Childhood Watches: First Timepieces & Memories

crown comfort · 2018-04-12T09:20:52Z

Collectors share photos and stories of their first childhood watches, from Timex to Avia, exploring the sentimental value and early experiences that ignited their passion.

Friends,

I recently found my childhood watches at my fathers house and I thought I start a thread.

When I was young, a wristwatch was like THE thing to get. Today the world is a different one unfortunately, for kids it has to be an iPhone at least. Unless, a father passes down the passion, there is very little interest in watches.

So what did I find...

My very first kids watch, "Max and Moritz" from Wilhelm Bush with ticking eyes....

When I was around 12, I got that military Timex from my aunt in the U.S.

Hey, it has a lollipop

, my destiny was set from that moment onwards...

Both watches started to run after a few crown turns, the magic of mechanics.

So if you have some photos of your childhood watches or find some of that model, please share, would be great to see what got you ticking, ahem started.

Best,

Key Points from the Discussion

Many collectors' first watches were simple, robust mechanical pieces like Timex, often received as gifts, and surprisingly durable, sometimes still running decades later without service.
Childhood watches, even if inexpensive or eventually broken, hold significant sentimental value, often treasured more than later, more luxurious acquisitions.
Early watches, like a Newmark or Ingersoll, often met an untimely end due to childhood activities, but the memories of their loud ticking or design details remain vivid.
The shift from wristwatches as a childhood 'thing to get' to iPhones highlights a change in generational interests, making the passing down of watch passion more crucial.
The 'disposable' nature of brands like Timex in the past meant they were rarely serviced, contrasting with the modern approach to luxury mechanical watches.

The Discussion

MTF

Apr 12, 2018

There are no photographs

crown comfort, Interesting topic. There are no images of my childhood watch (late 1960s to early 1970s) in real time and online now. Those days, digital photography was not even an imagination. It was a Timex (of course) mechanical watch in a plastic case with only three hands and no date. The seconds hand was orange, markers and the dial was white. It had twelve hour markers but was not a military watch that usually had 24-H markers. The pin buckle strap was a nylon webbing material that produc

crown comfort

Apr 12, 2018

I see, it seems Timex was a popular choice :) [nt]

MTF

Apr 12, 2018

In the 1960s and 1970s, Timex was the SWATCH watch of the young people

We had them not because of watch collecting or prestige but because it was the cheapest well known brand so kids could have them You never serviced Timex watches because they were 'disposable' like BIC ballpoint pens. The famous advertisement was shooting a BIC ballpoint pen through a plank of wood and it still worked because of the tough tungsten carbide 'ball' at the pointy end. Regards, MTF

Dr No

Apr 12, 2018

Not only do I have a photo, CC . . .

. . . but I remember where and when it was acquired - vividly! December 23rd, '68 or thereabouts - Dad bought this Dulux for me from a small watch shop in Hong Kong. This was my only watch for several years. At some point in my teens, I felt I'd outgrown it, but because I couldn't afford a good mechanical back then, I stopped wearing a watch altogether for many years. I still have the Dulux, but haven't worn it since pplater's 'smallest watch week' thread seven or so years ago. That's when it cr

crown comfort

Apr 12, 2018

It is still very cool you kept it to treasure the memory

and interesting to see that you started off with this style of watch.

Saxon

Apr 12, 2018

My first watch

was very similar to Yours, CC. It is still running after a few crown turns as well, and without any service since it was bought about 40 years ago. What an incredible quality ;o) Unfortunately it was not cool enough for my son so he got a FlikFlak,

Childhood Watches: First Timepieces & Memories

Key Points from the Discussion

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