Timepieces.

I must be the only one here who misses a spring and stem watch where you wind it once a day.  I have a couple of automatics but I hate restarting them if I haven't used them in a while and, of course, many day to day quartzes for which I am endlessly changing batteries.  This is my favorite spring and stem watch.  It was given to me by my sister for my college graduation more than 47 years ago.  I only wear it on special occasions.

I must be the only one here who misses a spring and stem watch where you wind it once a day.  I have a couple of automatics but I hate restarting them if I haven't used them in a while and, of course, many day to day quartzes for which I am endlessly changing batteries.  This is my favorite spring and stem watch.  It was given to me by my sister for my college graduation more than 47 years ago.  I only wear it on special occasions.

That's a fantastic looking piece Freddy. I think as with anything, back in the day those were perfectly acceptable because many men had one time piece for telling time, hence, they could wind it daily because they wore it daily, religiously. To me whether it's "automatic" or self wound really poses the same problem, much better movement ascetically, but must be worn daily to prevent "resetting". Quartz you have the batteries, and the movement for me while much more accurate and convenient in that I can not wear one for a month and then grab it and it's ready to go, but it sacrifices that on the movement end, at least for me. (I much prefer automatic movement to that of quartz) Perhaps the best of both worlds can be seen in the Precisionist movement from Bulova, but that movement comes at the cost of much faster than normal quartz battery drain to the tune of a new battery 12-16 months. Regardless, one has a million options and choices as in wet shaving and fountain pens It's nice to have those options and weight the pros and cons of them before picking up a new piece for the collection.

The trouble for me, steelshaves, is that I have a bunch of cheap battery watches that I wear on a regular basis.  That wouldn't be so bad but every time I go into a store that has watches I look.  All too often, I come out with another one.  I should give away some of the cheap ones I don't wear that often, if at all.  Of course I'd only start building up a new collection, now wouldn't I?    

The trouble for me, steelshaves, is that I have a bunch of cheap battery watches that I wear on a regular basis.  That wouldn't be so bad but every time I go into a store that has watches I look.  All too often, I come out with another one.  I should give away some of the cheap ones I don't wear that often, if at all.  Of course I'd only start building up a new collection, now wouldn't I?    

One observation I've noticed after getting into watches recently is that the used market for them is a substantial steal if you actively seek it out. I'm not saying I would ever buy a used Rolex or Omega or Breitling from say a pawn shop or antique store without having it expertly examined first and of course, I could only afford one of those three one time, in a lifetime. However, I have been able to find citizen, tissot, Nixon, Hamilton, all in pawn shops and flea markets at substantial savings. The danger here, is that even those brands have been known to be counterfeited so education and knowing what one is doing helps and I am by no means even close to an expert in time pieces.

I've so far however, found watch manufacturers to be most helpful. Calling customer service and reporting the serial number before buying has proven fruitful and a couple of the companies actually appreciated it telling me to call anytime because if the serial number is missing or is fake they want to know so they can take action against sellers of fake goods. After all, a fake product hurts their bottom line as well as image. So far the three watches I Have purchased this way had papers, boxes, and the serial numbers checked with the manufacturer.

I caught the automatic watch bug a few years ago and have since purchased some amazing timepieces. Like traditional shaving I enjoy wearing a time piece on my wrist. I'll post some pictures of my collection this evening. Till then I wanted to share this website as Steelshaves brought up the used or "gray" market for watches. I have purchased many great watches this way at a significant discount. Just like shave soaps they may be bought, worn once or twice then sold at a significant discount. I used to look at this site daily (until like shaving items I realized I needed to slow down my buying rate), it scans all the more popular watch websites and gives an easy way to see whats out there for sale.

http://www.watchrecon.com/

Thanks for the site bob I hadn't been privy to this prior!!

That's an interesting site, Bob.

Freddy Wrote:  I must be the only one here who misses a spring and stem watch where you wind it once a day.


I am with you Freddy - I love the manual wind watches.  I have one I wear on my wrist and the rest are pocket watches.

Here are a couple including a manual wind that my wife gave me for my birthday - nothing fancy but it works.

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The pocket watch on the Left is Waltham key wind and dates to 1891.  The one on the right is an Illinois that dates to 1905.

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Here is what they look like on the inside.

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Here is my quartz Tissot watch - I like this and use it when diving but just had the battery changed and pressure checked which isn't cheap. (Why manual winds and automatics are becoming my new favorites).  The watch on the left is and Elgin and was my Grandfathers and it dates to 1888 and is key wind (he must have bought it used because he was born in 1903).  It runs - I just don't wind it all the time.  The watch on the right is a Hamilton and belonged to Clyde Morgan who carried it to Siberia while working on the Trans Siberian railway and passed down through the family where I bought it.

It is amazing that these watches - with a little maintenance are still keeping pretty good time after 130 years.

Cincinnatus, those pocket watches are beautiful. I agree about them running after all these years. The pocket watch I got from my father is 90 years old and when I wind it, it still keeps time beautifully.

Here's a peak at my timepiece collection.
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Quartz and automatics in there, love them all.  If your looking for value in an automatic you simply cannot beat Steinhart.  

My prized piece.
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My most prized possessions-Grandpa's watch and razor.
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