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Jolan Vanderdark New user The Brownsville City Morgue 54 Posts |
I'm thinking about purchasing this item. Does anybody have any words about it? Is it good or bad? Is it worth $45?
The Watch Crystal by Eric Maurin - This is one of the most eerie street magic and mentalism effects we've ever seen. Your spectators will get the shivers. Highly Recommended!!! List Price: $60.00 Our Price: $44.99 The Effect Throughout the ages man has been fascinated with the concept of time. His quest to harness it has taken him from the ancient sundial to the atomic clock. But never before has time been told like this. The mystery begins with the magician displaying a small glass disc, "the crystal from an old pocket watch." A spectator thinks of any time of a secret time. After blowing on the crystal, a vaporous watch dial appears on the glass, and the hands reveal the chosen hour! The misty apparition slowly fades, disappearing in time, and the crystal is once again transparent. This astonishing crystal comes in a velvet carrying bag, with customized polishing cloth and illustrated instructions to an intriguing and timeless presentation
Yes....Eventually you will come to me.
And Ohhh...What Sights I Have To Show You!! |
hackmonkey Inner circle England 1093 Posts |
This is a nice idea, but the spec doesn't think of 'any time.' The time is forced and IMHO not very well. The prop is very nice and you can do two different times, but if you want to do this sort of effect get 'PK Time' by Steve Banacheck. This is a much stronger effect for two reasons:
1.You use their watch not a weird prop 2.They stay with their first choice of number, it is not changed by a weird process. |
Terry New user 93 Posts |
I have this effect and indeed, the quality of the force is as good as the magician. That is a euphemism for 'needs improvement'.
The effect overall is clever, but not a showpiece or center effect. I like to just keep it in my pocket and if it comes up then I do it. To me it's more of a conversational and segue piece. |
hackmonkey Inner circle England 1093 Posts |
Terry I am not sure what point you are making, but 'the force is as good as the magician' that is nonsense. There are loads of ways to force things and some of them suck...
In 'PK time' you also (sort of) 'force' a number. In fact, the force is much harder, but it makes for a more convincing effect. Without giving too much away, I found 'The Watch Crystal' force too...formulaic. It was just a weird way to arrive at a time. |
Pit Boss Special user 573 Posts |
Hey guys, here is what I came up with regarding "The Watch Crystal".
Upon receiving this item I too wasn't fond of the force involved. I also didn't really care for the effect, that being that the crystal was supposedly clairvoyant and could deduce your "freely" chosen time. So I changed it around a bit and it works well for me... First I made up 12 little clock faces on the computer, each one showing the hands on a different hour. These were then printed out on an antique looking parchment paper and laminated. They are about the size of the crystal and fit right in the little bag with everything else. In performance, these are shown and then mixed and the spectator "chooses" one, which is laid aside without showing its face. The crystal is now brought out and a story is told of how late one warm, humid summer night the owner of this watch saw something flickering in the moonlight coming through the window. It was this watch, rising up into the air as if being lifted by an unseen apparition. It then began moving horizontally out into the room. As soon as the owner raised up in bed to investigate, the watch fell to the ground and broke into pieces, the only part of which was salvageable is the crystal face you are now holding. The weird part is that to this day, when it is warm and humid, the crystal still registers the exact time of night that this event happened, all those years ago. At this point you breathe on it (thus providing the warm humidity) and ask the spectator what time it says. When he replies, say, "But you knew that already somehow, didn't you..." as you turn over the selected hour to show the match. This presentation takes the heat off the crystal, which simply becomes an interesting and spooky adjunct to the real effect, which is that the spectator randomly chose the correct time of night. Sorry so long, but thought I would share. |
Logan Inner circle 2289 Posts |
Hey Pit Boss!
Wow, you sure 'upgraded' the actual effect to a whole new ball game didn't ya?! Good job man! I think your presentation is pretty clever! All the best, Logan
You've been hit by, you've been struck by, a smooth criminal.
Singapore's Hairiest Corporate Comedy Magician! |
Pit Boss Special user 573 Posts |
Logan:
Thanks for the kind words. I enjoy breaking down effects to their base core and then reconstructing them to suit my own needs and desires. It helps keep my mind off of real life! Regards, Duane |
Wil Castor Regular user Seattle 144 Posts |
As an alternative to the Watch Crystal, there is also a solution on the market that allows you to duplicate the same effect on any piece of glass. Check it out at:
http://www.thetrickery.com/ and search for "ghost glass."
Pain is the craft entering into the apprentice.
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MagicAL47 New user 81 Posts |
Would this effect be good for walkaround?
~Magic-Al~
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Larry Davidson Inner circle Boynton Beach, FL 5270 Posts |
The force on this is horrendous in my opinion. I guess it could be worse -- at least you don't ask the spectator to think of any even number between 3 and 5 and then multiply it by the 3rd digit of their social security number.
There are much better watch effects out there. In a few months, I will be marketing a watch effect that is different from anything you've likely ever seen, I've used it to absolutely FRY real people in hundreds of real performances, and it will be a very limited release. More later. Regards, Larry Davidson. |
landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
Barrie Richardson in Theatre of the Mind has some nice watch effects involving mentalism. I would check that out if that is where your interests lie.
landmark
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