The Roman Greco wrestling watch

My father has been getting really old and tired lately. At 86 he is winding down everything and has every right to do so. Me and my two brothers are visiting him as much as possible to show our love and affection for a man that, despite being physically very small today, is and was big in every way. Intellectually, socially - an all round good guy - to family, friends and collegues.

For a long time he was also physically big. He competed in Roman Greco wrestling until he was 45. In the light heavy weight class since he was around 18. This was in the time when Roman Greco wrestling was interesting, action packed and you won matches by actually wrestle your opponent...

He won his last match in 8 seconds. He knew he could not go the full distance at his age so he took advantage of his long experience and "cheated". You shake hands with your opponent and then the referee blows his wissle and you can start wrestling. You are suppoused to let go of your opponents hand but my father did not. You can only do this trick once and he retired from competing after that... 😀

In the early to mid sixties he found this Certina in the locker room. It was announced thru the speakers at the tournament and the next following. No takers. It has been in the drawer since then.

Nice case and dial - with a little oxidation on hands and indexes. 35-36mm. Crystal has some scratches - dark at 3 and four plus some that are obstructing the Certina text. I think this watch would clean up very well. I guess it is a fifties watch and that it was used every day until it got lost (and found).

I will give it a service but I do not know if I would dare to use it... Imagine meeting an old wrestler saying - "Hey - that is my watch!". And then going for a headlock.

There you go! That's how a vintage watch should look like. Certina certainly made some good looking timepieces too. That is definitely one of them IMO

Great story about your father. How did he feel about retiring from wrestling the way he did? No remorse?

Absolutely not. At the time it was viewed as a fun thing and no one thought ill of it happening - he did not break any written rule - and he was a popular guy. It was time to retire from that part of the sport and he did it in a spectacular way. He then continued as a referee and staging tournaments for 20 more years.

I just got very emotional. My father peacefully passed away in december and it was OK - he wanted it as his body did not function anymore. Surrounded by all close to him and who loved him to the last breath. He ate nothing for a long time and became small - by will - it was his way of taking command over his situtation and ending it.

One of my brothers found this picture and sent it to me and I got totally struck. By how much I miss him and how short ones memory is. My mental picture of him as he dwindled in size has overshadowed memorys of what he used to be. Then this picture came to me...

Here he is - at 72. Look at the shoulder, chest and neck. Now I remember how he looked almost all his life. And yet it is his facial expression that gets me. He was a good guy and I believe it actually show in the picture. He is really missed.

Sympathies to you and your family. Be sure that he is proud of you.

That's a beautiful watch. I can feel the energy it still emits. A true vintage.

Although not regarded as very valuable or popular, just like the small stature of your father there seems to be a similarity between the 2. 😀 Overlooked by many, underestimated, but in the eyes of those that matter, both the watch and your father go a lot of respect and praises, I'm sure.

Sympathies. Thank you for sharing this great story and watch.

First, my condolences :-(


If this ever happens, please make sure to take photos!