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Pascal S
·At the end of 2011, it became clear that my financial situation was dire and that I had to start selling my watches. At the time, I was still hoping to be able to keep the crown jewels of my collection, but all the others had to go. With such a grim picture, I obviously was not going to buy anything
But when my birthday came a few months later in 2012, I stumbled upon an eBay listing that I just couldn't ignore. With pretty poor pictures and a rather vague description, a seller was listing a calibre 3615 automatic Lemania. It was not in great state, but I thought it wouldn't take much to make it presentable. So I decided to place a small bid, thinking that I was unlikely to end up the winner. And much to my surprise, I ultimately was for the princely sum of 70 Euros!
When this birthday gift to myself showed up, it was a bit underwhelming but showed promise.
The case was in very good condition, and the original crown was intact. On the other hand, a bit of spring bar was jammed inside one of the lugs, and the crystal was warped and needed replacement. So I gave the watch to a friend of mine who, at the time, was a semi-retired professional watchmaker. He quickly found out that this timepiece had never been serviced, and as a result some bits in the movement had to be replaced because of the wear caused by running unlubricated over several years. I was not in a hurry, so I told him to take all the time he needed to source the correct parts.
I didn't know then that a few months later I would finally be forced to sell the few timepieces I had previously sworn to myself that I'd never part with. This left me with so much pain and bitterness that after that I didn't want to talk about watches at all. I ended up losing track of my friend after he shut down the business he was sharing with his daughter. It came to the point that I almost forgot about this watch.
But when I decided to end my self-imposed "horological exile" at the end of 2021, I remembered about that little Lemania I had actually never worn. So, thanks to a few other collectors from the good old days, I was able to track down my friend. And much to my relief, he still had my watch, though he was not completely happy with his work, so he asked me for some more time to revisit his work and see why the power reserve was, in his opinion, not optimal. After 9 years of silence, I reasoned that I could easily wait a few more months...
Well, it turned out to be over a year, but today I managed to squeeze a visit to my friend on my way back from a job-related visit, and I was at last reunited with my 2012 birthday gift to myself. And it is absolutely gorgeous!
But when my birthday came a few months later in 2012, I stumbled upon an eBay listing that I just couldn't ignore. With pretty poor pictures and a rather vague description, a seller was listing a calibre 3615 automatic Lemania. It was not in great state, but I thought it wouldn't take much to make it presentable. So I decided to place a small bid, thinking that I was unlikely to end up the winner. And much to my surprise, I ultimately was for the princely sum of 70 Euros!
When this birthday gift to myself showed up, it was a bit underwhelming but showed promise.
The case was in very good condition, and the original crown was intact. On the other hand, a bit of spring bar was jammed inside one of the lugs, and the crystal was warped and needed replacement. So I gave the watch to a friend of mine who, at the time, was a semi-retired professional watchmaker. He quickly found out that this timepiece had never been serviced, and as a result some bits in the movement had to be replaced because of the wear caused by running unlubricated over several years. I was not in a hurry, so I told him to take all the time he needed to source the correct parts.
I didn't know then that a few months later I would finally be forced to sell the few timepieces I had previously sworn to myself that I'd never part with. This left me with so much pain and bitterness that after that I didn't want to talk about watches at all. I ended up losing track of my friend after he shut down the business he was sharing with his daughter. It came to the point that I almost forgot about this watch.
But when I decided to end my self-imposed "horological exile" at the end of 2021, I remembered about that little Lemania I had actually never worn. So, thanks to a few other collectors from the good old days, I was able to track down my friend. And much to my relief, he still had my watch, though he was not completely happy with his work, so he asked me for some more time to revisit his work and see why the power reserve was, in his opinion, not optimal. After 9 years of silence, I reasoned that I could easily wait a few more months...
Well, it turned out to be over a year, but today I managed to squeeze a visit to my friend on my way back from a job-related visit, and I was at last reunited with my 2012 birthday gift to myself. And it is absolutely gorgeous!
