It's About Time

It's snowing outside. The first snowfall in New England this winter. It's Sunday, I have a log in the fireplace, and what the heck... I want to write a post about my watches.

A few weeks ago, I was deciding whether it would be worth to send my watch in for repair. I guess, that is where this story begins.



This was back in the mid-70's, and I was probably in 4th grade. I had no watch, never had, and we couldn't afford one. A family friend, a young priest, was visiting with us that day. Apparently, he had just gotten a new watch - one of those digital calculator watches that were the vogue in those days. Yes, the ones you weren't allowed to wear during math exams. Anyway, since he had a brand spanking new digital wonder, he took his old watch off his wrist and handed it to me. My first watch.

It was an 1966 SS gray-blue faced Omega Constellation with caliber 564, given to him on his ordination into the priesthood. This was my one and only watch for the next twelve years. All through grade school, high school, and the first few years of college. It is in rough shape, with quite a few scratches on the acrylic (hesalite?) crystal, probably from hours in the school playground. That watch saw me through my childhood and teenage years. Quite a few memories. It finally gave up when I got caught in a rainstorm during my college ROTC bivouac (all my watches since then have been divers, hmmm). I had it repaired after that, but still, it would quit every now and then.

Fast forward to few weeks ago. The Constellation is 41 years old, and the young priest is a bishop. I took the watch out of the drawer and decided to do some research about it, to see if it was worth fixing. That opened the door to the heretofore unknown world of watch idiot savants. Here's an article that started my readings about the Omega Constellation.

Long story short, the Omega is now with the watchmaker. I hope he can bring my old friend back to life. I'll take some photos then.




On with the story...





Third year college. I was joining the UP Divers - the university Scuba diving club. My friend, Chuck, had a nice black Seiko diver watch, and I decided to save up. I finally managed to scrape up enough money for one. This was in 1985. The watch was the Seiko 6309-7290. It saw me through college. I wore it facing a tank in the middle of the highway during the revolution, and checked it to see what time I would die. It took me through medical school. That sweeping second hand counted off thousands of pulse rates in the wee morning hours. It got me to my wedding on time.

Apparently, the 6309 is now a modern classic. The 7290 case is still being used in most seiko diver watches today. Back in 1985, I remember looking at one with an orange face, but ended up choosing the more classic black face. Big mistake. The orange-faced 6309 is now highly sought after by collectors. Here's a short history of the Seiko 6309 from the Seiko and Citizen Watch Forum.



I wore it as recently as yesterday, as my casual watch. I must have gone through three of those Seiko rubber straps. It is now on a black Zulu strap. It has some minor scrapes on the black bezel insert, but the 6309 is ticking as accurately as ever. The first watch I had ever bought with my own money. The caseback has never been opened. I probably will have it serviced someday, as long as I can be assured it would not lose its waterproofness (is that a word?).



1996. I was a medical resident. My wife gave me a watch for my 29th birthday. A Tag-Heuer 2000-series quartz (WK1111-BA0317). The classic white face is just timeless. I think it is one of the best Tag-Heuer designs. Simple and clean. A classic. Not the gaudy teenager watches they are putting out today.

It is still my daily watch to this day, eleven years later. Through residency and fellowship training, and now in practice. Timed my wife's labor contractions. It answered the question, "Shit, what time is it?" on those nights I got up to change diapers.

These are my watches. My "real" watches.


Over the past few years, I picked up a couple of "beaters." What are beaters? Watches to use when I am in Middle Eastern souks. When I am pounding with my hammer or changing tires. Nice watches, but not anything that I would cry about.



My first beater is a G-Shock (MTG-920DA) that I got some time ago. Amazing thing. Shockproof, waterproof, solar powered. Nice big black metal bracelet. The thing syncs with the atomic clock in Colorado everynight. I think Ethan Hunt wore a variation of this watch in MI3. Indestructible.



Yesterday, my second Seiko diver watch arrived. Twenty two years after I bought my first one. A monster of a watch. An Orange Monster to be precise. There are quite a few reviews of this watch on the net. It has attracted a cult following, it seems. This guy is a tank. With Seiko's robust 7S26 movement, this watch should be reliable for some time. If it lasts as long as my other Seiko diver, that could be a long, long time.