What watch are you wearing today?

It's Big Bang kind of day!

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Thought this was cool...

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Ahh, the original Monaco...more than nice...


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just back after 5 weeks Rolex USA
2007 Daytona
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Sunday funday.


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AP Rubens Barichello
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Image Unavailable, Please Login Vintage Smiths for a rainy Thursday.

 

Please, more history. I really like this piece.

 

Actually don’t know much about it.

Bought it from a highly reputable collector maybe 8 years ago.

Loved the dark blue dial and red markers. That’s the only reason I bought it other than condition...which is exceptional.

Case was pretty much untouched. All original according to the seller. Didn’t pay much for it at the time but have never found or seen another like it.

Dates to the mid 1970s.

Smiths is an old British brand but mostly known for explore and pilot watches.

Smiths was supposedly the brand worn by Hillary for the first Mount Everest summit...Rolex disagrees with that!


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This the same Smiths that made automotive gauges??

 

Yes I believe so.
Smiths dates back to the 1880s and transformed from pocket watches to automotive gauges and then to wristwatches. In the 1950-1970s British military used Smiths watches.

My Smiths is a little odd in that it’s a dive watch.


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Weekend warrior


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ANYTIME warrior!!

 

At least one.
Had 2nd thoughts while trying to pry a lobster out from under a coral head off Hutchinson Island...

 

Nice drive
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Gets yours out of the sock drawer Dave.
It’s GMT Monday.

Finally found an original 7206 rivet bracelet with a matching 1968 date code.

These are not easy (or cheap) to find these days.

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The older Smiths watches were made by the same company as the gauges (Smiths Group plc). I think the current Smiths watches are made by someone who licensed the name.

 

AP

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This is from last Friday but I haven't had internet access until now so.........

Here is an excerpt from one of my books telling a story about the watch I wore on Friday:

Early in the mid 1960's I told my mother that I needed a watch. Men wore watches and since I was approaching the age of seven I thought a boy my age was certainty qualified. Middle class was never a word used to describe my mother once she left my father and Chicago. Buying a boy a watch wasn’t ever going to be in the budget. She suggested perhaps I could find a job then I could save my money and buy one myself. I’ve always been driven; even back then a challenge was always something I’d take on. I starting walking down the block and knocking on doors. I found a lady who said she would pay me a penny a minute to paint her fence. Yep, 60 cents an hour. Each day after school mother would help me get the paint and brushes out so I could perform my task. I painted and did various chores until I saved enough money to ride my bike into town and buy a manual wind Timex watch at Woolworth's. I wore it all the time.

A few years ago in the bottom of a long forgotten jewelry box my wife found it and brought it to me. It wasn't running and had obviously been subjected to moisture over the years. I put it back away but somewhere in the back of my mind I always wondered.

I love fine vintage watches. I’ve been blessed and rewarded for my hard work over the years. I can often be seen with a 50, 60, or even a 100 year old fine mechanical timepiece strapped to my wrist. I have acquired a few of these, pretty pricey, automatic watches. Every decade or so those auto-winders are sent across the country and serviced by experts. I called one of them recently and asked if they might know of any way I could get my old children’s Timex restored. I was amazed when not only did they know who could help me but they also had his contact info. I called an old gentleman in Florida,

"Alex suggested I call you. This is silly and it isn't worth anything but I was wondering - "​

He interrupted me and said,

"If you know Alex then you have some high dollar watches. I'd be willing to bet you wouldn't trade your old Timex for one of those expensive Swiss jobs or you wouldn't be calling me."​

When I dialed the telephone I didn’t expect a teaching moment. He was right; lesson learned. Worth is subjective to the person who is connected to the item.

He is a Florida snowbird so we made arrangements for me to ship my old piece to his summer house in Delaware. Months passed before he called and told me he had all the parts needed to bring it back to original condition. He assured me that the fruits of my labors so many years ago could once again function on my wrist. When I asked him how much the charges would total to his reply was,

"I’m going to have to totally rebuild the movement. You got lucky in that the dial hasn’t been destroyed, I can clean it. It’ll need a new crystal and a good polishing of the case to remove all the pitting. Let’s see, I’ll have to pay to ship it back to you so we’ll have to add that in. If you can pay me in advance that would help me. Would $45 be too much?"​

I dropped the check in a FedEx drop box 20 minutes after our call ended.

It served as the timer measuring the moments before I would board a plane to travel across the country as I often did, it was the first piece of jewelry that meant I was a young man to be reckoned with not just some little kid. With that watch I timed how long it took to ride a bicycle as fast as I could across town all the while pretending I was a world explorer riding across a great land. With that watch I marked the passage of time. Now on occasion I’ll reflect back over my many years, sigh, and wish the hands had turned just a bit slower. The watch of my youth; valuable? Not in any monetary terms, but priceless to me. When the box arrived I carefully unpacked it and reached for the winding crown. Dare I try? Could it be possible? Gently, oh so carefully, I lightly gripped it and slowly wound it a few clicks. As it started ticking tears streamed down my face.

I write this chapter the week before the celebration of my birth. I wear that watch each year on my birthday to remind me of my humble beginnings, to remind me how hard I worked to overcome them, and to remind me how fortunate I have been. Next week I will have a wonderful dinner in my favorite steakhouse. Sitting next to me will be the most beautiful woman in the world joining me in celebrating another year. My old Timex will be on my wrist ticking away. I will glance at this little memento, I will remember, I will look upward, raise my glass, and I will say “Thank you”.

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