Horological Journalist Runs Out of Synonyms for 'Stunning,' Publishes Review Using Only the Word 'Nice'

Veteran horological journalist Catherine Wray has published what she describes as 'the most honest watch review of my career' — a 1,200-word assessment of a new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms in which every descriptive adjective has been replaced with the word 'nice.' The review, published in the respected trade journal Horological Times, includes sentences such as 'The casework is nice,' 'The dial achieves a nice depth,' and 'The nice bezel rotates with a nice click that is, on balance, nice.' 'I have been writing watch reviews for 18 years,' Wray told reporters. 'I have used the word stunning approximately 4,000 times. I have described bezels as lustrous, captivating, resplendent, and beguiling. I have called case flanks sumptuous. I once described a date window as transcendent. I have nothing left. The well is dry. Nice is what remains.' Wray's editor, James Holloway, initially returned the draft with a note reading 'Please revise — seems unfinished.' Wray resubmitted it unchanged with a note reading 'This is the finished version. I am finished.' The review has been unexpectedly well-received. Reader response has been overwhelmingly positive, with commenters praising its 'refreshing clarity' and 'lack of the breathless adjective inflation that has rendered most watch journalism meaningless.' 'When she says the bezel is nice, I believe her,' wrote one reader. 'When other reviewers say the bezel is a mesmerizing symphony of light and shadow, I assume they're being paid by the character.' Blancpain's press office has contacted Wray to express that they are 'pleased with the review' but would 'appreciate a slightly more effusive vocabulary in future coverage.' Wray has responded that she will 'try,' a word she notes is 'the verbal equivalent of nice.'