You can never know where a watch may lead you

Dear Friends,

This newsletter is from my classmate Trish when we were studying to become appraiser with the American Society of Appraiser. It fits perfectly in the philosophy of “you can never know where a watch may lead you”. A beautiful reading in a beautiful summer. Thank you Trish for sharing your lovely story.

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“ At any rate your newsletters remind me of several things. My husband who is also an artist is a watch collector (he also collects small art deco electric clocks by GE and Telechron), Nothing too expensive, mostly pieces, vintage and new, that he feels has great design. Also my father, though not a collector, purchased a Rolex in the 50s after working in the electrical field and having problems while working with magnetism in electric motors and having several watches fail. I don’t think the Rolex solved this problem but I still have it today. Holding it for my brother who passed to give to one of his sons some day.

Art deco electric clocks by GE and Telechron

One of my favorite watch stories though was a watch I purchased at our annual clock and watch show here in Wichita, Kansas. The show is every April and my husband and I always attend. I purchased this funky 1960’s Timex with a silver colored mesh band and a blue rectangular face. Very space-age and very inexpensive ($10) but it had a great mod design of the Mid Century period. I kept the watch on my dresser for years but never wore it. I had sold many decorative arts and jewelry pieces on Ebay and one day decided to list the funky watch. Bidding started slow but eventually brought a bit over $100.

Timex Helix

The gentleman who purchased the watch was ecstatic! When he was a boy, maybe at the age of 10 or 12, in Connecticut he would walk his home town main street looking at shop windows. His local jeweler had this very watch in the window. He fell in love. The watch, with it’s atomic design gave him a glimpse into what the future might hold. Space travel, robots, who knew maybe even electric cars! He pestered his parents and found it wrapped under the Christmas tree that year. As things happen he was playing in his backyard one evening and the watch slipped from his wrist. He never found it.

Decades later he is living in the city. His father passes away and for a short period he returns home to help his mother sort through things. One afternoon as he takes a break and goes into the backyard of his family home and walks back to where the trees begin to thicken. He fills the urge to relieve himself out there in the woods like he did as a boy. He looks down and slightly to the side, broken and partially buried is his watch. Memories came flooding back. He digs up the watch, runs into the house, gets online and pulls up ebay and there it was, my watch. He was the first and last bidder. He was so excited he emailed me several times to ensure the package would arrive safely. When he received it he was not disappointed. In his last email he sent me a picture of the Timex, that fed so many of his boyhood dreams, on a shelf in his safe along with his Rolex and Omega. Good company he felt.

Like a compass I believe, you can never know where a watch may lead you.” Trish VanOsdel

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A watch led you to an extraordinary story? I’d love to hear from you so send me an email and share with me your timepiece story.