"Time is too precious to
measure on a cheap watch."
Watches are a tribute to the people who create tiny works of art, some no bigger
than 18mm in diameter to some as large as 52mm, that with almost unerring
accuracy measure our most precious commodity time. Time is the one commodity
that money can't buy. Time is truly the only priceless luxury.
Watches fascinate me.
They always
have ever since I was a little boy watching my grandfather wind his pocket watch
in the morning.
I believe someone's
watch says volumes about that person. Watches are certainly very personal. Ask
someone about their watch and be prepared for a story. And like people, watches
come in all shapes, colors and sizes.
They can be status symbols, although most of us can't read or recognize them unless they're right in front of our eyes. Our grandparents had pocket and purse watches. There's plenty of legends and lore, magazines and books, plus thousands of web sites dedicated to them. And watch collectors have their own lingo and buzzwords. There are status brands, luxury brands, unknown brands, craftsman's brand, and discount brands.
Watches are usually cheaper than cars and they take up less room in the garage. Maintenance is about the same. You can play with them in any weather condition. They're easy to hide. They come in cool boxes. You can hunt for them all over the world. You can get them to match any outfit. Age is not a factor, although some would say the older the better. They come in all sizes. You can get high maintenance ones or ones that require no thought or effort at all. Yes, watches are fun regardless of cost.
While I have a few quartz watches in my collection, my favorite watches today are mechanical. These function by means of a spring that is manually wound or automatically wound by means of a rotating weight that is set in motion by wrist movements.
If you want to learn more about watches, one of the best
places on the web is the community of watch lovers, collectors and friends
called www.timezone.com.