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The very first watch in my collection.....
The very first watch in my collection was, in fact, the same very first watch in my father's collection. Back in the early 1960s, my father bought a gold JLC that he had on a solid gold bracelet. I remember thinking when I was a boy that it was extremely flash and showy. Yet my dad only ever wore it when he was in a dinner suit....it was that sort of watch. My dad died in 1979 and I was left the watch. Several years later, I found myself at university and absolutely broke. I remember thinking that I needed to sell something as money was so tight. Food or watch? I took the JLC to a jewellery shop in Dalston, London. He offered me £400 for the bracelet and £70 for the watch itself. The gold price at the time was a record high....in fact it was almost at its then-high point. I was touch and go on selling the whole package. I know it was my dad's watch, but I was desperate and I wasn't that interested in watches at that point.
It is absolutely glorious. It is like a new watch. In particular, the dial is now essentially without blemish. The case has been very carefully polished and now look!....a gorgeous second hand.
Still, I sold only the bracelet and kept the watch. And that started my interest in the watch itself and also the beginning of my watch collection. The next 3 watches I bought were all variations on the original...all JLC....all gold.
Some 50 years after my dad first bought the watch, of course I still have it. And thank goodness the rashness of youth didn't let me sell it. The memories it carries of my dad are priceless so having his beloved watch still is a tremendous treasure. Last week on the wristscan, I started the theme by saying if there could be "just one" watch for you, what would it be. In my own definition, i chose the Rolex 1665, but that was on the proviso that there was no sentimentality involved. If sentimentality was an issue, then there is no doubt, my dad's JLC would be my one and only watch. So, why the thread now?
Well, last January disaster struck when I asked my 85 year old mum if she wanted to wear my dad's JLC for a bit. She was of course delighted....unfortunately, during the 2-3 months when she wore it the glass lifted a touch and my mum didn't realise this. As a result, water, dust, soil from the garden etc etc gradually found its way into the watch and the movement. One day she said to me: "Joe, the watch isn't working any longer". My thoughts were agggggghhhhhh!
I looked at the watch and could see what a state it was in. I took it to the JLC boutique in London and they sent it off for assessment. Estimated service cost £2300. Estimated service time.....1 year.. Good grief. Of course, it was sent away for repair. The dial had become severely pitted (that really was not my mum's fault!) and the caseback was damaged. I have a long list of problems that JLC sent me that needed urgent attention. The second hand on the watch had never been with the watch for as long as I had known it.....
Well, this week I got a call from the boutique saying my watch was ready to be picked up. And here it is....
It is absolutely glorious. It is like a new watch. In particular, the dial is now essentially without blemish. The case has been very carefully polished and now look!....a gorgeous second hand.
A service cost of £2300 is probably more than the watch's market value. Yet, what is it that separates Purists from other forums? It is that market value so often is quite a meaningless concept when it comes to the love of our watches. When i was as the manufacture in 2006, I took this watch and JLC kindly authenticated it as born in 1957. It is not my oldest watch. It is not my most valuable watch. It is certainly elegant, but it is not my most elegant watch.
But it is my most precious watch.
This is very touching and I'm glad you decided not to sell the watch at that time.
This may sound like a cliche but my life kind of resembles yours. I was at one time broke and almost had to sell a watch once belong to my father. I decided to keep the watch and sold a few other things. Thank God for that and also for allowing my father to be on earth with me still and for many, many, many more years to come.
Your watch now looks pristine. Congratulations on that. Cheers.
Ruckdee
Your watch now looks pristine. Congratulations on that. Cheers.
Ruckdee
I am very happy this watch is still with you, Baron!
Even if it costly, I think you did the right thing!
Unfortunately my fathers watch broke and he put it in a drawer, and after that its gone...
What I wouldn't give to get that watch back!
Hope to see you soon, my friend!
Best
Blomman
Every watch has its history....
.... And yours is an amazing and beautiful one. Just as your father left his prized possession in your hands, I pray that you may one day pass it on to your loved ones too. A watch for generations indeed.
And kudos to JLC for the immaculate restoration. A lesser manufacture would probably have cited the lack of parts.
What a post! :)
Feel like I'm at Christmas dinner. All warm inside.
I too have a watch like that. (not gold thou ... )
However I have stupidly chuck it to the bin when it encounter some problem with the movement.
What I wouldn't give to have it back.
A must read post. (especially our children!)
Regard
Tyler
This message has been edited by TdotBean on 2013-02-21 04:52:17
This is because of posts like this one that I am happy and proud to be
The moderator of this forum.
Only passion, friendship, tenderness through our beloved watches.
The story behind this watch is really moving, the watch is beautiful, and the efforts you put to give it a second life are absolutely justified.
Where others would consider that given the value, it is not worth it.
Given the value???
Money can't buy sentiments!
Enjoy this watch in the best possible way, and take care of it for G...
Thank you, my friend, for another beautful post.
All the best.
Nicolas.
sometimes, the gap between a good decision and a bad one is VERY thin
I lived in Paris once....my wife and i went out for the evening. We got back to our apartment about midnight. As the taxi dropped us off, I reached into my pocket and realised that the key to the apartment must have fallen out. The door was made of 10 inch steel...some sort of security door with very special keys. It was rented, so I have no idea why it was such a special door, but without the keys it would take a long time to sort out the problem. There was a spare set inside!
I was slightly drunk...not too much...but enough.
My wife and I went up the stairs and I climbed out onto the windowsill next to my balcony. It was a 10 foot jump across. We were 3 stories up. I looked at my wife and she said..."Don't be stupid". I looked at the jump and thought..."Yeah, no problem. I am superman." I took the decision to jump, but at the VERY last second, I changed my mind.
Just like when I decided not to sell the head of the JLC for 70 quid!
This message has been edited by Baron on 2013-02-21 05:33:12
I wished I had done that....but i didn't
However, i did find one of the watch before my mother was let loose on it. The picture is very enlarged as it is part of a 9-watch shot, so the quality on the JLC isn't that good, However, you can see the pitting on the dial either side of 12, to the left of 3, by 11, between 10 and 11 as well as the scratch line in the centre. By the time my mum had finished with it, basically the watch was not able to work at all, had dust so thick that it was barely possible to see the numbers. She is 85.....she doesn't see that well and it meant a lot to her to wear the watch.......
Wonderful post Baron
It's true, some things resonate in a way that is so deeply personal.
Out of interest, if there was one watch - leaving this one aside - that you would want your children to view in the same way, what would it be?
I often wonder myself whether my children would prefer me to find them a watch and gift it to them, or to wear one that I owned and loved.
- my problem being that I can't see my girls wearing a 47mm Lindbergh!
Out of interest, if there was one watch - leaving this one aside - that you would want your children to view in the same way, what would it be?
I often wonder myself whether my children would prefer me to find them a watch and gift it to them, or to wear one that I owned and loved.
- my problem being that I can't see my girls wearing a 47mm Lindbergh!
i think i know what my son's answer would be to that.....
a gift from my wife to me....
Thank you for this story!
Watches very often act as memories recorders, but it's only our responsibility to let them play.
I'm sure your father has read your post from above, and has smiled to you with his neverending love.
Ciao,
Elio
p.s.: the watch is very beautiful indeed!
Thank you Baron for writing this touching story....
"The heart has its reasons that reason knows not" ....Blaise Pascal
Cheers. Francois
Very nice post!
Honestly, i'm indifferent to that watch as a vintage model. But I Loved your story for the sentimental and human meaning it tells us. Its fantastic how an object and especially a watch, gives us the feeling of being linked in a way to a dear person... Especially when they are gone.
You were saved that JLC didn't have any value on the market. If at that time, he had offered you a tempting amount, maybe you would have sold it and had remorse later down the road when money becomes less important than objects that carry sentimental values.
Thanks for the nice post!
Thanks for all the nice comments....
Yes, the watch itself may not hold much horological significance, but then that is only ever a part of owning a watch for me. A much bigger part of a watch is what it actually means to me.... and for that reason alone this one stands tallest.
Ubik, you ask an interesting question. I suspect that what really matters to them is what "you" like. Anyway, that is what my son said!
Again, many thanks for the nice comments
The watch is great. The sentiments and passion are moving.
I could not be happier for you. This is what it is all about, and what we should all strive for in collecting (even if "collecting" were to just have a single watch as meaningful as this one is to you...).
Thanks for sharing with us.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Touching post, Baron.
Thanks for reminding us that there are relationships and memories that are more important than our immediate needs and are worth sacrificing for.
Kind of post
that makes me proud to be Purist
Thank you for reminding me what it is all about
Sincerely
D
What a great an moving story Baron! I enjoyed so much ...
...reading your beautiful post!
I feel you are right saying your story reflects the spirit of Purists members. How nice!
Thank you so much for sharing it with us, and I m happy for you having your Dads watch back with you!
By the way... I m also happy you took the right decision of not jumping that night you lost your keys!
Best cordial regards, Abel.
Beautifully captured
Thanks for sharing your personal story with us. Definitely reminds me of why I love coming back to this forum. The real connection between our watches and our lives - they're so intertwined, I am certain none of us see our watches as "just watches". I just hope someday my son and daughter will have a story like that to share also, and maybe I'll leave something of a legacy for them as well.
Thanks again for sharing. It certainly makes the watch look way better than JLC set it out to be even from concept.
Best,
Richard
geat story.
I got my dad a watch for his 60th birthday last year. He was gifted a gold Garrard dress watch by his uncle when he was a kid and unfortunately it was stolen a few years later when his parents house was robbed - this was about 40 years ago! I had never heard this story until around 2011 at which point I set about trying to replace the watch he described to me. He had no idea I was doing it and when he got the watch for his birthday he was really taken aback.
I really like how watches can represent such special memories and i look forward to giving some of mine away for those reasons in many years to come. I still own my grandfather's Omega and intend on keeping it for the rest of my life, every time i see it i think about him. I really enjoyed reading your story, thanks for sharing! Based on the photos, I would say that is money really well spent, it really looks stunning. Best, Tim.
Great story, there are things which are priceless! 2300 GBP cannot be used as measurement [nt]
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