20 years ago I did something foolish ...
... and as a result my watch stopped working.
Now this wasn't just any old watch bought cheaply from the local jeweller or department store.
It is a Tissot with a stainless steel housing that I bought in Switzerland in 1972.
I can't now remember how much it cost me, but it was pricey for the time.
I had saved my meagre tips when working in the dining room of a hotel in Arosa and used them for this luxury.
It replaced the basic Timex I had been given aged eleven when I started at secondary school.
Fast forward to the summer of 1995, and we were on holiday in British Columbia.
Touring around Vancouver Island, it was late afternoon and we were in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve between Tofino and Ucluelet.
We walked out to the coast, and gazing at the Pacific I indulged in one of my favourite activities, beach-combing.
I saw a pretty stone or shell, I can't now remember which, purple in colour.
I reached out to pick it up out of the sea, forgetting that I was wearing my watch.
Disaster, although I hastily removed my hand from the water and tried to dry it off, it stopped working.
When we got home I took it to a jewellers to see if it could be revived, and was told it wouldn't be worth it.
So, I bought a basic black Casio digital watch, no fancy leather strap this time.
Fast forward once more to 2015, and now I own another Swiss watch, a Mondaine once again purchased in Switzerland.
The Mondaine was just out of it's 2 year warranty when it seized up as we were travelling home from a five week visit to Australia at the end of June.
Taking it to a shop in Derby resulted in gaining a new movement, which was cheaper than I had expected.
When retrieving it, I asked whether they could take a look at the Tissot.
So on Friday when I had other errands to run in Derby I picked up the Tissot and put it in my bag.
I had finished everything else and went in to the jewellers, and told them the story.
The young man I was speaking to said, "There is nothing wrong with it!".
He handed it back to me, and apart from the date being the 27th rather than the 7th it was fine.
I've wound it each morning since, and it is keeping time.
Why it slept for 20 years is beyond me.
Now this wasn't just any old watch bought cheaply from the local jeweller or department store.
It is a Tissot with a stainless steel housing that I bought in Switzerland in 1972.
I can't now remember how much it cost me, but it was pricey for the time.
I had saved my meagre tips when working in the dining room of a hotel in Arosa and used them for this luxury.
It replaced the basic Timex I had been given aged eleven when I started at secondary school.
Fast forward to the summer of 1995, and we were on holiday in British Columbia.
Touring around Vancouver Island, it was late afternoon and we were in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve between Tofino and Ucluelet.
We walked out to the coast, and gazing at the Pacific I indulged in one of my favourite activities, beach-combing.
I saw a pretty stone or shell, I can't now remember which, purple in colour.
I reached out to pick it up out of the sea, forgetting that I was wearing my watch.
Disaster, although I hastily removed my hand from the water and tried to dry it off, it stopped working.
When we got home I took it to a jewellers to see if it could be revived, and was told it wouldn't be worth it.
So, I bought a basic black Casio digital watch, no fancy leather strap this time.
Fast forward once more to 2015, and now I own another Swiss watch, a Mondaine once again purchased in Switzerland.
The Mondaine was just out of it's 2 year warranty when it seized up as we were travelling home from a five week visit to Australia at the end of June.
Taking it to a shop in Derby resulted in gaining a new movement, which was cheaper than I had expected.
When retrieving it, I asked whether they could take a look at the Tissot.
So on Friday when I had other errands to run in Derby I picked up the Tissot and put it in my bag.
I had finished everything else and went in to the jewellers, and told them the story.
The young man I was speaking to said, "There is nothing wrong with it!".
He handed it back to me, and apart from the date being the 27th rather than the 7th it was fine.
I've wound it each morning since, and it is keeping time.
Why it slept for 20 years is beyond me.
Labels: Canada
posted by m at
4:30 pm
1 Comments
