Dad or Grandad’s watch ... do you have yours?

[Montello]

Recently been clearing my father in laws house as he’s moved to a care home, some old watches turned up which have been shared between his sons. Old Seikos.

My dad passed away over 10 years ago, I have nothing of his and mentioned it to mum just by way of passing. She disappeared having had a rummage in a draw and came back and gave these items to me.

I remember dad wearing the watch for years, and always having that knife in his pocket.

It’s runs fine and gains a little but otherwise it is works perfectly.



Here it is next to my watch today, I’m thinking there is not that much between these ...

[BillyCasper]

Very nice momentos. Lovely watch and I think the penknife is a Victorinox Excelsior.


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[Gee252]

And no doubt the Seiko means more to you.
I think a watch is such a personal item that goes through quite a bit of life with you.
Lost my Dad when I was 11 and not one thing to remember him by apart from very few memories I have.
I have a an Omega PO that I have earmarked for my Son.

[Montello]

And no doubt the Seiko means more to you.
I think a watch is such a personal item that goes through quite a bit of life with you.

Yeah, the bracelet is very worn, he wore it daily for many years.

Initially I thought it was broken as I was expecting a second crown position to move the date and day but it’s done by a push inwards on the crown.

When I look at it alongside the Explorer I can’t help think he had a better eye for value.

[NCC66]

My dad passed away over 20 years ago. I miss him to this day and have only two things of his to remember him by. His tool bag full of ancient but blooming effective plumbing kit. Tools that I am notoriously dangerous with!

That and his old watch. He had others but they ‘disappeared’. I half expected to find them when clearing my mums house last year but alas, no. I seem to remember a gold Omega, engraved with something related to some very important plumbing association. I think all old plumbers had a gold Omega at some point . Anyway, this is the only thing I can actually use of dad’s. Worth about 10p in money but a huge amount more in every other respect.



Enjoy the Seiko and the memories.


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[Montello]

Some nice examples, I think our parents were of a generation where you had just one watch which means they perhaps have more “value” as a memory.

[oldoakknives]

My dad passed away over 20 years ago. I miss him to this day and have only two things of his to remember him by. His tool bag full of ancient but blooming effective plumbing kit. Tools that I am notoriously dangerous with!

That and his old watch. He had others but they ‘disappeared’. I half expected to find them when clearing my mums house last year but alas, no. I seem to remember a gold Omega, engraved with something related to some very important plumbing association. I think all old plumbers had a gold Omega at some point . Anyway, this is the only thing I can actually use of dad’s. Worth about 10p in money but a huge amount more in every other respect.



Enjoy the Seiko and the memories.


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I have a similar watch from my father as well as a couple of items of furniture he made. They all have a high sentimental value and low monetary value!

[JeremyO]

I have my dad’s Omega gold capped Constellation given to me by my stepmother after he died in 1981.

After contacting Omega they advised it was bought from a dealer in Holland in 1964.

Had it serviced by Omega Service Centre a few years ago and it runs well. Didn’t know they serviced vintage watches until I asked.

It’s a lovely watch and I wear it from time to time, I always think of him on such occasions.

[K300]

My dad passed away over 20 years ago. I miss him to this day and have only two things of his to remember him by. His tool bag full of ancient but blooming effective plumbing kit. Tools that I am notoriously dangerous with!

That and his old watch. He had others but they ‘disappeared’. I half expected to find them when clearing my mums house last year but alas, no. I seem to remember a gold Omega, engraved with something related to some very important plumbing association. I think all old plumbers had a gold Omega at some point . Anyway, this is the only thing I can actually use of dad’s. Worth about 10p in money but a huge amount more in every other respect.



Enjoy the Seiko and the memories.


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Well I've just learned something, I never knew Sekonda were originally made in the USSR.

[Griswold]

I have a number of 'Relatives' timepieces

This Timex was my late Father-in-Law's daily wearer




The Avia on the right was his dress watch whilst the one on the left was from one of my late Uncles




This, from a late Cousin has some interesting history - I'm still trying to open it up to see if I can get it working






But my favourite is the pocket watch my late Father carried through WWII, on a gold chain which was my Grandfathers. I still wear it on occasions that call for a waistcoat



My father also had a long service award watch which was inscribed on the back. Sadly, some Bast@rd burgled Mum and Dad and that was one of the things they got away with!

[BillyCasper]

Well I've just learned something, I never knew Sekonda were originally made in the USSR.

This thread has got me thinking, I have a grotty 1970s USSR Sekonda that was my dad’s. He wasn’t materialistic and left virtually nothing.

Does anybody know or recommend a watchmaker for servicing Sekondas or Russian watches?


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[scenicroute79]

Just this week brought my late father's Titanium Pulsar chrono back to life with a new battery. He had a number of Seiko's but this was his last watch and I felt it important to keep it going. I will wear it when I feel the time is right.

[sean]

His tool bag full of ancient but blooming effective plumbing kit.

My dad left behind his expansive and practical tool kit too! Brings back memories each time I venture to search through it (I'm not very handy around the house!).

This was his watch for a time.

[monogroover]

I do have the watch that my Dad was presented with by the company he worked for in the late '70s. My mother gave it to me when he died in 1994.

[blackal]

Still got his Croton Aqua-matic from early '50s

https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...ghlight=croton

[monogroover]

My dad actually gave a watch to me in the mid '70s. I broke it in 1984, and threw it out (by then I had a few watches anyway).

It was actually arguably the watch that I've bonded with most in my life - for years it was "my watch", the only one I wore. It had a typical '70s case. It was handwound with a non-quickset date. Had a starburst brushed finish on the gold finish, a bit like the nice Rotary posted earlier, but with a much less square case. Similar dial and batons as well. I had it on a brown leather strap. But I cannot for the life of me remember what make it was, even though I wore it every day for years.

[Wallasey Runner]

Unfortunately not, my dad's watch went to my older brother, first son and heir and all that. I do have his wedding ring though.

The watch was a 9ct gold dress watch presented to him for 25 years service at Vauxhall. I don't think my brother wears it.

[Montello]

Unfortunately not, my dad's watch went to my older brother, first son and heir and all that. I do have his wedding ring though.

The watch was a 9ct gold dress watch presented to him for 25 years service at Vauxhall. I don't think my brother wears it.

Maybe suggest a swap with your brother? If he knows your interest in watches he may go for that

[Wallasey Runner]

Maybe suggest a swap with your brother? If he knows your interest in watches he may go for that

Thanks, that might be an idea. I'll give it some thought.

[walkerwek1958]

My grandad’s gold pocket watch ended up with one of my cousins, grandad was like a father to him so I understand why he left him the watch, but I doubt whether it sees the light if day too often. I’d like to own it but I won’t, the fact that I’m a watch enthusiast is far outweighed by the sentimental links.

[Thom4711]

Yep, I have one that I never saw him wear but he received for his 21st (an Omega Geneve) and I also have the watch I saw him wear every single day and that led me to be interested in watches (a Tag Heuer)






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[tomsdad]

I have two of my fathers old watches, both of which I wear regularly, and two of my grandfathers, one of which is now my wife's daily wearer (a 1944 30T2) and the other, being a gold dress watch, just resides in the watch box these days. Wouldn't sell any of them (unless the shirt had already gone).

[Dan1981]

My old man's still with us but in almost 40 years I've never known him to wear a watch.

I sometimes wonder if the milkman has a drawer full of timepieces locked away somewhere....

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[GregR_]

I have a watch that I bought from my dad, it's a Tag Hueur Targa Florio (a 2003 edition if i recall). This thread has prompted me to ask my dad if he has any of his dads watches though! :D

[watchstudent]

My Grandad didn’t have much money, but he did have a Swiss watch. It’s mine now, and it’s horrible... but priceless. Just gave it a wind, still ticking away.






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[Quality Man]

My Grandfathers Accurist, found it recently and am undecided whether to have it restored/serviced or keep it original, lovely little thing.




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[marcus fenix]

My Grandad's watch, and yes he wore it on that band It is strongly radioactive, far stronger than any of the samples we used to have int he physics lab at school!

[Enoch]

My Grandad’s watch.. I remember him wearing this all through the 60’s and into the 70’s but I suspect it’s from the 50’s.

It still runs but I suspect the movement could do with a service.

[Mr Curta]

This is my grandfather's Cyma Navystar, purchased by him in the 1950s in Aden. He was a civilian pharmacist seconded to the Royal Navy and he spent much of his life travelling, establishing the family home first in Singapore and then in Malta, where my mother and her sister grew up. He was a real gentleman and an inspiration. This watch saw a large part of the world.

He and my grandmother both lived well into their 90s and were blessed with being able to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary together. He passed on in 2011, my grandmother two years later.

The photograph was taken in Sarajevo. The strap was on the watch when it was given to me.

[subseastu]

Sekonda is my mums dads with a hair pulling strap. I've not worn it yet because I've got to sort a strap for it.

This Marvin is my dads dad that he "liberated" from a dead German soldier in Italy during WW2. I've had it lightly serviced and wear it on occasion.


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[Comet]

Nice thread,
My dads watches started it all off for me.

About 15/16years ago he gave me the tool watch that he bought in 1971 when he was flying small aircraft. It had been face down in a drawer for approx 30 years and was quite battered. A few years later he found his first automatic watch (a 1958 Certina) and gave that to me too.

My dad stopped wearing automatics when the digital watches came out and loves/wears a smart watch now (which I bought for him).
Recent(ish) pics below.

[jameswrx]

That’s a really nice Seiko, looks like your Dad wore it with care.

[Wibbs]

I caught the watch bug early because my dad collected watches himself, which was fairly oddball at the time. :) So I'm lucky I have a couple of his.

He got this in the early 80's. I remember it being "mad money" at the time. Tiny by today's standards but still looks like new.


He got this in the late 70's.


He had a few others including a 1930's Zenith pilots watch. He was a Longines man, but his favourite was the one on the left.


He also had a Patek, 50's Calatrava, which I never got around to taking a pic of. Sadly my mum in the earlier stages of dementia threw it and the Longines above into the bin. I didn't discover they were gone until months later, so they're somewhere in landfill now. :(

[Stanford]

I caught the watch bug early because my dad collected watches himself, which was fairly oddball at the time. :) So I'm lucky I have a couple of his.

He got this in the early 80's. I remember it being "mad money" at the time. Tiny by today's standards but still looks like new.

(

A real shame about your mum and the 'lost' watches.
I lusted after the same Longines VHP - back then I couldn't justify, or afford, the price.

[seabiscuit]

[QUOTE=Wibbs;5256869]I caught the watch bug early because my dad collected watches himself, which was fairly oddball at the time. :) So I'm lucky I have a couple of his.

He got this in the early 80's. I remember it being "mad money" at the time. Tiny by today's standards but still looks like new.


I had one of these. It was my first decent watch and I bought it not long after I graduated and started earning money. It must have been in the late 1980s. I recollect that it was half price in a sale and I paid £497.50 for it. It was my only watch for many years and it was unerringly accurate. I was living in Stockton-On-Tees and spotted it when I was visiting a girl in Sunderland.

[aamaci]

I have the Tudor Royal which my Grandfather, on my mother's side, bought from Edwards jewellers in Glasgow in 1959, (when he retired I think). He left it to me in his will, and I inherited it when he passed away in 1964. It survived my teenage years surprisingly undamaged and untinkered with. I had it serviced fairly recently and it now keep reasonably good time. It is very small by modern standards, but I still wear it occasionally .



I think his bequest sowed the seeds of my interest in watches in later life.

A

[bootneck]

I treated my dad to a few watches over the years he very seldom bought anything for himself when I was young so hardly ever wore a watch until then. After much persuasion/argument not to just leave it in a wardrobe and only wear it on very special occasions he wore a seadweller pretty much everyday for around 15 years, oh the irony that I now only ever wear that watch on very special occasions such is my fear of losing it. As other have said a watch is such a personal item it becomes so special to those left behind but I do wonder whether those times are slowly changing so my children won’t have the same connection to one of my watches for example

[Montello]

Some really nice posts on this thread. It’s notible how modest the watches of our forebears were. .

[EJL25]

[QUOTE=seabiscuit;5257233]

He got this in the early 80's. I remember it being "mad money" at the time. Tiny by today's standards but still looks like new.

I like that one a lot!

[Topcat30093]

[QUOTE=Wibbs;5256869]I caught the watch bug early because my dad collected watches himself, which was fairly oddball at the time. :) So I'm lucky I have a couple of his.

He got this in the early 80's. I remember it being "mad money" at the time. Tiny by today's standards but still looks like new.


OMG, I haven't seen one of these for years.
I remember buying one in the early 80's when the "Quartz Bug" had really taken off.
I wasn't so knowledgeable about watches back then, and was sucked in by the "Very High Precision" (VHP) that guaranteed that the watch would be accurate to about 15 seconds, I think per year!
If I remember correctly it cost around £800-£900 and what made it even worst is that I sold my S/S Rolex Sub to get it..........................
Eventually, I gave it to my brother as he was without a watch. He didn't take good care of it and the watch got water in it and that was that!

[Wibbs]

I wonder if anyone here has inherited a nice 5513 or similar ... I guess the reality is few people wore dive watches in the 60s & 70s ...

An uncle of mine has a Blancpain FF he bought in the 60's while on holidays in Spain or France. He has it on an old spidel expanding hair catcher. He didn't know what it was or what it would be worth. I nearly hastened his mortal end when I told him a few years ago. No chance of me getting it though.

OMG, I haven't seen one of these for years.
I remember buying one in the early 80's when the "Quartz Bug" had really taken off.
I wasn't so knowledgeable about watches back then, and was sucked in by the "Very High Precision" (VHP) that guaranteed that the watch would be accurate to about 15 seconds, I think per year!
If I remember correctly it cost around £800-£900 and what made it even worst is that I sold my S/S Rolex Sub to get it..........................
Eventually, I gave it to my brother as he was without a watch. He didn't take good care of it and the watch got water in it and that was that!

Yeah, it was an expensive watch at the time. Clearly he was in the Ma's™ good books that year. Then again at the time vanishingly few people were into collecting "old watches". New was the thing for the most part. A mad figure, when a "good watch" was around the 2-300 quid mark. Usually a Seiko by that stage or a Rotary. I remember Rotary being very popular as a "good watch"*

It's a tiny watch today, "ladies size", but when I wear it I forget about it entirely. Doesn't catch on anything, weighs nothing and the titanium oxide or whatever coating is on it seems impervious to time, runs for years on a battery and like you say is very accurate. It's easy to forget smaller watches are often much more practical. Which men in the past seemed to agree with. Over the course of the 20th century the average size of a man's watch ran from 30mm and sometimes smaller to 36mm and rarely larger.

Case in point, I also got this Zenith from my dad.



At 42mm never mind the big stick out crown he almost never wore it and getting a strap for it was hard work. It lived on a few cheap one piece nylon straps. I wore it a few times in the 80's and 90's and the looks I got when I did...




*A school friend of mine worked in an auction house in the summers and I used to go along with pocket money to throw an envelope bid on any "old" watches that came up(cos I was too young to officially bid). Though I lusted after the the cool digitals which all my mates had I couldn't read them too easily(turns out I have dyscalculia, kinda dyslexia with numbers) and they were mostly out of my pocket money range. This is the early-mid 80's, but it seemed the only watches worth anything regardless of brand were the solid gold ones. I once bought a shoebox full of steel and plated watches for 20 quid. I got Omega, Smiths, Breitling, Rotary, Tudor and a few others back then. Mad how things change... Sadly I had no clue of many brands. It was just the names my dad knew or what were in the average jeweller shop windows. Lord knows what I passed on, gave away, or discarded. If someone had said IWC to me I'd have figured them to be a non English speaking tourist and would have pointed them in the direction of the nearest toilet. :)

[Calumets]

Dad passed on my grandfather's old Stivaro auto. It was bought in Lebanon about 60 years ago I think. My grandad (Pop) bought two identical watches one for him and one for his son. My dad tells me he lost his, and so Pop gave him this one, which my dad then broke. Not much of a watch man my father. It doesn't run and I know nothing about it other than that. If anyone knows anything about Stivaro, I'd love to know - there's nothing on the internet as far as I can tell.

[IMG] upload[/IMG]

[alfat33]

If anyone knows anything about Stivaro, I'd love to know - there's nothing on the internet as far as I can tell.

Mikrolisk only has one entry, ‘Peseux und Pieterlen, Schweiz; registriert am 5.7.1954’ so I guess they were a small manufacturer founded in the ‘50s and based in the heart of Swiss watch making country.

Lovely to see all of these watches and to treasure what they mean.

[ENES]

I was given this Rolex Oyster that my Grandad wore, by my parents on my 21st birthday.
Didn't really understand too much about the watch at the time - but a bit more aware now!

[village]

I do have my grandad's watch....in fact I was wearing it only yesterday.

Thread

@ OP - do you have any idea when your dad's watch was last serviced? It may be keeping reasonable time but that is no indication of whether it needs a service. I would strongly recommend getting it serviced.

[Montello]

@ OP - do you have any idea when your dad's watch was last serviced? It may be keeping reasonable time but that is no indication of whether it needs a service. I would strongly recommend getting it serviced.

Mum thinks he got this in 1983 for their 20th wedding anniversary.

I’d place a large wager it has never been serviced. I plan to get it serviced even though I doubt I will ever wear it, maybe the odd occasion. The bracelet is very worn.

[village]

Mum thinks he got this in 1983 for their 20th wedding anniversary.

I’d place a large wager it has never been serviced. I plan to get it serviced even though I doubt I will ever wear it, maybe the odd occasion. The bracelet is very worn.

Definitely worth doing....its a relatively inexpensive movement to service. I don't wear my grandad's much but feel the urge every now and then. It certainly isn't still on the old flexo-hair killer bracelet but now resides on a spiffy tweed strap.

[Montello]

Definitely worth doing....its a relatively inexpensive movement to service. I don't wear my grandad's much but feel the urge every now and then. It certainly isn't still on the old flexo-hair killer bracelet but now resides on a spiffy tweed strap.

Any recommendations to service the Seiko 5 would be welcome

[SuperVM]

I have my dad's '60s Seiko 5 Sports and my granddad's Rotary. Sadly neither works. I also had all of my mum' s watches, but the case they were in got stolen.

[redmonaco]

Had this serviced a couple of years ago and it keeps excellent time.

Probably the first service in 75 odd years!!