Product description : Arteco is a French magic shop, but also a producer of magic tricks and every year, they held a contest in which anybody can submit their creation. This year, Théo Lemaire submitted his idea which is quite original : making something appear in the watch dial ! It can be a corner of a card, a cap, a coin, anything relatively small and flat which will fit in it. But is this good ? Would this be good for your style and magic ?
Price and where to buy it : This is sold at 49€ (about $60) and you can find it in Arteco shop : http://www.magicalement.fr/product_info.php?products_id=165340
What you get : The packaging is not the best I’ve seen, I don’t especially like those plastic bags, they look cheap and don’t do justice to the product. Anyway, inside, you’ll find a piece of paper which is just here to decorate, to have the visual of the trick, it’s nicely done but again, not very useful. You’ll find the watch which has been modified, it looks a bit big but it is perfect if you want to wear it in a casual situation. You also receive the main gimmick as well as some additional stuff in order to perform the routines taught in the explanation video. The video is well made, and teach you all you need to know. Overall, the price is a little step but the material provided feels great, and will last a long time.
The pros and the cons : Here is the core of my review, let's begin with the cons, as I will usually be doing, I prefer to keep the good things for the end.
THE CONS :
[if !supportLists]– [endif]As I said, the watch is a little bit big and the colour and the style won’t fit most women style. There is also a gold edition which is smaller but you won’t be able to fit anything else than a corner of a playing card. The watch doesn’t work, it won’t tell the time.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]They provide you with only one gimmick which is quite small, and could be easily lost. They could have provided two.
THE PROS :
[if !supportLists]– [endif]When we saw that at Blakcpool, my friends thought the gimmick didn’t look convincing. However, after having performed a few times, people don’t know what to expect, so they don’t stare at the gimmick. It’s enough well made so it will fool your audience.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]It’s pretty easy to do, you have to get used to the gimmick and find your way of doing the trick, they teach you several ones but I’m sure you will come up with your own solution.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The way the gimmick is “attached” is very cool and requires nothing else, and you don’t have to be afraid that your watch will “unsetup” during the routine.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]You can put anything you want in the watch, so you can do a coin or a cap routine ! It’s not limited to cards.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The reset is really quick, just put back the gimmick and you’re ready to go again.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]Everything can be handed out for examination at the end, so people can look at the watch, the corner is really under the glass, in the watch dial.
Overall rating : It’s a good release, not something I would use, but I can see the potential in this. If you like what you see in the trailer, you won’t be disappointed with the working of Corner Watch, 3/4 hearts.
As for the difficulty level, there is nothing hard about it, just to get the knack with the gimmick, I would say 2/5 stars.
Similar products : Errr, I don’t really know any other trick which allow you to put something in a watch dial.