How Did You All Start?

[MrTimm]

It might be an obvious question, but I'm curious. Did you dive right
into watches? Did you start with clocks?

Thanks!

[Knot Important]

Post by MrTimm
It might be an obvious question, but I'm curious. Did you dive right
into watches? Did you start with clocks?
Thanks!

I bought my first watch when I was 13 years old. About that same time we
inherited Grandpa's old kitchen clock that had problems. Dad had fixed the
clock when he was younger, and I fixed it that time. I always took my
watch to the jeweler until I got older, then it was an old watch so when
it quit I fixed it...It is still serving me well 44 years later!

[Alex W]

Post by MrTimm
It might be an obvious question, but I'm curious. Did you dive right
into watches? Did you start with clocks?
Thanks!

The size of wristwatches in the 70's and 80's was always too
small for my wrist, so one day I went to an antiques fair
and bought a vintage Waltham. Things sort of snowballed
from there...

[mongo]

Post by Alex W
The size of wristwatches in the 70's and 80's was always too
small for my wrist, so one day I went to an antiques fair
and bought a vintage Waltham. Things sort of snowballed
from there...

How did you know if you had "the touch" or not? I worked for an old
time watch-maker in the late 70's and was eventually consigned to working
the front counter and changing batteries because I was too ham-fisted to
put them back together again after I had taken them apart. I don't think
30 years in IT and carpal tunnel has improved "the touch" at all, so I'll
stick to banging bit and bytes and wrenching on Harley's instead of taking
apart my Rolex Submariner for cleaning.

Cheers.... ----Mongo

[Alex W]

Post by mongo

Post by Alex W
The size of wristwatches in the 70's and 80's was always too
small for my wrist, so one day I went to an antiques fair
and bought a vintage Waltham. Things sort of snowballed
from there...

How did you know if you had "the touch" or not? I worked for an old
time watch-maker in the late 70's and was eventually consigned to working
the front counter and changing batteries because I was too ham-fisted to
put them back together again after I had taken them apart. I don't think
30 years in IT and carpal tunnel has improved "the touch" at all, so I'll
stick to banging bit and bytes and wrenching on Harley's instead of taking
apart my Rolex Submariner for cleaning.

I do not have the touch.
Or rather, I have the touch of Shiva: any watch I try to
take apart, I kill. I also do this with plants, but that is
another story...
:-)

So these days I stick to collecting and trading them, and I
leave the cleaning and repair to those who know how to do
this properly. This also has the added benefit of helping,
in a small way, to keep alive the skills of horology.