It’s all in the details…..
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I love macro photography. Finding small details in machinery, engineered to be beautiful despite perhaps evading ever being noticed, that’s something worth photographing to me. There are local carshows where I live that celebrate everything from local old Holdens, MGs & a variety of American cars and Hot Rods. Always a fun event since owners are keen to display their stunning machines at their best, and all you have to do is turn up with a camera.
Vintage watches is all the rage in the collecting communities but can be un-attainable to normal collectors with modest budgets. And much like old cars, might be awesome to look at but would take more money to maintain than initial purchase price. |
A few questions to some of our more mature relatives and low and behold, there are some watches floating around in drawers and cupboards. Sadly (for them) no Rolex Daytonas worth $700,000 (nor any Porsche 911’s in dusty barns) but some lovely details, and more importantly, stories to go with, the hardware in question.
Following are some lovely examples kindly lent to me for some picture taking. |
IWC Schaffhausen pocket watch.
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I can honestly say I don't remember holding a pocket watch in my hand ever so this was really fun. This pocket watch was purchased in an antiques store in Tasmania and it’s a beauty.
Some quick googling and there are similar models found on the second hand market. That lovely watch face and the font used, really stands out. The loud ticking after winding it brings back all sorts of old memories, whether real or imagined. |
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Swiss Sentinel watch
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This was worn by our relative’s father so it’s almost unimaginable how many memories holding this in hand would bring back for his son and daughter (now in their 70s).
I had never heard of the brand but apparently there are quite a few of them around with many varieties of movements and dials. There was a Sentinel watch company in the US that did use Swiss components and sold them at very affordable prices so it's likely that this watch came from that venture. So the ‘value’ in this instance is definitely measured in memories. It’s a very nice clean design to me and pretty obvious where a lot of inspiration would have come from. Charming also to see the stretch armband that everyone seem to wear back in the day. |
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Longines 14K gold watch
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There are so many varieties of Longines square watches out there that I drew a blank on trying to find a matching one to this specific model. There are some lovely small details on the watch, from the watch face that matches the bracelet, to the logo on the buckle. This was purchased through a service offered to soldiers in the Vietnam war, having the ability to purchase a watch but have it shipped to Australia for pickup. If anyone has more details on this model, and would like to share, get in touch.
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18K Gold watch
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Now this was an interesting one! Never seen anything like this anywhere, not that I go looking either I suppose, but no brand names (that I could see). Kept in its original box with the original watch strap a little worse for wear. A lovely detail was the jeweller’s original details out of Bendigo. Super tempting to pop the back off and check what sort of movement was contained within, for more clues….but I’d rather stay the favourite son in law (ok, I'm the only one) than break something… Some great details such as being able to open up the front and etched artwork on the back. Again, would be great to have more details if anyone recognises this.
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Steinhausen Chinese watch
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This is another watch that was purchased second hand and it seems to have literally every feature and complication ever! Some really interesting details such as the way the wrist band connects to the watch (look Ma, no lugs!) and various colour details. Doing a bit of research on this one online and it turns out the watch specialists are not kind to this brand. They were made on a budget with Chinese movements and parts. The brand is still around today and make affordable watches inspired by Swiss and Japanese watches.
The watch has some unique details such as what must be a day/night (with a smiling sun no less), day/month/24 hour complications. Taken at face value, I suspect it would have been a flagship model of the brand from whenever it was made. |
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Final Words
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It was very exciting to open up the collection that our relative brought over with her. Getting and understanding as to why they were still kept close and interesting back stories, that’s really what watches are to me. My Grandfather passed away about 10 years ago and my Grandma went and sold his Omega watch a few years after his death. I only found out about this recently and what a crying shame that this happened.
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Perhaps the money was more important at the time but now with both of them gone, and the fact that I was so close to my Grandpa, how valuable it would have been to me now to have his watch. Particularly now with Omega being one of my absolute favourite brands.
I can only hope I leave similar stories and interesting watches to my own descendants. I’m certainly working on it. |
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