This is a relative short and common story in comparison to what others have shared with us previously, but still, this watch - and how it became mine - is important to me.
To most, the Speedmaster Pro below is just another “run of the mill” watch, especially on this forum where we get so used to seeing this model day after day. My reality is that it is likely the one in my collection that has the most sentimental value!
This watch was purchased in 1988 by the wife of one of my dear friends to mark his 50th birthday. My friend, Armand, spent most of his life as a member of the French Marine Nationale and eventually got the “flying bug” and became a private pilot, flying cessnas around France and parts of Europe. He was a real adventurer at heart, and I always looked up to him when I grew up as a teenager.
At the time I started to get into watches with the purchase of my Bond Seamaster 300 (may be an upcoming story about what should have been my “only watch”?), in 1998, I remember noticing his Omega chrono, but I didn’t think much more about it for another 20 years or so. In the meantime, I had become a real Omega fan boy, and on one of the many occasions when paying a visit to Armand, I actually asked him about “that big Omega chrono watch” he used to wear “back in the day.” Within a few minutes, he had located the watch in one of his drawers, no longer on its original bracelet, but on a dressy brown croc band... which struck me as being quite a contrast to all the battle scars that the watch had!! Clearly, he had not babied this watch and had worn it well over the years!!
As I was examining the watch, his wife suggested that he should gift it to me since he was no longer wearing it or using it. I could see some surprise and, frankly, sadness in his eyes, so I immediately refused the offer. I could nevertheless see that this comment had caught his attention and that the wheels were turning in his head. He then said: “yes, someday it will be his, but just not yet!” I almost felt a bit embarrassed at the situation, as it had never crossed my mind to even get his watch (even though they had no children), so I just politely declined the thought anyway.
Over the course of the next couple of years, I would see Armand and his wife each time I returned to France, and while I never broached the watch topic again, Armand was always reminding me of “his promise” when we were saying our goodbyes, but I would just tell him that I wished for him to keep it as long as possible.
On one of these visits in the Summer of 2018, I brought my son with me to pay them a visit as we were about to fly back home later that day. By then, Armand’s health had severely declined, and he and his wife were now under the constant care of an aide at home. We were recounting the good old days of us playing tarot (the card game, not the fortune telling kind) together, and we were so happy walking back down memory lane together. At that moment, he asked the aide to please help him get something from his dresser, and after a couple of minutes, they came back, and he presented the watch to me, asking me to take it with me as he felt that the moment had now come, and he was worried that the watch might someday “walk away” by itself.
I had a really hard time accepting this gift, as it seemed to signify much more about our journey together in life than just “receiving his watch.” He insisted, and a lot of tears were shed in that moment. The picture below is of me wearing the watch for the first time while sitting on the plane that brought me and my son back home.
Since then, I have removed a good portion of the wrist cheese the watch had, noticed that it was likely never serviced as it still has that “red dot” on the case back, installed a 1450/808 bracelet on it (probably not the type that was initially installed, but good looking anyway), and have been marveling at how well it is still running, 32 years after having been manufactured and after heavy usage!!
Armand is stil with us, but his health has now declined so much that he and his wife are living in an assisted living facility. It is just a great reminder that while we all want to accumulate “stuff” in this world, at the end of the day, we will not take any of it with us. I have been fortunate to collect quite a number of great watches, but my son and I will always remember why we have this “plain vanilla” Speedmaster, and it will always remind us of our dear friend Armand. My son will inherit the watch someday. I am hoping he will remember the day we “inherited it” and look fondly at the times we spent in France together.
Epilog on April 15, 2020:
Well, sadly today I need to follow-up on this story, having received the sad news of the passing of my friend Armand on Saturday April 11th, 2020, a few days short of his 90th birthday.
🙁
Godspeed Armand, and RIP! We will never forget you and we will be enjoying your watch in your memory.
