Vintage Holbein Watercolor Palette | Incomparable Quality

  Many years ago, I wrote a blog post about a Holbein watercolor palette that I had purchased.  I had seen photos and video of the legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki using a Holbein palette and I was excited to try it.  To my disappointment, I found out that my "Holbein" palette is actually a cheaper version made by some mystery company.  I've used that knock-off palette for years but it led me to wonder: "what are the real Holbein palettes like?"
  Well, after many years, I finally got my hands on a genuine Holbein watercolor folding palette.  It's hard to put a date on it, but it seems these palettes are extremely rare and no longer made in Japan.  I can't help but feel a touch of sadness when I can't find good quality art supplies, clothes, furniture, cooking pots or whatever it might be.  And it's not even like our materials nowadays are at least "good"--the materials nowadays are flat-out bad in comparison.
  Photos of this palette don't do it justice so I'll just describe it: Firstly, it's solid and maybe twice as heavy as the cheaper palette.  The metal is sturdy and I'm guessing that it's steel instead of flimsy aluminum.  There are no sharp edges and it closes beautifully (the cheaper palette has sharp corners and edges).  The other huge difference is that it's actually enameled on the inside; the cheaper palette is just spray painted white, but the genuine Holbein has a beautiful enamel coating inside.  I haven't used it yet, but it makes my other palette feel like a toy.
  Do better materials produce better paintings?  Will my genuine Holbein palette make me as skilled as the great Miyazaki?  Haha, well, of course not, but I'll say that this genuine palette makes me feel like I should paint better.  It's like when I wear a nice suit and I stand a little taller.  Painting is hard enough and any bit of  confidence from the materials is always helpful!

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  *In related news: I recently found a set of original Winsor & Newton watercolors which were made in England.  Today, W&N is made in France and I've read speculation that the quality isn't as high.  I will report back in a separate blog post with an experiment to see how they compare!