hollywood billionaire

Chapter 492 The Golden Age
"This watch looks like..."

"A movie poster from the fifties."

FP Journe's Chronomètre Optimum watch is like a retro painting frozen in time, instantly taking the viewer back to the golden age of Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s.

The design language condensed by its fonts and graphics is like a miniature reproduction of a classic movie poster. On the milky white dial, the elegant serif Roman numerals stretch with a soft arc, and the edges are slightly smudged, which reminds people of the warm brushstrokes of the hand-painted titles in the posters of "Casablanca" or "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

"That's the best thing about this watch, isn't it? The timelessness of it, which records time but is not affected by time."

Madison said softly as her fingertips lingered between Han Yi's wrist and watch strap.

“Although this watch was first produced in 2012, the concept dates back to the very beginning of Junner’s career.”

Spanning time and space, Madison presented Oliver's introduction to Chronomètre Optimum to Han Yi exactly as it was.

“In the 1980s, the young Joubert first envisioned such a watch – three hands, two mainsprings and a constant-power device, combining astronomical precision timepiece technology with Joubert’s iconic mechanical aesthetics. But at the time, François-Paul Joubert was still making pocket watches for collectors in Europe. It was not until the Basel Watch and Jewellery Show in 1991 that he had the opportunity to launch his first watch.”

“After that, Junard waited another eight years until he was finally able to establish his own brand in Geneva under his own name, so that he could really pick up the concept again and continue to polish, modify and perfect it.”

"So he... launched this series when the brand started in 1999?" Han Yi asked, "Chronomètre... Sorry, I give up. I can only pronounce it like an American - Chronometer - Optimum."

“That’s good enough for me, at least you tried.” Madison smiled, “To answer your question: no, this series was not released with the brand. It was launched and produced in 2012 after about thirteen years of refinement.”

"I feel..." Han Yi frowned slightly and tilted his head, "The speed of time in Europe seems to be different from other places in the world. Thirteen years? Thirteen months is a bit too long for me."

"There are obviously cultural differences in this matter." Madison looked at Han Yi seriously. "Europeans unplug their internet cables and stay on the Amalfi Coast for the entire summer, and they call it 'everything in life has its priorities'. But you guys...if you don't handle some work or complete some goals in a day, you will suffer like torture, right?"

"'You people'?" Han Yi raised his eyebrows and said in a playful tone. "You people" is a very sensitive term in the cultural context of the United States after the 2010s, especially when these two words are used to describe ethnic minorities.

"What's the matter?" Madison, who always pays attention to political correctness, just snorted and raised her chin, looking nonchalant. "I can say 'you people'... I have a 'you people' exemption pass."

"Tell me, how did you get this exemption pass?" Han Yi looked at McGrady with a mixture of laughter and tears.

"Because I'm obsessed with one of the 'you people'." McGrady's mouth curled up a devilish smile, "Doesn't this make me a member of the 'you people'?"

"It would be great if it were that simple." Han Yi's eyelids jumped, and he quickly changed the subject, "Our passport is the most difficult to obtain in the world... Jokes aside, it does look like a very exquisite watch. I think it's worth the thirteen years it took."

“Of course!” Madison’s voice became louder when he spoke. “The manual-winding Calibre 1510 movement is equipped with a double barrel and has a power reserve of 56 hours. The constant-force device is paired with a silicon escapement and is COSC-certified…”

"Wait a minute." Han Yi raised his right hand and interrupted Madison's dry terminology. "Do you know what those terms you just mentioned mean?"

"I don't know, I just felt it was amazing, so I memorized it."

After these words were spoken, the two people in the car looked at each other and couldn't help but smile.

"You know, I'm not a watch lover myself, so let's just get straight to the point of what actually attracted you to this watch?"

"What else could it be? It must be its design and the materials used."

Maddie answered quickly and honestly.

However, this is indeed the case - what else can ordinary consumers who know nothing about this niche field look at when choosing a watch?

When it comes down to it, isn’t it all about brand and appearance?

"Turning it over, the movement is made of 18K rose gold. The layout of the dial is that the power reserve display is at 3 o'clock, and the small dial is at 9 o'clock. The hour and minute hands in the center are Breguet-style blue steel hands, which are exactly the same as the design of classic pocket watches in the th century."

“The font design is also quite retro, using serif fonts. Oh, yes! This rail-style minute scale and the fan-shaped power reserve display at six o’clock are inspired by the scientific instrument dials of the 1950s. This is FPJourne’s forte, deeply studying the classic aesthetics and then expressing it vividly in a modern way.”

“The main dial is decorated with hand-carved radial patterns. The sub-dials are decorated with Clous de Paris…”

"Someone seems very cultured today." Han Yi joked.

"Yeah, right?" Madison was not embarrassed about showing off her French knowledge. Instead, she nodded excitedly, "It's not every day that I can sound so cultured and well-educated. I spent a lot of time preparing for this... So, never mind, let me enjoy my moment of glory."

"You continue." Han Yi raised his hand and said with a smile.

"Clous de Paris is a decorative pattern on the dial made up of tiny cones. Look, it's this... It has clear layers and can capture the changes in light and shadow. Wherever the hour and minute hands move, the nail pattern will be cast with a dark blue shadow, which is very visually effective."

Madison's grip on Han Yi's wrist never changed. She unconsciously stroked her lover's skin texture and the leather strap that fit tightly to it.

“When I first admired this watch in New York, Oliver said something to me that seemed a bit literary, obscure and bookish at the time, but now looking back, it seems that only that sentence can perfectly summarize the characteristics of this watch.”

"Which sentence?" Han Yi asked with interest.

“Chronomètre Optimum represents the three core spirits of the post-war golden age – the rise of precision industry, the refinement of materialism, and the dialectical fusion of modernism and traditional aesthetics.”

"This Oliver is something." Han Yi curled his lips and nodded in agreement. The three-dimensional carved pattern in the center of the dial is looming, like the gilded dark pattern between the folds of the old theater curtain. The fan-shaped power reserve display at six o'clock is designed as a gradient scale like a retro thermometer, with radial guilloché carvings, just like the spiral diffusion visual focus in Hitchcock's movie posters.

The warm luster of rose gold dotted throughout the piece echoes the amber tones favored by Hollywood's golden age posters, finding a perfect balance between restraint and luxury.

Every detail of this watch is like a film soaked in time, carrying the precise rationality of modern technical workers in the mechanical age, and revealing the sophisticated elegance of old-school gentlemen during the Industrial Revolution.

When Han Yi's eyes swept across the dial, he seemed to hear the rustling of fabric when Audrey Hepburn wore a pearl necklace, or the crisp echo of Humphrey Bogart tapping his pocket watch in the smoke - this is an elegant narrative that travels through time and space, telling the eternal romance of the dawn of peace in modern society.

“I am now slowly beginning to like this watch and FPJourne.”

"Really?" Madison opened her eyes slightly in surprise.

"Yes, I like all retro things, especially those made in the early post-war period, or any products that can carefully copy and faithfully restore the aesthetics of that era." Han Yi took a deep breath and organized the appropriate sentences in his mind, "Everything is better and cuter when it is just born. Just like cats and dogs, their cutest appearance is retained in their infancy. I think the same should be true for human civilization."

“We love the Golden Age not because it was the best era in human history. Far from it, it was an era of political conflict, proxy wars, subversion, and worse, uncontrolled racism. But at the same time, despite all its flaws and darkness, it was also the dawn of modern society. People at that time had just entered a new era, and the whole society was full of vitality and vigor, full of hope and longing for the future.”

“These hopes and aspirations may be naive and unrealistic, but they are undoubtedly beautiful. They are not disciplined and have not yet been strangled. When the first television broke into the living room and when the first Boeing 707 broke through the clouds, people sincerely believed that the future would be a utopia woven by technology. This innocence is projected in every design fold of this watch. This is probably one of the main reasons why Runer is so respected. He can capture the essence of the golden age and present the vitality and vigor of that era through his works.”

Han Yi tapped the dial lightly with his fingertips, making a slight sound between crisp and dull.

“When we in the 21st century rediscover these elements, we are actually mourning a certain lost possibility—the brief window in which technology could still dance with poetry.”

"Just like the music of the Beatles, it represents an era in which pop music can change the world, unite the world and redefine the world." Madison's eyes were lost in Han Yi's poetic narration, and she couldn't extricate herself. "I think this watch seems to have found the owner who suits it best and understands it best."

"I can't say this, but you did give me a gift that is... very suitable and I like it very much. Thank you, Maddie, I really like it and I will wear it all the time."

"You're welcome. After all, you've given me a similar gift before, haven't you?" Madison's eyes sparkled with the light reflected from the dial. "Look at us, we're a perfect couple, more compatible and congenial than most couples. Other couples enjoy hunting for antiques together, but we pick antiques for each other without knowing each other, and we always pick the one that the other likes. If you say this isn't destiny, then what is destiny?"

"Which one is more expensive?" Han Yi didn't respond to Madison's question, "The manuscript I gave you, or the watch you bought for me?"

"Of course the one you gave me is more expensive." Madison answered honestly, "This watch... is also expensive, but it's not..."

"Six figures?"

"Six figures." Maddie nodded, "But it's just over six figures. This is the new model of Chronomètre Optimum in 2016. Only four pieces were sold in the New York store... No, in the entire North American continent. This is the last one in the store. Many buyers wanted it, but I got it in the end."

"So powerful?" Han Yi is very good at giving emotional value.

"Of course." Madison snorted proudly. "Like I said, every brand will give celebrities special treatment, and this is the special treatment FPJourne gives me - to bring it home to you."

"Wow." Han Yi continued to maximize his emotional value, "Is Madison Beal already so famous?"

"Yes." Madison smiled charmingly, "Isn't this the best gift you've ever given me?"

"That's not a gift from me to you. It's the result of our joint efforts." Han Yi shook his index finger. "Don't say that again. Please remember that you are the best gift that anyone who listens to music can receive. Maybe you haven't become that person yet, but one day you will."

"I don't care if I'm the best gift anyone could ever receive." Madison lowered her voice when she said the second half of the sentence, "I just want to be the best gift you've ever received."

"you……"

The bold and passionate straight ball was the offensive method that Han Yi could not bear the most. He put his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat again.

"You know how you can be the best gift I've ever received?"

"I don't know." Madison looked at him. "Tell me."

"First, you have to be obedient."

"I've always been an obedient little girl." Hearing this, Madison became excited. She sat cross-legged on the passenger seat like a kitten, supporting the seat with both hands, her eyelashes fluttering, biting her lower lip, "I've always been an obedient little girl, da..."

"Don't, don't, don't!" Han Yi stopped the other party in time before he could say that extremely lethal and ambiguous name, "You call this obedience?"

"If this isn't obedience, then what is it?" Madison tried her best to hide the cunning in her eyes and put on an innocent look, "I'll do whatever you tell me to do... I'm very obedient."

"If you are really good..." Han Yi continued to clear his throat, but the dryness in his throat could not be eliminated no matter what. "Then hurry up and return to normal. Come with me to Lana's house and impress Stevie to let her cooperate with us... This is very important and we must not make any mistakes."

"Got it, I promise to complete the task!" Madison returned to her normal sitting position in the next second and brushed away her messy bangs. "Stevie likes me very much, and... don't worry, I also know the difference between occasions. This kind of thing... I will only do it in private."

She forcibly twisted Han Yi's chin and gave him a firm kiss. Madison's eyes flickered, and with a quirky smile, she said slowly:
"Okay, we've made enough noise and tasted enough goodness. Let's get going now... We've wasted enough time on the road."

"When we meet Stevie, I'll show you another side of Madison Beal."

"Let me show you what an American sweetheart that everyone loves is."

(End of this chapter)