"And now," said the magician, "for my next trick...

...before your very eyes...

I will eat this ordinary wrist-watch... one piece at a time!"

The magician started the trick by putting the watch on his table, and very carefully using a tiny screwdriver to open the back.

He then proceeded very slowly to undo the screws on the casement and put it to one side.

Next, delicately removed each tiny cog, wheel, screw, spring, gear, wheel, hammer, pin, arbour, dial, switch, balance, and hand from the unfortunate chronograph.

Then he unhooked the strap and removed the barrel.

Each piece, whether large or small was placed with utmost care onto a large white dinner plate.

The trick had already been going for several hours at this point, but he seemed to be making progress, so we carried on watching.

Having dismantled every last component of the timepiece and put each part onto his plate, he now reached under his table, produced a salt cellar, and proceeded to shake some salt over the watch pieces.

He did likewise with a pepper grinder.

He then sprinkled some herbs onto the plate.

And some spices.

And flakes of chilie pepper.

And some crushed garlic.

Finally he looked up and addressed the audience: "The preparation is complete. Now prepare to  be amazed! I shall eat the watch!"

And so he did.

One...

    ...piece...

        ...at...

            ...a...

                ...time.

Until eventually there was nothing left on the plate.

"Ta-da!" he cried, "I have done it! The trick is complete!"

Of course, we applauded him. I was, after all, a very impressive trick.

I just wish it hadn't been so time consuming.