An Unexpected Journey
Or, How I Got My Timex Back
This is the story of a cheap Timex manual wind, whose history I should know in great detail, but that has a number of gaps. I should know all the details because I bought it myself, probably in late 1981. All of this falls into the probably zone though, because it was returned to me in 2021 as something else entirely.
The story picks up when my parents were downsizing before moving into a senior citizens complex in Springfield, Virginia.
This particular bequest was one of three watches, all non-functional: a pocket watch with a chain and pocket knife and a 1950s-ish Longines Jamboree owned by my paternal grandfather (died 1967), and the Timex, nominally owned by my maternal grandfather (died 1969). I took the two wristwatches to GCA La Precision Watch & Clock Shop in Vienna, Virginia who were able to repair them both (shout out to them by the way—they are not fast, but they did a good job on both of the watches).
That done, I took them home and did a bit of research to see if I could learn a bit more about their history. The Jamboree was made for many years, so I really couldn’t narrow it down much, but the Timex had a number on the face, which I punched into Google and then learned that the watch was from…1980.
Well, unless my grandfather had bought the watch 11 years after his death, it could not have possibly been his. And with the sentimental haze removed, I started thinking more clearly.
Specifically, about a watch I had bought 35 years earlier. In 1981, I went canoeing in Maine for two weeks, during which we ran some rapids where the canoe swamped, destroying the watch I had been wearing. I needed a replacement, and being 16 years old and not exactly swimming in cash, I used my employee discount at the local Drug Fair (where I was a combination stock boy, cashier, and guy with a mop) to get something I could afford, namely the Timex, and a metal (but not twist-o-flex) band from Speidel.
That Timex went with me everywhere for many years after. I took it to college. In 1984 it went with me to sea on USS Peterson (DD-969) and while on that ship to Israel, the coast of Lebanon, France, and Italy. I measured time in a variety of labs. I wore it to graduate school in California and on vacation in a variety of places across the US.
How it wound up with my parents I don’t know. My best guess is that it got left behind during a trip home sometime after 1990. At that point, I was also wearing a Seiko Lasalle that my in-laws had bought me as an engagement present, and if I had left the watch at my parents’ home, I would have figured I’d pick it up next time I was there.
Even shipping it would likely cost more than replacing it with another Timex.
Either way, it kinda disappeared, my wife and I were focused on finishing our PhDs, we both had to find post-degree positions, did a big move, etc. During this period, I think my brother started wearing it, and that is likely when the winding knob disappeared.
Now that I have it back, it has become part of my regular watch rotation. I like the mechanical movement and the clean design. Despite the cost of fixing it, I am willing to wear it in circumstances where I would hesitate to wear a couple of other watches I own—I know that it will, as the ads used to say, take a licking and keep on ticking.
Hopefully, one of my kids or their (to be) spouses will want it when I start the equivalent downsizing. As to my confusion, well, my maternal grandfather did have a Timex - just apparently not this one, and no one is really sure what happened to the other one.
—Casual Time #15 by George Komatsoulis
Have a story about a watch of yours? Share it with folks who want to hear about it.
Specifications (approximate)
Case Diameter: 34 mm
Case Thickness: 10 mm
Lug-to-Lug: 39 mm
Case Material: Steel
Weight (with band): 67g
Crystal: Yes
Dial: Sunburst, Timex number 27710
Movement: Timex Manual Wind M105 with date
Chronograph: No
Strap: Metal, 18 mm, should be 19 mm
Water Resistance: “Water resistant
Not even vaguely limited edition
If you’re interested in finding this reference, a few are for sale on the internet.
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Wow! That Timex has lived a life! Great read!