Like many 30-somethings today, I saw rappers in the 90's wear big, flashy gold and silver wristwatches in music videos. Most of us still wore a digital Casio back then, or maybe some "classy" quartz analog watch we picked up at the mall. Soon, the ubiquity of cell phones with their built-in clocks made the wristwatch obsolete as a necessary tool. If you were going to wear a watch, it was because you liked how it looked on your wrist, not because you needed it to keep your day on track.
Flash forward to the 2000's and 2010's, and many of us don't wear watches at all. Those who do, opt for big pieces in the 38-48 + mm range (for men) because they want people to notice if they're going to take the trouble to put on a watch in the morning. After all, you no longer need a watch to tell time! Computers, cell phones, even your microwave--very few people are ever more than a glance away from a few blinking electronic digits.
And so... when I ordered my first (overpriced) vintage watch off of eBay--a 1940's Gruen "military" style piece--it seemed downright... girly! Measuring a mere 32 mm in diameter, I was at first embarrassed to wear it. And yet... it ran well, and kept time, and it was... old. Who owned this? What was their story? What did they do in their lifetime, and how did this watch get to me?
It's been almost 5 years since that first watch, and I now count nearly 100 watches in my collection. Most are from the 1920's, 30's, 40's, and early 50's--American and Swiss--and I wear a different watch nearly every day. Safe to say, I have a habit (though my fiance would use the "A" word).
I find that the history, quality of craftsmanship and materials in these old watches keeps me coming back for more. I love finding just the right band for a given watch, faithfully relying on it to mark the minutes and hours of my day, giving it the respect that I hope that its' original owner had for it in a time when most people could only afford one or two watches in a lifetime.
These are relics from another era--an era when useful items were repaired, not replaced. I've especially come to admire the technologically advanced--for the time--little Art Deco watches that so easily slide under a shirt sleeve or jacket. Early pre-WWII stainless steel watches and early "non-transitional" watches from the 20's are of particular of particular interest to me. In an age when Michael Kors sells 38 mm made-in-China "boyfriend chronographs" to women, these little watches look strange on a man's wrist, at least to the less informed among us.
But fashions change, while history stays the same. Maybe small watches will be fashionable again for men. Maybe not, but I'll be wearing one.
1940's Crawford 17 Jewels
Solid 10K Bezel, Stainless Back (I.D. Watch Case Co)
Radium Numerals, Sweep Second, Nylon Strap
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