I accompanied Ms JimInOz to lunch at the Old England Hotel with a couple we've known for years but don't get to see that often. We arrived and met them at the table, exchanged greetings and ordered drinks. The women started chatting away and Don asked if I was still playing with watches. "Yep, keeps me off the streets" I replied. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic baggy with a watch in it, "See what you can do with this then". I had a look at it and recognised a Seiko chronograph with the square sub-dials. I told him a chrono was a bit more than I was capable of at the moment and he replied "No, I don't want you to fix it, you can have it!" I was a bit taken aback and asked him if he was sure. He'd bought it when studying engineering in the 1970s, worn it for a while and then put it in a drawer and forgot it. Like me he's retired and was doing some cleaning out and said he was going to chuck the watch in the bin and then remembered that I "played" with watches. Well needless to say it was an extremely pleasant afternoon which reinforced the fact that there are still things that manage to surprise me, even at my age. Anyway, enough babbling, a couple of pics for you.
Cool, that's in good nick for a watch bought in the 70s. Have been surprised at the couple of times being a watch guy has payed off for me also.
Love old Seiko auto chronographs.. Been thinking about picking up a bullhead... You've got a thoughtful friend!
Nice surprise! A wonderful, thoughtful gesture., Not that it matters one bit to the story but that happens to be one of my favorite Seiko chronos. It's really freaking good looking!!!!!! Closed up shop around 40 minutes ago and I stumbled across your thread as I'm getting ready for bed. Look @ what I happened to wear this evening... Serendipity!!!!!
What a lovely gift Jim! I particularly like chronographs and working on them is particularly interesting. If you are apprehensive about servicing that one, pic up a similar movement from eBay and lean on it first. I'm sure you'll get plenty advice if you require it.
Very cool! And very nice watch. So far, the only cast off watch I've received is a fake Rolex.. maybe one day.... Enjoy that one!
What a nice gesture and fantastic watch! I love it when a watch in the collection has a personal story behind it.