I’m often asked about which watches are “nice watches,” and I usually say that any watch someone is willing to take care of is a nice watch. I have more respect for the owner of a starter Seiko who takes the time to clean the bracelet and replace the battery than someone who flips an expensive Swiss watch once it starts to looks its age and needs service.
As for which watches are the “best watches,” I think those are watches passed down from relatives. Watches are personal things, still given as gifts to mark holidays and milestones. An inherited pocketwatch or vintage wrist watch is how many hobbyists got into this vexing hobby of watchmaking to begin with.
These dim pandemic days were recently brightened by a trio of watches in the mail.
My mom sent me these watches, which belonged to my late second-cousin Francis “Frank” Breunig, who lived quite a life. He was in the Army’s basic training when WWII ended, so he was sent to Germany and served as part of the Occupation Forces. He was called back to service for the Korean war, where he processed troops leaving for combat out of Seattle. Among many other things, he held season tickets for 20 years for the Oakland Raiders—the only legitimate home of the Raiders, in my opinion. He passed away at the age of 91.
The first is a Seiko with a quartz movement. At a glance, this has 1980s Seiko all over it: thin movement, two-tone design, and Roman numeral dial. The watch is really grimy, with green grunge, hair, black gunk, and the usual signs of a well-worn watch. The crystal is cracked and chipped, and it isn’t working.
Next up is a Belair quartz watch in a cool, 1980s two-tone of black and gold. I love the retro design. Belair was a company that specialized in “private label” watches for jewelers and department stores, and they sold watches under their own brand, too. Aside from being grimy and greasy in the way old watches tend to be, the watch looks to be in good shape.
And third, we have a striking pocketwatch—a Burlington Special, made by the Illinois Watch Company. We saw a similar watch a couple years ago on the blog. This is a 16-size, lever set watch with 19 jewels. It winds, sets, and ticks, so not too much can be wrong with it. Because this watch probably hasn’t been serviced in at least 30 years, I won’t wind it or fuss with it. All the oils have hardened to a crusty paste, so it needs a good scrubbing before running.
The pocketwatch is believed to have belonged to my great-uncle Herman Breunig, or possibly his father, which fits the age of the watch (1910s) . Readers of this blog know of my obsession with Illinois pocket watches, so clearly there’s some sort of genetic transmission across the generations at work.
These will be some fun December projects during the holiday break—time to get the tweezers and loupe and take these apart!