Timekeeping rant
Sep. 7th, 2006 07:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoTell me, why is it that you can't get a decent watch any more? We used to buy a Timex for $29 and it would last forever, all you had to do was wind it. If you bought a more expensive watch, like an Elgin or a Bulova, it was guaranteed for life and if it failed for reasons other than the obvious (you put it through the washing machine or ran over it with your tractor, say, or maybe dropped it in a pot of boiling soup) you could send it back to the factory for repair and it only cost you the postage.
Gary prefers a pocket watch, because he bangs his wrist into stuff all the time. I've bought him several, he has bought himself several, and they never last more than a year or so. The first one I got him was a few years ago, from Dakota Watches, and was a Christmas gift from the horses. It has a nice gold plated case with two horses putting their heads out a dutch door, and he was delighted. It's electric, which we both find is a pain because the batteries are hard to replace. The battery died, of course, and the watch wouldn't restart when the battery was replaced. It was still in warranty, so we sent it back. Cost, $7.50 service charge. It was returned with the works completely replaced for that price. Ran until the battery died again, same problem. This time they said they could not repair it because they no longer have replacement works to fit that case. Two years, and the watch can't be repaired. I think he still has it because the case is so pretty.
He was going to Canada with our friend and farrier John to deliver a mare to a buyer. We went to KMart, knowing the watches would be junky, and bought him two for $10 each. Both were digital. The wrist watch worked and lasted him for about two months before it quit running. The pocket watch never worked. We couldn't even get it set to the right time. It had instructions, but they referred to buttons that the watch didn't even have, and were obviously written for some other watch and in that queer kind of English that you get when it's written by someone for whom Korean or Japanese is the native tongue. That one got thrown away, $10 wasted.
I checked into Bulova pocket watches, but they seemed to start at $250, had only a year warranty, and were all electric. No one makes spring wound watches any more, I guess. It's all electric, can't repair it, can't adjust it, throw it away and buy another trash.
I got him two inexpensive fob watches from Levenger that are still running, but they haven't needed batteries yet. When that day comes, it will probably be the end of them too.
He needed a watch he could use with his Civil War costume when he performs as a musician in costumed environments. He bought a pocket watch at the drug store. It was electric, but it looked period on the outside and would do. It ran until the battery died. We couldn't figure out how to get the battery out to replace it, so we took it to a jeweler. He could replace the battery, but it would not run. He said he didn't charge for bad news, so it cost nothing. Fortunately my wrist watch needed new batteries and he did those for me and I could pay him for that.
We went five different places and found another watch just like the one that died. He bought it and when we got out to the car I said "Check now and make sure it runs." It didn't. Took it back into the store, and they changed it for another, checking to make sure it ran. It ran, but they didn't set it. I tried to set it, and the hour hand was stuck. It wouldn't move. The clerk played with it and said it was working now. I took it and turned it through twelve hours. The hour hand stuck again in the same spot, 4:30. They traded for another with a different case design, but that one didn't work either. So he got his money back and no watch.
I know many railroad personnel still carry pocket watches. Surely they must get decent watches somewhere, and I doubt they pay $400 for them. How about it,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
quickcasey? Any suggestions?
Oh, and in a separate rant, I ordered rubber floor mats and doorsill scuff plates for my new car from Ford. They arrived via Federal Express, who delivered them a day late and with the boxes crushed and torn. The floor mats are the wrong color, black instead of gray as specified on the order and confirmed via e-mail. The scuff plates are for the wrong model year, 2003, even though the printed order confirmation clearly says 2007. This is simple stuff, not rocket science, but I guess shipping and warehouse employees aren't even required to be able to read any more.
Gary prefers a pocket watch, because he bangs his wrist into stuff all the time. I've bought him several, he has bought himself several, and they never last more than a year or so. The first one I got him was a few years ago, from Dakota Watches, and was a Christmas gift from the horses. It has a nice gold plated case with two horses putting their heads out a dutch door, and he was delighted. It's electric, which we both find is a pain because the batteries are hard to replace. The battery died, of course, and the watch wouldn't restart when the battery was replaced. It was still in warranty, so we sent it back. Cost, $7.50 service charge. It was returned with the works completely replaced for that price. Ran until the battery died again, same problem. This time they said they could not repair it because they no longer have replacement works to fit that case. Two years, and the watch can't be repaired. I think he still has it because the case is so pretty.
He was going to Canada with our friend and farrier John to deliver a mare to a buyer. We went to KMart, knowing the watches would be junky, and bought him two for $10 each. Both were digital. The wrist watch worked and lasted him for about two months before it quit running. The pocket watch never worked. We couldn't even get it set to the right time. It had instructions, but they referred to buttons that the watch didn't even have, and were obviously written for some other watch and in that queer kind of English that you get when it's written by someone for whom Korean or Japanese is the native tongue. That one got thrown away, $10 wasted.
I checked into Bulova pocket watches, but they seemed to start at $250, had only a year warranty, and were all electric. No one makes spring wound watches any more, I guess. It's all electric, can't repair it, can't adjust it, throw it away and buy another trash.
I got him two inexpensive fob watches from Levenger that are still running, but they haven't needed batteries yet. When that day comes, it will probably be the end of them too.
He needed a watch he could use with his Civil War costume when he performs as a musician in costumed environments. He bought a pocket watch at the drug store. It was electric, but it looked period on the outside and would do. It ran until the battery died. We couldn't figure out how to get the battery out to replace it, so we took it to a jeweler. He could replace the battery, but it would not run. He said he didn't charge for bad news, so it cost nothing. Fortunately my wrist watch needed new batteries and he did those for me and I could pay him for that.
We went five different places and found another watch just like the one that died. He bought it and when we got out to the car I said "Check now and make sure it runs." It didn't. Took it back into the store, and they changed it for another, checking to make sure it ran. It ran, but they didn't set it. I tried to set it, and the hour hand was stuck. It wouldn't move. The clerk played with it and said it was working now. I took it and turned it through twelve hours. The hour hand stuck again in the same spot, 4:30. They traded for another with a different case design, but that one didn't work either. So he got his money back and no watch.
I know many railroad personnel still carry pocket watches. Surely they must get decent watches somewhere, and I doubt they pay $400 for them. How about it,
quickcasey? Any suggestions?Oh, and in a separate rant, I ordered rubber floor mats and doorsill scuff plates for my new car from Ford. They arrived via Federal Express, who delivered them a day late and with the boxes crushed and torn. The floor mats are the wrong color, black instead of gray as specified on the order and confirmed via e-mail. The scuff plates are for the wrong model year, 2003, even though the printed order confirmation clearly says 2007. This is simple stuff, not rocket science, but I guess shipping and warehouse employees aren't even required to be able to read any more.
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no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 01:32 am (UTC)However the trend is definitely away from mechanical, and mechanical ones can be expensive.
Casio basic digitals are very reliable, Mine lasted almost 10 years on a 5 year battery, granted it could only tell the time and date. The band however wasn't replaceable and the rubber disintigrated after about 7 years.
I had a citizen shock sensor that I'd still be wearing but I took it to a cheap battery replacement place and he stripped a screw and lost two small springs which operated the shock sensor >.< it's still working, I have it attached to my noticeboard.
I bought a citizen ecodrive titanium watch, just time and date but no battery required, however I don't wear it much as i'm scared it'll get damaged so it sits on my bookshelf in the shadows and hence needs charging up by leaving it under a lamp or just somewhere where it can get some filtered sunlight. $80 off ebay bargin :D ex display stock for a $250 watch I wear it on special occasions.
Dad bought me a casio digital illuminator watch which I used to wear everyday, it still works but I missed all the functions on my old citizen. So on ebay I purchased a brand new Casio G-shock digital for $40 rrp $150
It has vibration alarm, dual display, world time (which I do use) 3 different alarms, timer, stop watch and telememo plus the casio version of "indiglo" back lighting and yes I do use all that. It runs for 3 years on battery and is a tough watch as all G-shock watches are known for (shock resist) It's been knocked about and doesn't show any scratches on the plastic or face.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 01:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 01:38 am (UTC)Good luck with finding a tolerable timepiece. The cheap pocket watch I bought from Shopko was nice while the cell lasted and I did change it once - and decided after that that it wasn't worth the effort. I only used it for renfaires (kept it in a pouch) and now I have the cellphone which also goes in a pouch and has clock as a 'screensaver' so I just use that instead. I use it more as a clock than a phone, really.
My housemate has had some issues with Ford.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 02:13 am (UTC)I agree with
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 02:37 am (UTC)I've found that if I play with my 1919 Elgin for a while it will run remarkably smooth and keep excellent time... for about an hour. It needs to be professionally cleaned, I'm sure, and would probably run another 87 years, or, at least as long as anyone wanted to use it.
Nothing beats an original.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:05 am (UTC)I'm old fashioned. I don't really like digital watches. I like a sweep second hand and an analog dial, preferably with hands that glow in the dark. I have my father's gold Omega that he received as a 25 year anniversary gift from his employer. It doesn't run reliably any more, though. Possibly just cleaning would fix it, but it's hard to find anyone now who knows what to do with the inside of a mechanical watch. I'm afraid they'll wreck it if they touch it. The old guy we go to for batteries must be over 70 now. He has Parkinson's or something like it that makes his hands shake badly. He can still put on his loupe and do stuff, but I know he sends serious repair work out somewhere. I'm sure he will either die or retire, and there will be no one to take his place.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:11 am (UTC)Gary has a gold Elgin pocket watch that belonged to his uncle. It won't run any more. The spring is not broken, but is wound up tight. Someone who knows mechanical watches could no doubt get that running, but we know of no such person to whom we could take it.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:16 am (UTC)I've had three mechanical pocket watches of my own. None of them run any more. One got put through the washer by the former boyfriend, so I can't blame the maker for that. He made up for it by giving me one of his own (Timex I think) that ran for a couple of years before it quit. I bought another that did much the same, about two years. Now you can't even find them.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:19 am (UTC)And yes, please do pass any information you can find about mechanical watches. I know when I ride Metra I still see trainmen carrying those pocket watches in the little leather cases. Do they get those new from some source, or are they all hand-me-down antiques?
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:24 am (UTC)I agree with this. But unfortunately, the original watch repair guy from 1928 who could fix that original is long gone, along with his tools and supply of parts. Out here in the hinterlands, we can't find anyone who even works on mechanical watches any more, much less one who can do actual reliable repairs on an antique. All they do is send them away somehwere (they won't say where, of course) and the repairs are not guaranteed but cost far more than the value of the watch. Only worth doing for your grandfather's engraved gold watch that he got on his wedding day or something.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:26 am (UTC)The Russians were famous for half a century for manufacturing things that didn't run even when they came out of the assembly line. Refrigerators and automobiles were notorious. I suppose their new capitalism has forced some kind of improvements in areas like that, but I doubt they are ready for even my non-professional demands. ;p
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:44 am (UTC)Read Whats that?????
Date: 2006-09-08 03:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 03:58 am (UTC)I broke down and bought a watch from L.L. Bean this spring. For some reason, I'm leaning back toward analog watches. This one is nothing fancy, but it's Swiss made with a stainless case and a leather band. L.L. Bean will repair or replace anything even if you've had it for 20 years, so I figure if it dies an early death, I'll send it back and get it repaired or replaced.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 04:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 04:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 04:11 am (UTC)The Explorer transmission was also built by Mazda, if I recall correctly. But it seems you actually found the one good Ford dealership and might not have trouble. The fellow next to me at work has dealt with the local Ford dealer and has a few horror stories that I got to hear as they unfolded.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 04:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 04:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 04:47 am (UTC)Looks like one of them is a little off. I wouldn't have thought of LL Bean, but that's worth following up on.
Actually I just skimmed through eBay and got three watches for $20. Probably none of them will last long, but that's cheap enough. One Armitron railroad case pocket watch for Gary, $9.95. One Waltham wrist watch, similar in appearance to the LL Bean in your photo, $1.09. One Hush Puppy wrist watch, with the famous sad-eyed hound dog on the face and three interchangeable suede leather bands for $11.50. All from the same seller, so discounted shipping will apply. Not a bad deal I guess. This guy must be a merchandise liquidator. He has over a thousand "new in box" watches listed, all different. His feedback numbers are over 11000 with 99.9% positive. I'll bet on that.
Re: Read Whats that?????
Date: 2006-09-08 04:49 am (UTC)