As my vintage watch collecting progressed I began to realize that I couldn’t just collect grail watches (expensive and rare) or else I’d quickly go bankrupt. Another thing I realized by this point that the desire to find rarer pieces only intensifies as you get deeper into the hobby.
I decided to try to make the hobby self-sustaining so I bought several books on watch repair, the basic tools I needed, and a few cheap watches to practice on. I eventually got to the point where I had the confidence to change a watch band, remove movements, do minor timing adjustments, and even learned to remove and reinstall hands.
Still, the most important skill for any watch collector is to know the market prices of the vintage watches so you can spot a bargain when you see it. For about a year I busied myself with finding deals, putting a little work into the watches, and reselling them. “Flipping” watches nearly financed my hobby for the last couple of years I was collecting.
Around 2012 something happened, I realized that as much as I enjoyed the hobby, watch collecting was a journey with no end. I saw collectors in their fifties and sixties who specialized in a brand like Illinois or Hamilton and they owned every model. These guys were passionate to the point of obsession. A few of these collectors literally owned every watch in every configuration that was ever made.
Another thing I noticed was these really obsessive collectors would rarely sell anything. They also discussed, and even shared techniques, on message boards for hiding their purchases from their spouses. It was truly like and addiction for some and I didn’t want to be one of those guys. The vision I had for my middle years involved a much broader and more adventurous scope than hoarding wrist watches. Since my mid-twenties my goal was to travel the world, write, connect with and learn from the people I met along the way. Watch collecting wasn’t going to get me closer to accomplishing this dream so the hobby had to go.
Today I only have a couple of pieces from my, once huge, collection and none of them are particularly rare or valuable. One thing they all have in common is I have a personal connection with each of them.
1918 Elgin
This one is a 1918 Elgin Blackjack Pershing WWI trench watch. I even have the original shrapnel guard that fits over the watch face. Around the perimeter of this watch’s black enamel dial are forty-eight stars, each one represents a U.S. State (there were only forty-eight in 1918.) Amazingly, this Elgin still keeps great time. Oddly, this watch ticks so loudly that I can’t have it running in the bedroom at night, it keeps my wife awake. The protagonist in my novel, Adam Harkin, referred to his favorite watch often in the book and this is the one I modeled it after.
Benrus
The second watch I have is a early 1950’s Benrus. My brother found this one in a furnace duct in the mid-nineties. He worked in HVAC at the time and one of the perks of the job was to find the treasures the children of previous generations threw down heating ductwork. This watch was probably didn't see the light of day for twenty or thirty years before it was rescued. I had the movement restored so it runs and keeps good time now. I particularly like the lugs on this one, they’re ornate and very unique.
Overall my years of collecting were very enjoyable but I shifted into a new phase of life where acquiring more possessions just wasn’t what interested me anymore. I hope you’ve enjoyed this Vintage Watch series.
Stay tuned for future installments of the “If You Ever -“ series!
Did you know…the average $25 quartz watch will almost always be a more accurate timekeeper than even a $20,000 Rolex. Reason being, mechanical watch movements are subject to slight variations in accuracy due to Earth’s gravity and changes in barometric pressure.
I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and Steemit enthusiast. I’ve been practicing meditation for twenty-four years and teaching meditation for two years. To follow my unfolding story please visit click on the link to my website below to sign up for my author newsletter.
