While everyone who still wears a watch seems to prefer smart watches, I have always been a fan of vintage wind up watches, and automatics like this Mardon Fleet I recently picked up.
Like sewing machines I am intrigued by the design and workmanship that goes into making the smallest and most precise mechanisms. when sewing machines were being developed people from the watch making trade were also involved, as they had the skills to build smaller and very precise mechanisms.
Like sewing machines, there is so much history behind watches, and wristwatches only came into popular use in the 1920’s as fashions changed, and men stopped carrying pocket watches.
This watch dates to the late 40’s and has an automatic self winding mechanism which was one of the first of it’s kind, besides being an auto winder it was also designed to be shock proof as many a watch was broken if it was dropped.
My watchmaker is a old guy with many decades of experience and we have had a few good chats about what I do and that we are both relics of an earlier time… and the prices he charges for adjusting and repairing watches is ridiculously low.
The girl really loves old watches and for her birthday I picked up a Gruen from 1955, I am amazed at how small the second hand is and how tiny the parts in the mechanism are.
