I have a nice family heirloom Swiss watch. It is a perpetual motion watch (no batteries). It tends to lose a few minutes time here and there. I heard it is best to have a self winder when the watch is not in use. What kind of self winder should i buy? Where can I get the best deal? Ebay? Thanks!
You can always send the watch back to the horlogerie in Zermatt periodically, where Émile will re-calibrate it, for a few thousand francs. :smile: J.
They do. But Abner wants one of the devices that will generate the necessary motion, periodically, while the watch is not being worn - in a drawer, etc. Seriously, Abner - just Google "watch winder." Hundreds of ads. Some will handle 4 watches at a time! A new one from a known, reliable co. will set you back around $100. Pricey -yes, but way cheaper than Émile! :smile: J.
An electronic watch for go and the Sviss vatch for show. Or just look at the smart phone to know the time.
Ok. I am hoping a self winder should do the trick. Last time I had the watch fixed, it cost me $600.00!
Good thing you didn't send it back to Switzerland. Émile would have charged three or four times that! Here's my dream watch. $40K and up. No, I'll never buy it. Nowadays I could, but I won't! http://www.watchtime.net/magazine-de/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/VC_Malte-100th-anniversary.jpg J.
I think you once said you were contemplating going for a PhD or a car. Did you end up getting? I believe you were contemplating a Volkswagen. German cars are nice! :smile:
That is a nice watch! As much as I like my watch, I would have never paid what it is worth. It's not like you could drive it or live in it. :smile:
No I didn't, Abner. A few years ago, I was pretty well flat broke and IIRC, I might have said I wanted to save up enough money for the PhD or the German car - and then not buy it. I've just about succeeded, I guess. I now have pretty well enough saved for either a PhD - depending on the school - or quite a fancy German car. At 74, I lack motivation (and, hopefully, huge ego) to either work on or pay for the PhD. It's not something I could leave to my sons, is it? :smile: And as for the German car? Never! You're right, they DO make nice cars, and I sometimes think my decision not to have one is a bit crazy. Back in WWII, both sides (naturally) used their car factories to produce war-vehicles. That's fine, but the German plants did so with (largely) Jewish forced labour, supplemented with gays and Roma (Gypsies). Even though all the people responsible are long-dead, I've never forgiven the companies. I know it's kind of irrational, but I have strong feelings about it. A lot of people died, there. NONE of them should ever be forgotten - and this is my way of remembering them. I've never owned a German car; I guess I never will. I'm pretty well past having cars, anyway. I gave my last one to my younger son about 18 years ago. He needed it more than I did. Old-age bus pass is cheap - free when I reach 80. If I did want to buy one, here's my fantasy car. https://en.wheelsage.org/rolls_royce/phantom/ii/79064/62213/pictures/gqv368/ Always liked Rolls Royces of the 20s and 30s - particularly with Gurney Nutting or Freestone & Webb bodies. J.
BTW - I have nothing against other German products. I bought a German-made guitar a few weeks ago. (Höfner). A small-bodied classical, about 40-45 years old, near-perfect shape. A bit of Indian-made polish and new strings - all it needed. $20 at Salvation Army - or I could have paid around $300 on EBay. :smile: It's my fourth guitar - and the one I'll take to the park most days, in summertime. My sons bought me a nice, light gig-bag to walk it there. J.
74? You are a youngster still. My dad is 84, and my mom is 83. They are both sharp as tacks, very healthy and fit. Perfect driving records as well. But, if you get along fine with the bus, why do you need a car? My dad retired from the school district many years ago. He got a phat retirement (plus SS) plus full lifetime medical for him and my mom. He also has a barbers license. He cuts hair four days a week just because he likes too, not because he has too. He loves talking to people like me. :smile: He even cuts my hair. You can't beat the price.
Yes. I feel like it, too. And I still have my license - no problem driving if I want to. Physically, I've now returned to my all-time best "bar-fighting weight" of 1982. :smile: No smoking for 40 years and no drinking at all for 12 years has helped. I can run for a bus and usually be sure of catching it. Coincidence - I cut my own hair. I outlived two barbers and the third had too much drama going on, so I quit him. There was a fourth - a guy that kept raving about how gays should all be killed, just like (he said) it was where he came from (Sudan). A most unpleasant sort. So I do my own hair. It helps that I have hardly any hair - a clip round the back and sides and I'm done. The beard-trim takes 'way longer. I retired the instant I qualified - at 50. I "took the money and ran" - and I guess I should have taken MORE! I figured I had enough to last 15 years till Old Age $ came in. Wrong - a bit, anyway. I ran out at 63, so back to work - first job I could get, at that age. Worked till 65 and quit. Funny - Old age security is no big money - but I've somehow learned to save money as I never could when working. I'm doing OK. J.
