For several months now I have been completely obsessed with watches. It started I think when I received a box of old wristwatches. Most were complete junk but there were a few diamonds in the rough. OK I clean up a couple of old watches, put in a new battery and suddenly I am a watchmaker!
After quitting my last job, which should of been my last job (meaning I should have stayed and eat all the crow) I now wear a wristwatch. At my old job a wristwatch was prohibited as it was in food service. Always being a watch nut or perhaps just a very time oriented person I carried a pocket watch to work. My grandfather's old 1916 Elgin or a $12 Walmart Special. Some time in those nine years a bought a Charles Hurbert of Paris manual wind pocket watch. I wanted a manual wind because you never know when there may be an EMP or Electo Magnetic Pulse. Stopping all electrical devises leaving me not knowing what time it is. The Charles Hubert turned out to be a very bad choice. It looked so good when new and had some heft to it. Plus a lee through crystal to watch it run. Two trips back to the seller under warranty paying about $20 finished that off for me. It was a $130 watch and I recently sold on ebay for $5 as parts or repair. Going back to the 100 year old Elgin or the Walmart wonder.
Not being of sound mind or body and being free of a job and income I went on a watch kick. Still on one. First I bought a couple of old Timex Indiglo. If you remember on an older post I spoke of a couple of no name brand Rolex watches I destroyed out of ignorance. So I have stuck to the better brands like Timex, Casio and a few Seiko watches I have had since the eighties.
As I am going through that old box of watches I remembered that I had an old box of watches I got in the sixties. Realizing why they were in the box was that they did not run. I read that most mechanical watches quit running because they are dirty. So making two watches out of three got them running. I soaked them in rubbing alcohol, set them out in the sun on a paper towel. They started running. Simple is better sometimes.
Heretofore of this kick I would just wear a $10 Casio F91-W. I also had a G Shock that needed a band. Bands for G Shocks are expensive. So the G shock is looking new again. I had two old Seiko quartz watches that had not seen sunlight since Bill Clinton was President. Put a battery in each one and they started working. One is an automatic mechanical Seiko 5. At least 20 years old, works like a charm. I also had a 1953 Bulova. Runs well after a service in 1982.
So I am thinking that I am not going to get a job that I have to wear a hairnet and not wear a wristwatch. And I need a new watch. So getting a Casio Diver, best diver watch for the money. But not so good on a skinny wrist as it was about 45mm wide. Next move. Seiko 5 SNK-809, best low priced automatic watch $185 retail, $55 on ebay. Need that. Was a nice watch, looked good on a NATO or leather strap as well. I guess this is where it should have stopped. But I needed a dress watch as well. You know, something to wear to the doctor's office or Walmart. Which is about as far as I go now. Again after hours of researching on the Internet these where all best in class according to all the watch pundits on line and youtube. They must have been correct or at least convincing as all were sold on ebay washing out of what I paid for them.
OK since I am an unemployed chicken fryer I need to kick it up a notch here. Of all the different brands out there we went for a Citizen Eco-Drive. A do everything I need to do watch, even water resistant to 100 meters. Need that you know. It even fit my skinny wrist and with a nice Hadley-Roma brand leather band dressy enough for a doctor's office or Walmart.
So getting another job that I could wear a watch another need developed. Don't want to scratch up that nice new Citizen so one of those beater watches they talk about seemed necessary. I always wanted one of those LL Bean watches since the eighties. Don't know why I never got one so that would be the answer. One of those field watch types. Since I am in the field so much. Many LL Bean watches were made by the Hamilton Watch Company. In boredom I got on a Hamilton kick. A really interesting thing if you are into such things. It seems their automatic field watch was the deal being Swiss Made and with an ETA movement you know. For months of being torn between the automatic version or the manual wind one I was completely obsessed. So I break down and get the automatic one. A real nice leather band which finding out was about $175 to replace put it on a stainless steel bracelet. This watch was worn outside of the house about three times. Definitely did not want to beat this one up at work. Although all the girls and guys would ooh and ah over this one. Not really. Unless they are a WIS (watch idiot savant) which is what I have become on top of all the other social deficiencies. Being careful however is not too bad if you just are able to get out of your purchases. Admitting that there was buyer's remorse before even getting the Hamilton in the mail. Again getting luck was able to sell it and get back everything but the stainless steel band. I did however was styling in my jamies with that Hammy.
After being able to get a couple of old Timex pieces going again and able to change a few batteries you are almost a watch maker. Unfortunately the Hamilton thing has not went away. Kind of like herpes or the chicken pocks. In the long run it is still better than drinking or drugs but addicting as well.
Digging into it more Hamilton was right up there with the best until the 1960s. The Hamilton Watch Company had a very interesting history. Being the watch of choice for the railroads in the United States. The primary supplier of watches and chronometers for the military from World War I, II, Korea, Viet Nam until around the 1990s. They have a very interesting film made in 1948 showing there production facilities in Lancaster PA. They were the state of the art manufacturer of mass produced watches. If you take the retail prices of their pieces from the 1930s till the 1960s it would equate to $900 plus in today's dollars. Hamilton even had a refinery on the premises to produce watch oil. Every piece of the watch was made at the site making it a true in house watch. Which is something the pundits rave about.
So I have been fooling around with their vintage watches being mostly reasonable in price. Amazingly robust as the one I wore to work today was made in 1941. When cleaning it there was no watchmaker's marks and the top of the back corner is worn through. 14K gold to boot. And is keeping perfect time for a mechanical watch . Which is considered good at plus or minus 15 seconds a day. The diversity of Hamilton's products was unreal. In 1935 a $50 watch would be $894.00 today and a $3000 platinum with diamonds model would be $53,639.70! Quite a bit when most working people made $30 to $50 a week. Just proving like today even with a weak economy the rich are still rich.
In the last few weeks the collection has been thinned out, hopefully getting down to a reasonable level and still be fun. Another thing for a nerd to do without bothering anyone. Just don't jump from changing batteries and cleaning a Timex to taking apart a vintage or even modern automatic watch. There is a lot of parts and do not attempt any repairs without knowing that you will not be successful. Chances are you will not be.
