Device

I always crave for portable and light devices. An All-in-one (AIO) is ideal for me, especially when I need to visit my friends within the remaining time. The battery is normally built-in and chargeable via a USB port. What I need to do is simply squeeze E-juice into the tank.

Aspire Breeze 2 was the very first AIO kit that I possessed. I noticed it in a local cigarette shop, I thought it a lighter at the first sight. Stylish and simple, it caught my attention at once. I had heard of such compact and convenient vapes but never gave them a try. Breeze 2 has accompanied me for a long time, meeting friends who don’t smoke, struggling with the projects in the workplace or having a break between two intensive meetings. It can be hidden from the public as well as my family. Vape does not produce the toxic gas as the cigarettes do, according to the research, but my mom considers them as the same one.

    The 1000mAh battery of the Breeze 2 means I can use it all day along without charging it. The coil installation is easy, too: remove the drip tip and airflow component, then pull out the coil and replace with the new one. I can’t find easier ones in other series or brands. Plus, the different ohms coils (1.0 and 0.6) are included in the box, which provide more choices for vaping experience. Personally, I love the heavy cloud which offers me heavenly experience, the sub-ohm tank is more suitable for me.

When I was looking for the greater capacity, Nautilus AIO came into my sight. It is 4.5mL, which is slightly larger than Breeze 2’s 3.0mL, but still fits in my pocket. In addition, its BVC coil aroused my curiosity, which is built vertically and not like traditional horizontal ones. The flavor even tastes better! I have decided to try out all the new BVC coil since then.

    Match with Tanks

After vaping Nautius AlO, I started to pick my own tanks because of the BVC coil. As for doomsday, my last wish is to vape as much as I can. The vape device had better have greater taste and vapor but occupies less room. Only changing tanks on one mod is perfect because it gives me a feeling of minimalism and saves money at the same time.

The newly launched Nautilus 2S tank comes with a lower resistance of 0.4 ohm, which name indicates it contains a BVC. The airflow from five small holes to a wider slot allows me to personalize the vaporizer as I wish. Normally, I choose sub-ohm coils and wide slot for heavier clouds (I am not a cloud chaser but enjoy being surrounded by clouds). Filling e-juice from the top of the tank is super clean and simple due to childproof design. Although I do not have kids, but it also frees me from messing up my hand and table. What’s more, I have not been afraid of the possible leaking ever since!

    My best friend sent me a Tigon Tank as my birthday gift, though she barely knows about vaping, she heard that I am chasing the Aspire series. The tank inherits the advantages of Nautilus, such as child resistance and leak proof. The highlight I find is that the Tigon tank can still hold the e-liquid while changing the coil, because it has a spring loaded sleeve that can shut the wicking holes. I will definitely bring this cherished present from my friend with me.

    By looking through the Aspire official website, the features of Cleito 120 Pro tank and Nepho Tank illustrate they can satisfy my demand as well. On a tight budget, I can only choose one of them. It is a hard choice since both of them do good jobs in increasing flavor and vapor, as well as the rainbow finish! Finally, the Nepho Tank becomes my next tank due to its larger volume, 4mL. I am not saying the larger the volume, the better experience it will be, but the bigger capacity gives me a sense of safety, and some may think it is an unnecessary 1mL extra. It also fits well on any mods.

    In terms of the mod, my choice goes for the Aspire Tigon, the solid and ergonomic appearance can not only hold all tanks, but is comfortable in the hand. The stick-like shape can be put in handbag, purse or pocket. It won’t look trouble to be with me in the last days on the dying Earth.

  DIY Your Own E-juice

I don’t know the future or if an accident which comes first, a well-rounded preparation sounds wiser than nothing prepared. Less shops are likely to sell E-liquids since workers and shop owners may reunite with their families and wait for the last minutes of their lives. But I can still make the ‘juice’ with my favourite flavors, such as butter and toast.

The ingredients include VG, PG (which are used as base liquids), and Nicotine (if you like) and water-soluble flavor concentrates. The other required equipment are digital kitchen scales, pipettes, syringes, glass bottles and dropper caps, which are required to measure and hold the ingredients. The ratios of VG and PG depends on personal preference. If you like the strong throat hit, you may add more PG; if you chase the heavy clouds, you can mix with more VG instead. More detailed information about DIY E-liquid you can find on the vaping communities and Youtube.

I slide into my bed after wondering a long time, the Blues from my neighbor and the moonlight outside the window suggest everything goes smoothly, tonight is far away from doomsday.

  This article was written in English and submitted by a Chinese national, living in China. It was not translated. Aspire customers enjoy our products all over the world! They all Aspire to be!

The Vapes I Must Bring Along If the End of the World was Coming was originally posted by E-Sigaret Nieuws

[kennethpettine-blog]

Kenneth Pettine

The body may be the beginning and also the finish, with no healthy, fit body our way of life are reduced to number of medical woes. It's also what we should have a tendency to take most as a given and neglecting. But taking proper care of marvelously engineered is important and never a choice.

Health is wealth is definitely an old adage that people hear and spout so frequently it has lost any importance to us. Until that sudden, unforeseen trip to the closest physician. And at that time, it's already far too late. At a time of consumerism and conspicuous consumption, health is definitely an anomaly. You cannot purchase it. At any cost. Health is understood to be the health of you or mind and it needs to be nurtured and maintained inside a continuous procedure that affects every aspect of your existence or, to utilize a modern term, lifestyle. That's a lot simpler stated than can be done nowadays and also the lifestyle generated with that world. Visit Kenneth Pettine page here....

Seriously Stressed

The current lifestyle brings by using it its very own baggage: stress, tension, work atmosphere generated problems - posture, carpal tunnel, noise, pollution, etc. All these, minor irritants themselves, lead their bit before the aggregate is more than the various components and regrettably we have a tendency to understand this only when it's past the purpose of no return. The image of urban health is really a harsh one indeed. But, prior to deciding fatalistically that as you are condemned anyways, may as well as have some fun and achieve for your cholesterol clogging, calorie laden meal and choose to skip the walk to look at your favourite telly soap, think about the fight options. The number, variety and options will delight you.

Food First

Eventually everything boils lower to food-the fuel of existence. Food affects our overall health within the most primary way, to be the fundamental foundation. A general change in food patterns along with a mismatch between your food pattern and also the lifestyle being resided may be the greatest offender. In the essentially active, physical lifestyle from the earlier generations, the urban world has turned into a sedentary space. We no more have time or space to lose our calories. Lengthy working hrs, urban traffic and concrete housing conspire to stay sitting down for that bigger a part of our way of life and it makes sense putting on weight. Maintaining a healthy diet may be the easiest key to health. It doesn't mean depriving yourself or denying yourself. It really requires switching to healthier options. Go for whole grain products to sophisticated ones. Use cooking oils which are naturally fat and cholesterol free for example Essential olive oil. And don't forget the fundamental equation: your food intake shouldn't be greater than that which you burn as body fuel.

Fighting Fit

If lifestyles have altered and so do the fitness options. Many are your day-to-day, fundamental variety. Where possible, choose the stairs rather the elevators. If it's short distance and there's an effective walking path, use two ft rather of 4 wheels. Your wellbeing and also the atmosphere, both may benefit.

Gym

The gymnasium, your friendly neighborhood variety or even the super trendy multinational variety, fondly abbreviated to gym, has changed so much from the initial Greek model. It would be a spot to get the mental ability plus the physical prowess of youthful men. Today, half the tradition is upheld with gyms getting end up being the altars in which the average man and lady shed copious amount of sweat and cellulite to appease the gods of health insurance and musculature. The choices are countless, from ancient techniques for example Yoga and Tai-chi to modern corruptions for example Krav Maga and Swimming, from gleaming edifices to technology for example treadmills, nautilus trainers to mix trainers to dances like a fitness fountain, the gyms cover the horizons. Properly trained acolytes, also known as trainers will always be on hands not only to help but to custom web design an exercise program that is fantastic for the body as well as your trouble spots.

Health spa Style

Another path to holistic health may be the more luxurious health spa route. Typically health spa was for any path to health which was based mostly on nature's gifts by means of geysers or warm water springs in which the water and dirt are saturated with minerals. Consuming of those waters, bathing inside them, dirt baths and the body wraps assist in improving health directly by curing some types of illnesses and not directly by looking into making up some types of mineral deficiencies by detoxifying your body. Health spa treatments today really are a continuation of the identical principle. Massages which use aromas to deal with health issues, skin treatments that aim to undo the harm of pollution and concrete living, along with a holistic assessment of body are the hallmarks of health spa treatments. The main focus is less around the physicality from the body and much more around the internal state of health.

Or have both. The Addiction gym and health spa chain perfectly combines both, luxury alongside fitness facilities. Serving lifestyle pressures, gyms and spas offer innovative features for example flexible timing and customised training programs.

Solo Star

Ultimately, health is at the disposal of the self. Not every the trainers around the globe or massagers or chefs around the globe can provide you with a healthy body unless of course you would like yourself to it and are prepared to burn for this. They are able to only result in the path smoother and also the targets more achievable. For your wellbeing seriously or desire a perfect body in order to improve your endurance and stamina, it's time to sit lower making a choice. Select a path that you like after which stick to it. Remember, the healthier you're the more you'll enjoy your existence.

[readbookywooks]

The Nautilus

CAPTAIN NEMO stood up. I followed him. Contrived at the rear of the dining room, a double door opened, and I entered a room whose dimensions equaled the one I had just left. It was a library. Tall, black-rosewood bookcases, inlaid with copperwork, held on their wide shelves a large number of uniformly bound books. These furnishings followed the contours of the room, their lower parts leading to huge couches upholstered in maroon leather and curved for maximum comfort. Light, movable reading stands, which could be pushed away or pulled near as desired, allowed books to be positioned on them for easy study. In the center stood a huge table covered with pamphlets, among which some newspapers, long out of date, were visible. Electric light flooded this whole harmonious totality, falling from four frosted half globes set in the scrollwork of the ceiling. I stared in genuine wonderment at this room so ingeniously laid out, and I couldn't believe my eyes. "Captain Nemo," I told my host, who had just stretched out on a couch, "this is a library that would do credit to more than one continental palace, and I truly marvel to think it can go with you into the deepest seas." "Where could one find greater silence or solitude, professor?" Captain Nemo replied. "Did your study at the museum afford you such a perfect retreat?" "No, sir, and I might add that it's quite a humble one next to yours. You own 6,000 or 7,000 volumes here . . ." "12,000, Professor Aronnax. They're my sole remaining ties with dry land. But I was done with the shore the day my Nautilus submerged for the first time under the waters. That day I purchased my last volumes, my last pamphlets, my last newspapers, and ever since I've chosen to believe that humanity no longer thinks or writes. In any event, professor, these books are at your disposal, and you may use them freely." I thanked Captain Nemo and approached the shelves of this library. Written in every language, books on science, ethics, and literature were there in abundance, but I didn't see a single work on economics-they seemed to be strictly banned on board. One odd detail: all these books were shelved indiscriminately without regard to the language in which they were written, and this jumble proved that the Nautilus's captain could read fluently whatever volumes he chanced to pick up. Among these books I noted masterpieces by the greats of ancient and modern times, in other words, all of humanity's finest achievements in history, poetry, fiction, and science, from Homer to Victor Hugo, from Xenophon to Michelet, from Rabelais to Madame George Sand. But science, in particular, represented the major investment of this library: books on mechanics, ballistics, hydrography, meteorology, geography, geology, etc., held a place there no less important than works on natural history, and I realized that they made up the captain's chief reading. There I saw the complete works of Humboldt, the complete Arago, as well as works by Foucault, Henri Sainte-Claire Deville, Chasles, Milne-Edwards, Quatrefages, John Tyndall, Faraday, Berthelot, Father Secchi, Petermann, Commander Maury, Louis Agassiz, etc., plus the transactions of France's Academy of Sciences, bulletins from the various geographical societies, etc., and in a prime location, those two volumes on the great ocean depths that had perhaps earned me this comparatively charitable welcome from Captain Nemo. Among the works of Joseph Bertrand, his book entitled The Founders of Astronomy even gave me a definite date; and since I knew it had appeared in the course of 1865, I concluded that the fitting out of the Nautilus hadn't taken place before then. Accordingly, three years ago at the most, Captain Nemo had begun his underwater existence. Moreover, I hoped some books even more recent would permit me to pinpoint the date precisely; but I had plenty of time to look for them, and I didn't want to put off any longer our stroll through the wonders of the Nautilus. "Sir," I told the captain, "thank you for placing this library at my disposal. There are scientific treasures here, and I'll take advantage of them." "This room isn't only a library," Captain Nemo said, "it's also a smoking room." "A smoking room?" I exclaimed. "Then one may smoke on board?" "Surely." "In that case, sir, I'm forced to believe that you've kept up relations with Havana." "None whatever," the captain replied. "Try this cigar, Professor Aronnax, and even though it doesn't come from Havana, it will satisfy you if you're a connoisseur." I took the cigar offered me, whose shape recalled those from Cuba; but it seemed to be made of gold leaf. I lit it at a small brazier supported by an elegant bronze stand, and I inhaled my first whiffs with the relish of a smoker who hasn't had a puff in days. "It's excellent," I said, "but it's not from the tobacco plant." "Right," the captain replied, "this tobacco comes from neither Havana nor the Orient. It's a kind of nicotine-rich seaweed that the ocean supplies me, albeit sparingly. Do you still miss your Cubans, sir?" "Captain, I scorn them from this day forward." "Then smoke these cigars whenever you like, without debating their origin. They bear no government seal of approval, but I imagine they're none the worse for it." "On the contrary." Just then Captain Nemo opened a door facing the one by which I had entered the library, and I passed into an immense, splendidly lit lounge. It was a huge quadrilateral with canted corners, ten meters long, six wide, five high. A luminous ceiling, decorated with delicate arabesques, distributed a soft, clear daylight over all the wonders gathered in this museum. For a museum it truly was, in which clever hands had spared no expense to amass every natural and artistic treasure, displaying them with the helter-skelter picturesqueness that distinguishes a painter's studio. Some thirty pictures by the masters, uniformly framed and separated by gleaming panoplies of arms, adorned walls on which were stretched tapestries of austere design. There I saw canvases of the highest value, the likes of which I had marveled at in private European collections and art exhibitions. The various schools of the old masters were represented by a Raphael Madonna, a Virgin by Leonardo da Vinci, a nymph by Correggio, a woman by Titian, an adoration of the Magi by Veronese, an assumption of the Virgin by Murillo, a Holbein portrait, a monk by Velazquez, a martyr by Ribera, a village fair by Rubens, two Flemish landscapes by Teniers, three little genre paintings by Gerard Dow, Metsu, and Paul Potter, two canvases by Gericault and Prud'hon, plus seascapes by Backhuysen and Vernet. Among the works of modern art were pictures signed by Delacroix, Ingres, Decamps, Troyon, Meissonier, Daubigny, etc., and some wonderful miniature statues in marble or bronze, modeled after antiquity's finest originals, stood on their pedestals in the corners of this magnificent museum. As the Nautilus's commander had predicted, my mind was already starting to fall into that promised state of stunned amazement. "Professor," this strange man then said, "you must excuse the informality with which I receive you, and the disorder reigning in this lounge." "Sir," I replied, "without prying into who you are, might I venture to identify you as an artist?" "A collector, sir, nothing more. Formerly I loved acquiring these beautiful works created by the hand of man. I sought them greedily, ferreted them out tirelessly, and I've been able to gather some objects of great value. They're my last mementos of those shores that are now dead for me. In my eyes, your modern artists are already as old as the ancients. They've existed for 2,000 or 3,000 years, and I mix them up in my mind. The masters are ageless." "What about these composers?" I said, pointing to sheet music by Weber, Rossini, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Meyerbeer, Herold, Wagner, Auber, Gounod, Victor Masse, and a number of others scattered over a full size piano-organ, which occupied one of the wall panels in this lounge. "These composers," Captain Nemo answered me, "are the contemporaries of Orpheus, because in the annals of the dead, all chronological differences fade; and I'm dead, professor, quite as dead as those friends of yours sleeping six feet under!" Captain Nemo fell silent and seemed lost in reverie. I regarded him with intense excitement, silently analyzing his strange facial expression. Leaning his elbow on the corner of a valuable mosaic table, he no longer saw me, he had forgotten my very presence. I didn't disturb his meditations but continued to pass in review the curiosities that enriched this lounge. After the works of art, natural rarities predominated. They consisted chiefly of plants, shells, and other exhibits from the ocean that must have been Captain Nemo's own personal finds. In the middle of the lounge, a jet of water, electrically lit, fell back into a basin made from a single giant clam. The delicately festooned rim of this shell, supplied by the biggest mollusk in the class Acephala, measured about six meters in circumference; so it was even bigger than those fine giant clams given to King Francois I by the Republic of Venice, and which the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris has made into two gigantic holy-water fonts. Around this basin, inside elegant glass cases fastened with copper bands, there were classified and labeled the most valuable marine exhibits ever put before the eyes of a naturalist. My professorial glee may easily be imagined. The zoophyte branch offered some very unusual specimens from its two groups, the polyps and the echinoderms. In the first group: organ-pipe coral, gorgonian coral arranged into fan shapes, soft sponges from Syria, isis coral from the Molucca Islands, sea-pen coral, wonderful coral of the genus Virgularia from the waters of Norway, various coral of the genus Umbellularia, alcyonarian coral, then a whole series of those madrepores that my mentor Professor Milne-Edwards has so shrewdly classified into divisions and among which I noted the wonderful genus Flabellina as well as the genus Oculina from Reunion Island, plus a "Neptune's chariot" from the Caribbean Sea - every superb variety of coral, and in short, every species of these unusual polyparies that congregate to form entire islands that will one day turn into continents. Among the echinoderms, notable for being covered with spines: starfish, feather stars, sea lilies, free-swimming crinoids, brittle stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, etc., represented a complete collection of the individuals in this group. An excitable conchologist would surely have fainted dead away before other, more numerous glass cases in which were classified specimens from the mollusk branch. There I saw a collection of incalculable value that I haven't time to describe completely. Among these exhibits I'll mention, just for the record: an elegant royal hammer shell from the Indian Ocean, whose evenly spaced white spots stood out sharply against a base of red and brown; an imperial spiny oyster, brightly colored, bristling with thorns, a specimen rare to European museums, whose value I estimated at 20,000 francs; a common hammer shell from the seas near Queensland, very hard to come by; exotic cockles from Senegal, fragile white bivalve shells that a single breath could pop like a soap bubble; several varieties of watering-pot shell from Java, a sort of limestone tube fringed with leafy folds and much fought over by collectors; a whole series of top-shell snails - greenish yellow ones fished up from American seas, others colored reddish brown that patronize the waters off Queensland, the former coming from the Gulf of Mexico and notable for their overlapping shells, the latter some sun-carrier shells found in the southernmost seas, finally and rarest of all, the magnificent spurred-star shell from New Zealand; then some wonderful peppery-furrow shells; several valuable species of cythera clams and venus clams; the trellis wentletrap snail from Tranquebar on India's eastern shore; a marbled turban snail gleaming with mother-of-pearl; green parrot shells from the seas of China; the virtually unknown cone snail from the genus Coenodullus; every variety of cowry used as money in India and Africa; a "glory-of-the-seas," the most valuable shell in the East Indies; finally, common periwinkles, delphinula snails, turret snails, violet snails, European cowries, volute snails, olive shells, miter shells, helmet shells, murex snails, whelks, harp shells, spiky periwinkles, triton snails, horn shells, spindle shells, conch shells, spider conchs, limpets, glass snails, sea butterflies-every kind of delicate, fragile seashell that science has baptized with its most delightful names. Aside and in special compartments, strings of supremely beautiful pearls were spread out, the electric light flecking them with little fiery sparks: pink pearls pulled from saltwater fan shells in the Red Sea; green pearls from the rainbow abalone; yellow, blue, and black pearls, the unusual handiwork of various mollusks from every ocean and of certain mussels from rivers up north; in short, several specimens of incalculable worth that had been oozed by the rarest of shellfish. Some of these pearls were bigger than a pigeon egg; they more than equaled the one that the explorer Tavernier sold the Shah of Persia for 3,000,000 francs, and they surpassed that other pearl owned by the Imam of Muscat, which I had believed to be unrivaled in the entire world. Consequently, to calculate the value of this collection was, I should say, impossible. Captain Nemo must have spent millions in acquiring these different specimens, and I was wondering what financial resources he tapped to satisfy his collector's fancies, when these words interrupted me: "You're examining my shells, professor? They're indeed able to fascinate a naturalist; but for me they have an added charm, since I've collected every one of them with my own two hands, and not a sea on the globe has escaped my investigations." "I understand, captain, I understand your delight at strolling in the midst of this wealth. You're a man who gathers his treasure in person. No museum in Europe owns such a collection of exhibits from the ocean. But if I exhaust all my wonderment on them, I'll have nothing left for the ship that carries them! I have absolutely no wish to probe those secrets of yours! But I confess that my curiosity is aroused to the limit by this Nautilus, the motor power it contains, the equipment enabling it to operate, the ultra powerful force that brings it to life. I see some instruments hanging on the walls of this lounge whose purposes are unknown to me. May I learn - " "Professor Aronnax," Captain Nemo answered me, "I've said you'd be free aboard my vessel, so no part of the Nautilus is off-limits to you. You may inspect it in detail, and I'll be delighted to act as your guide." "I don't know how to thank you, sir, but I won't abuse your good nature. I would only ask you about the uses intended for these instruments of physical measure - " "Professor, these same instruments are found in my stateroom, where I'll have the pleasure of explaining their functions to you. But beforehand, come inspect the cabin set aside for you. You need to learn how you'll be lodged aboard the Nautilus." I followed Captain Nemo, who, via one of the doors cut into the lounge's canted corners, led me back down the ship's gangways. He took me to the bow, and there I found not just a cabin but an elegant stateroom with a bed, a washstand, and various other furnishings. I could only thank my host. "Your stateroom adjoins mine," he told me, opening a door, "and mine leads into that lounge we've just left." I entered the captain's stateroom. It had an austere, almost monastic appearance. An iron bedstead, a worktable, some washstand fixtures. Subdued lighting. No luxuries. Just the bare necessities. Captain Nemo showed me to a bench. "Kindly be seated," he told me. I sat, and he began speaking as follows:

[readbookywooks]

The Underwater Coalfields

THE NEXT DAY, February 20, I overslept. I was so exhausted from the night before, I didn't get up until eleven o'clock. I dressed quickly. I hurried to find out the Nautilus's heading. The instruments indicated that it was running southward at a speed of twenty miles per hour and a depth of 100 meters. Conseil entered. I described our nocturnal excursion to him, and since the panels were open, he could still catch a glimpse of this submerged continent. In fact, the Nautilus was skimming only ten meters over the soil of these Atlantis plains. The ship scudded along like an air balloon borne by the wind over some prairie on land; but it would be more accurate to say that we sat in the lounge as if we were riding in a coach on an express train. As for the foregrounds passing before our eyes, they were fantastically carved rocks, forests of trees that had crossed over from the vegetable kingdom into the mineral kingdom, their motionless silhouettes sprawling beneath the waves. There also were stony masses buried beneath carpets of axidia and sea anemone, bristling with long, vertical water plants, then strangely contoured blocks of lava that testified to all the fury of those plutonic developments. While this bizarre scenery was glittering under our electric beams, I told Conseil the story of the Atlanteans, who had inspired the old French scientist Jean Bailly to write so many entertaining-albeit utterly fictitious - pages.* I told the lad about the wars of these heroic people. I discussed the question of Atlantis with the fervor of a man who no longer had any doubts. But Conseil was so distracted he barely heard me, and his lack of interest in any commentary on this historical topic was soon explained. *Bailly believed that Atlantis was located at the North Pole! Ed. In essence, numerous fish had caught his eye, and when fish pass by, Conseil vanishes into his world of classifying and leaves real life behind. In which case I could only tag along and resume our ichthyological research. Even so, these Atlantic fish were not noticeably different from those we had observed earlier. There were rays of gigantic size, five meters long and with muscles so powerful they could leap above the waves, sharks of various species including a fifteen-foot glaucous shark with sharp triangular teeth and so transparent it was almost invisible amid the waters, brown lantern sharks, prism-shaped humantin sharks armored with protuberant hides, sturgeons resembling their relatives in the Mediterranean, trumpet-snouted pipefish a foot and a half long, yellowish brown with small gray fins and no teeth or tongue, unreeling like slim, supple snakes. Among bony fish, Conseil noticed some blackish marlin three meters long with a sharp sword jutting from the upper jaw, bright-colored weevers known in Aristotle's day as sea dragons and whose dorsal stingers make them quite dangerous to pick up, then dolphinfish with brown backs striped in blue and edged in gold, handsome dorados, moonlike opahs that look like azure disks but which the sun's rays turn into spots of silver, finally eight-meter swordfish from the genus Xiphias, swimming in schools, sporting yellowish sickle-shaped fins and six-foot broadswords, stalwart animals, plant eaters rather than fish eaters, obeying the tiniest signals from their females like henpecked husbands. But while observing these different specimens of marine fauna, I didn't stop examining the long plains of Atlantis. Sometimes an unpredictable irregularity in the seafloor would force the Nautilus to slow down, and then it would glide into the narrow channels between the hills with a cetacean's dexterity. If the labyrinth became hopelessly tangled, the submersible would rise above it like an airship, and after clearing the obstacle, it would resume its speedy course just a few meters above the ocean floor. It was an enjoyable and impressive way of navigating that did indeed recall the maneuvers of an airship ride, with the major difference that the Nautilus faithfully obeyed the hands of its helmsman. The terrain consisted mostly of thick slime mixed with petrified branches, but it changed little by little near four o'clock in the afternoon; it grew rockier and seemed to be strewn with pudding stones and a basaltic gravel called "tuff," together with bits of lava and sulfurous obsidian. I expected these long plains to change into mountain regions, and in fact, as the Nautilus was executing certain turns, I noticed that the southerly horizon was blocked by a high wall that seemed to close off every exit. Its summit obviously poked above the level of the ocean. It had to be a continent or at least an island, either one of the Canaries or one of the Cape Verde Islands. Our bearings hadn't been marked on the chart-perhaps deliberately - and I had no idea what our position was. In any case this wall seemed to signal the end of Atlantis, of which, all in all, we had crossed only a small part. Nightfall didn't interrupt my observations. I was left to myself. Conseil had repaired to his cabin. The Nautilus slowed down, hovering above the muddled masses on the seafloor, sometimes grazing them as if wanting to come to rest, sometimes rising unpredictably to the surface of the waves. Then I glimpsed a few bright constellations through the crystal waters, specifically five or six of those zodiacal stars trailing from the tail end of Orion. I would have stayed longer at my window, marveling at these beauties of sea and sky, but the panels closed. Just then the Nautilus had arrived at the perpendicular face of that high wall. How the ship would maneuver I hadn't a guess. I repaired to my stateroom. The Nautilus did not stir. I fell asleep with the firm intention of waking up in just a few hours. But it was eight o'clock the next day when I returned to the lounge. I stared at the pressure gauge. It told me that the Nautilus was afloat on the surface of the ocean. Furthermore, I heard the sound of footsteps on the platform. Yet there were no rolling movements to indicate the presence of waves undulating above me. I climbed as far as the hatch. It was open. But instead of the broad daylight I was expecting, I found that I was surrounded by total darkness. Where were we? Had I been mistaken? Was it still night? No! Not one star was twinkling, and nighttime is never so utterly black. I wasn't sure what to think, when a voice said to me: "Is that you, professor?" "Ah, Captain Nemo!" I replied. "Where are we?" "Underground, professor." "Underground!" I exclaimed. "And the Nautilus is still floating?" "It always floats." "But I don't understand!" "Wait a little while. Our beacon is about to go on, and if you want some light on the subject, you'll be satisfied." I set foot on the platform and waited. The darkness was so profound I couldn't see even Captain Nemo. However, looking at the zenith directly overhead, I thought I caught sight of a feeble glimmer, a sort of twilight filtering through a circular hole. Just then the beacon suddenly went on, and its intense brightness made that hazy light vanish. This stream of electricity dazzled my eyes, and after momentarily shutting them, I looked around. The Nautilus was stationary. It was floating next to an embankment shaped like a wharf. As for the water now buoying the ship, it was a lake completely encircled by an inner wall about two miles in diameter, hence six miles around. Its level - as indicated by the pressure gauge - would be the same as the outside level, because some connection had to exist between this lake and the sea. Slanting inward over their base, these high walls converged to form a vault shaped like an immense upside-down funnel that measured 500 or 600 meters in height. At its summit there gaped the circular opening through which I had detected that faint glimmer, obviously daylight. Before more carefully examining the interior features of this enormous cavern, and before deciding if it was the work of nature or humankind, I went over to Captain Nemo. "Where are we?" I said. "In the very heart of an extinct volcano," the captain answered me, "a volcano whose interior was invaded by the sea after some convulsion in the earth. While you were sleeping, professor, the Nautilus entered this lagoon through a natural channel that opens ten meters below the surface of the ocean. This is our home port, secure, convenient, secret, and sheltered against winds from any direction! Along the coasts of your continents or islands, show me any offshore mooring that can equal this safe refuge for withstanding the fury of hurricanes." "Indeed," I replied, "here you're in perfect safety, Captain Nemo. Who could reach you in the heart of a volcano? But don't I see an opening at its summit?" "Yes, its crater, a crater formerly filled with lava, steam, and flames, but which now lets in this life-giving air we're breathing." "But which volcanic mountain is this?" I asked. "It's one of the many islets with which this sea is strewn. For ships a mere reef, for us an immense cavern. I discovered it by chance, and chance served me well." "But couldn't someone enter through the mouth of its crater?" "No more than I could exit through it. You can climb about 100 feet up the inner base of this mountain, but then the walls overhang, they lean too far in to be scaled." "I can see, captain, that nature is your obedient servant, any time or any place. You're safe on this lake, and nobody else can visit its waters. But what's the purpose of this refuge? The Nautilus doesn't need a harbor." "No, professor, but it needs electricity to run, batteries to generate its electricity, sodium to feed its batteries, coal to make its sodium, and coalfields from which to dig its coal. Now then, right at this spot the sea covers entire forests that sank underwater in prehistoric times; today, turned to stone, transformed into carbon fuel, they offer me inexhaustible coal mines." "So, captain, your men practice the trade of miners here?" "Precisely. These mines extend under the waves like the coalfields at Newcastle. Here, dressed in diving suits, pick and mattock in hand, my men go out and dig this carbon fuel for which I don't need a single mine on land. When I burn this combustible to produce sodium, the smoke escaping from the mountain's crater gives it the appearance of a still-active volcano." "And will we see your companions at work?" "No, at least not this time, because I'm eager to continue our underwater tour of the world. Accordingly, I'll rest content with drawing on my reserve stock of sodium. We'll stay here long enough to load it on board, in other words, a single workday, then we'll resume our voyage. So, Professor Aronnax, if you'd like to explore this cavern and circle its lagoon, seize the day." I thanked the captain and went to look for my two companions, who hadn't yet left their cabin. I invited them to follow me, not telling them where we were. They climbed onto the platform. Conseil, whom nothing could startle, saw it as a perfectly natural thing to fall asleep under the waves and wake up under a mountain. But Ned Land had no idea in his head other than to see if this cavern offered some way out. After breakfast near ten o'clock, we went down onto the embankment. "So here we are, back on shore," Conseil said. "I'd hardly call this shore," the Canadian replied. "And besides, we aren't on it but under it." A sandy beach unfolded before us, measuring 500 feet at its widest point between the waters of the lake and the foot of the mountain's walls. Via this strand you could easily circle the lake. But the base of these high walls consisted of broken soil over which there lay picturesque piles of volcanic blocks and enormous pumice stones. All these crumbling masses were covered with an enamel polished by the action of underground fires, and they glistened under the stream of electric light from our beacon. Stirred up by our footsteps, the mica-rich dust on this beach flew into the air like a cloud of sparks. The ground rose appreciably as it moved away from the sand flats by the waves, and we soon arrived at some long, winding gradients, genuinely steep paths that allowed us to climb little by little; but we had to tread cautiously in the midst of pudding stones that weren't cemented together, and our feet kept skidding on glassy trachyte, made of feldspar and quartz crystals. The volcanic nature of this enormous pit was apparent all around us. I ventured to comment on it to my companions. "Can you picture," I asked them, "what this funnel must have been like when it was filled with boiling lava, and the level of that incandescent liquid rose right to the mountain's mouth, like cast iron up the insides of a furnace?" "I can picture it perfectly," Conseil replied. "But will master tell me why this huge smelter suspended operations, and how it is that an oven was replaced by the tranquil waters of a lake?" "In all likelihood, Conseil, because some convulsion created an opening below the surface of the ocean, the opening that serves as a passageway for the Nautilus. Then the waters of the Atlantic rushed inside the mountain. There ensued a dreadful struggle between the elements of fire and water, a struggle ending in King Neptune's favor. But many centuries have passed since then, and this submerged volcano has changed into a peaceful cavern." "That's fine," Ned Land answered. "I accept the explanation, but in our personal interests, I'm sorry this opening the professor mentions wasn't made above sea level." "But Ned my friend," Conseil answered, "if it weren't an underwater passageway, the Nautilus couldn't enter it!" "And I might add, Mr. Land," I said, "that the waters wouldn't have rushed under the mountain, and the volcano would still be a volcano. So you have nothing to be sorry about." Our climb continued. The gradients got steeper and narrower. Sometimes they were cut across by deep pits that had to be cleared. Masses of overhanging rock had to be gotten around. You slid on your knees, you crept on your belly. But helped by the Canadian's strength and Conseil's dexterity, we overcame every obstacle. At an elevation of about thirty meters, the nature of the terrain changed without becoming any easier. Pudding stones and trachyte gave way to black basaltic rock: here, lying in slabs all swollen with blisters; there, shaped like actual prisms and arranged into a series of columns that supported the springings of this immense vault, a wonderful sample of natural architecture. Then, among this basaltic rock, there snaked long, hardened lava flows inlaid with veins of bituminous coal and in places covered by wide carpets of sulfur. The sunshine coming through the crater had grown stronger, shedding a hazy light over all the volcanic waste forever buried in the heart of this extinct mountain. But when we had ascended to an elevation of about 250 feet, we were stopped by insurmountable obstacles. The converging inside walls changed into overhangs, and our climb into a circular stroll. At this topmost level the vegetable kingdom began to challenge the mineral kingdom. Shrubs, and even a few trees, emerged from crevices in the walls. I recognized some spurges that let their caustic, purgative sap trickle out. There were heliotropes, very remiss at living up to their sun-worshipping reputations since no sunlight ever reached them; their clusters of flowers drooped sadly, their colors and scents were faded. Here and there chrysanthemums sprouted timidly at the feet of aloes with long, sad, sickly leaves. But between these lava flows I spotted little violets that still gave off a subtle fragrance, and I confess that I inhaled it with delight. The soul of a flower is its scent, and those splendid water plants, flowers of the sea, have no souls! We had arrived at the foot of a sturdy clump of dragon trees, which were splitting the rocks with exertions of their muscular roots, when Ned Land exclaimed: "Oh, sir, a hive!" "A hive?" I answered, with a gesture of utter disbelief. "Yes, a hive," the Canadian repeated, "with bees buzzing around!" I went closer and was forced to recognize the obvious. At the mouth of a hole cut in the trunk of a dragon tree, there swarmed thousands of these ingenious insects so common to all the Canary Islands, where their output is especially prized. Naturally enough, the Canadian wanted to lay in a supply of honey, and it would have been ill-mannered of me to say no. He mixed sulfur with some dry leaves, set them on fire with a spark from his tinderbox, and proceeded to smoke the bees out. Little by little the buzzing died down and the disemboweled hive yielded several pounds of sweet honey. Ned Land stuffed his haversack with it. "When I've mixed this honey with our breadfruit batter," he told us, "I'll be ready to serve you a delectable piece of cake." "But of course," Conseil put in, "it will be gingerbread!" "I'm all for gingerbread," I said, "but let's resume this fascinating stroll." At certain turns in the trail we were going along, the lake appeared in its full expanse. The ship's beacon lit up that whole placid surface, which experienced neither ripples nor undulations. The Nautilus lay perfectly still. On its platform and on the embankment, crewmen were bustling around, black shadows that stood out clearly in the midst of the luminous air. Just then we went around the highest ridge of these rocky foothills that supported the vault. Then I saw that bees weren't the animal kingdom's only representatives inside this volcano. Here and in the shadows, birds of prey soared and whirled, flying away from nests perched on tips of rock. There were sparrow hawks with white bellies, and screeching kestrels. With all the speed their stiltlike legs could muster, fine fat bustards scampered over the slopes. I'll let the reader decide whether the Canadian's appetite was aroused by the sight of this tasty game, and whether he regretted having no rifle in his hands. He tried to make stones do the work of bullets, and after several fruitless attempts, he managed to wound one of these magnificent bustards. To say he risked his life twenty times in order to capture this bird is simply the unadulterated truth; but he fared so well, the animal went into his sack to join the honeycombs. By then we were forced to go back down to the beach because the ridge had become impossible. Above us, the yawning crater looked like the wide mouth of a well. From where we stood, the sky was pretty easy to see, and I watched clouds race by, disheveled by the west wind, letting tatters of mist trail over the mountain's summit. Proof positive that those clouds kept at a moderate altitude, because this volcano didn't rise more than 1,800 feet above the level of the ocean. Half an hour after the Canadian's latest exploits, we were back on the inner beach. There the local flora was represented by a wide carpet of samphire, a small umbelliferous plant that keeps quite nicely, which also boasts the names glasswort, saxifrage, and sea fennel. Conseil picked a couple bunches. As for the local fauna, it included thousands of crustaceans of every type: lobsters, hermit crabs, prawns, mysid shrimps, daddy longlegs, rock crabs, and a prodigious number of seashells, such as cowries, murex snails, and limpets. In this locality there gaped the mouth of a magnificent cave. My companions and I took great pleasure in stretching out on its fine-grained sand. Fire had polished the sparkling enamel of its inner walls, sprinkled all over with mica-rich dust. Ned Land tapped these walls and tried to probe their thickness. I couldn't help smiling. Our conversation then turned to his everlasting escape plans, and without going too far, I felt I could offer him this hope: Captain Nemo had gone down south only to replenish his sodium supplies. So I hoped he would now hug the coasts of Europe and America, which would allow the Canadian to try again with a greater chance of success. We were stretched out in this delightful cave for an hour. Our conversation, lively at the outset, then languished. A definite drowsiness overcame us. Since I saw no good reason to resist the call of sleep, I fell into a heavy doze. I dreamed - one doesn't choose his dreams - that my life had been reduced to the vegetating existence of a simple mollusk. It seemed to me that this cave made up my double-valved shell. . . . Suddenly Conseil's voice startled me awake. "Get up! Get up!" shouted the fine lad. "What is it?" I asked, in a sitting position. "The water's coming up to us!" I got back on my feet. Like a torrent the sea was rushing into our retreat, and since we definitely were not mollusks, we had to clear out. In a few seconds we were safe on top of the cave. "What happened?" Conseil asked. "Some new phenomenon?" "Not quite, my friends!" I replied. "It was the tide, merely the tide, which wellnigh caught us by surprise just as it did Sir Walter Scott's hero! The ocean outside is rising, and by a perfectly natural law of balance, the level of this lake is also rising. We've gotten off with a mild dunking. Let's go change clothes on the Nautilus." Three-quarters of an hour later, we had completed our circular stroll and were back on board. Just then the crewmen finished loading the sodium supplies, and the Nautilus could have departed immediately. But Captain Nemo gave no orders. Would he wait for nightfall and exit through his underwater passageway in secrecy? Perhaps. Be that as it may, by the next day the Nautilus had left its home port and was navigating well out from any shore, a few meters beneath the waves of the Atlantic.