I wrote in my post on nostalgia about my very first wrist watch which was a Titoni. India those days was a Socialist country and wrist watches were considered to be luxury items which were not necessary for Indians. People who had them were considered to be very fortunate and so when I inherited that watch I became one too. Times are vastly different now with two very large wrist watch manufacturers in India making world class watches and plenty of imported high end watches also available at fancy prices. We also have plenty of cheap digital watches in the market mostly from China. Younger people find it difficult to believe that the simple wrist watch was once a status symbol for my generation.
I wore that Titoni from 1963 till 1982 when I received a Long Service Award in the form of a wrist watch for 15 years of service from my employer. According to the policy the company would only pay a certain sum for the watch and if an employee wanted something more expensive, he had to make good the difference and that is what I did to get what was considered to be a luxury item then, an Indian made HMT watch with an automatic winder which kept winding up as one simply wore it on one’s wrist, eliminating the need for winding the watch every morning. A colleague who always had an eye on my Titoni asked for it and I happily gave it away to him.
I wore this HMT watch for over twenty years. It is still in excellent condition and kept inside my cupboard for sentimental reasons.
A well wisher seeing the antiquated watch that I was wearing in 2002 decided that I needed an upgrade and gifted me with this Maxima watch which is what I now wear whenever I go out.
It is a battery operated one and needs the battery to be replaced whenever it runs down which is a simple matter with many shops all over the city only too willing to replace it for a small consideration.
A few years ago my brother Barath bought a wrist watch for me from the UK when he came on a visit. Last year, a visiting friend sans a wrist watch wanted to know where he could buy one nearby. I simply gifted that watch away to him on the spot much to his surprise and delight.
A few months ago, I won a prize as part of a promotional programme by an online shopping site and this is what I got.
This too is a battery operated one and I wear it occasionally just to keep it in use. I suppose that one of these days, some other lucky visitor may get it as a gift too!
So, bar the small difference in price that I bore between what my employer paid and the ticket price, for the Long Service Award watch, I have not every paid for and bought a wrist watch ever in my life. How do you like that?
Many young people now think that wearing a wrist watch is passe and depend on their cell phones to find out what time it is whenever they want to. I find it easier to look at my wrist watch.
My watches were usually inexpensive, especially so once digital watches became available. The last one I purchased was a bit more expensive, with the time set automatically from a radio signal derived from a set of atomic clocks located at a time signal radio station in Colorado.
When I first retired, the watch was put away. Whenever I would get a contract gig back at the site, the watch would come back out, though I did have to replace the battery a couple of times.
I finally stopped wearing it at all in about 2013, even when I was working. I always have my phone with me and it’s always easy just to pull it out to check the time.
Mike recently posted..School Dreams
I am not at all surprised. I think that there is a lot in common between middle class Americans and Indians of our vintage.
While I most always have 2 phones on me (work and personal), I still prefer a watch. I used to enjoy looking at luxury watches until T bought me an Apple Watch. I have no idea why, but I have not wanted another watch since. I tried to like a TAG Heuer (one I had very much thought nice previously), just to see, and while I find it pretty I do not want it. T now jokes that he wished Apple made shoes.
Lucky you! I was sorely tempted to buy a Rolex once when I had the funds too but, quite how I resisted the temptation is for another blog post.
this is a great post. it brought back many memories.
I have very deep and nostalgic feelings about watches.
my parents bought me a ‘Lady’s Bulova’ watch for my high school graduation.
Daddy wanted to give it to me for Christmas that year. Mother wanted to keep it for graduation. the watch was a cherished Christmas present! and of course he didn’t live to see me graduate. I’m sure she was glad she had given in to his request.
I like a man with a watch. there is just something about them. my Bob always wore one. usually a pilots watch. I teased him about it. “doing everything but telling the time!”
LOVE that last cartoon on the post. (and also Kaitlin’s comment. LOL!)
It is interesting that wrist watches evoke such memories in us. I have received other non blog site messages expressing similar reactions from other friends.
No more winding, no more batteries, I’ve gone ‘solar’. An 80th birthday present from my wife and daughter. Very smart. Let’s hope the sun keeps shining. … 🙂
Till I read your comments, I did not even know that solar powered watches existed. Congratulations on the gift.
Abandoned wearing a watch long before cellphones and developed a hugely accurate concept of time. No longer was the watch my master.
Having said that I had some lady watches back in the day and I do remember getting a Swatch, I think it was a gift.
Sometimes friends test me on the time and I am always within 5 minutes.
I like the idea of your self-winding watch, what is the principal?
XO
WWW
I don’t need an alarm clock to wake up at any time that I want to but, I do need some kind of a time keeper for other matters like being on time for meetings etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_watch
I think I posted my earlier problems with wrist watches…although I did for years have a nurses watch, that seemed to outlast.
Love T’s comment on shoes and Apple and of course that last cartoon clip…
Catherine de Seton recently posted..tidy piles and blank space
Kaitlin’s comments raised quite a bit of laughter in me too.
Among young people here in Canada, the watch has gone the way of the dinosaur due to use of cell phones, but they are still used by older folk. I haven’t had one since I bought my first cell six years ago, but keep my collection of watches in my jewelry box, just for ‘old time’s sake’, haha.
I think that all of us oldies do keep all the watches in our safe places for nostalgia’s sake.
I also find it easier to look at my wrist watch than to switch on my phone. My very first wrist watch was one bought by my father from Harrods for 6 guineas in 1965. It actually lasted me for over 30 years before expiring. To replace it I bought a very modestly priced Seiko watch that’s still going strong.
I still have a watch, a calendar and an alarm clock, Jenny likewise. They’re not quite defunct as yet!
Clever of you to have paid nothing for your watches except the extra on the long service watch!
While I do use my cell phone to see date and time, I depend mostly on strategically placed wall clocks in my home and use an alarm clock in my bedroom. I however use the cell phone to set the alarm at need for special needs like having to break my morning routine to go for a meeting or some other such need. It is not my cleverness that resulted in my not having to pay for my watches. I think that it was my good karma!