Wednesday, July 23, 2014

The Loss Of A Beloved Companion, My Watch

I'm the only person I know under the age of 60 who still wears a watch.  In fact, watches are considered so useless in this age where everybody has a cell phone, iPod, laptop or other digital device that watches were part of the "10 Terrible Gift Ideas for Graduates From Dilbert Creator Scott Adams" list.

Well, I don't own a cell phone and I am completely serious when I say that I deeply love my watch.

I never take it off.  I use it constantly.  My watch has a bezel (a ring around the watch face that turns) which can be used to time things, and I use this feature every day, constantly.  This is how I time everything - how long the bread has left to rise, how long the cake needs to bake, how much longer the rice needs, everything and anything that requires timing.

I've only owned 2 watches, and I loved both of them.

The first one fell off my wrist while I was swimming in a lake because I didn't fasten it back on correctly after loosening the catch to apply sunscreen.  This watch was my very first 'large' purchase, using the money from my high school job as a grocery store cashier.

It was mildly expensive not because I needed a certain brand, but because I have a long list of features I am very particular about since I NEVER TAKE OFF MY WATCH.  It has to have a metal band, not cloth or leather.  It has to be seriously water-proof (I typically get watches you can go diving in).  It must have a timer function.

I wore my first watch all through high school and college, and was married by the time it was lost at the lake.  I swam and dove the rest of that afternoon trying to find the watch - we could all hear it ticking under water.  But it was never recovered - it probably sank into the soft mud at the bottom of the lake.

My second watch has lasted through the rest of that first marriage, my first career job, my divorce, and four years into my second marriage.  In my heart, I really expected this watch to stay with me the rest of my life, but it wasn't to be.

You see, when I moved out to the country EVERYTHING is a minimum of 45 minutes away.   So when the time came to have the battery in my watch replaced, I figured surely this was a task every jewelry store could handle so I just drove to the closest location I knew of, the jewelry store inside the local seedy mall.

This proved to be a poor decision on my part.

The first time they replaced my watch battery, everything seemed fine.  Then over the course of the next few years I started to notice that each battery they replaced lasted less and less time.  This last battery died after just TWO MONTHS, which is ridiculous.

I finally took the watch to a reputable watch repair location and had them look at it.  It turns out that the local store has been cramming the new battery on top of some delicate components inside the watch instead of adjusting them like they should have, which over time has broken my watch.  Even with a good battery, it will stop running in less than 24 hours.

I am SO ANGRY at the local jewelry shop, but there's nothing I can really do.  Sure, I could call them up and vent my anger at whoever happens to answer the phone but that won't change anything.  The very best case is that I go to them and they offer to repair the watch they broke, but if they can't properly change a freakin' watch battery I DEFINITELY don't trust them to repair the damage.

I've been told the damage could be repaired, but the watch is old enough and there are enough other things wrong that the most cost-effective thing to do is get a new watch.

Which I ordered today - the exact same make and model as the old one.

It won't be the same.  This watch has seen me through a lot.  But it's served me well and loyally, and put up a brave fight.

Hopefully the new watch, lucky number three, will serve me as well as this last one.


4 comments:

  1. aww, are you wearing around the broken watch? Or is your wrist feeling SUPER bare?

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    1. Aw, you know me so well! I'm wearing the broken watch until the new one comes on Friday.

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  2. Hi Meredith, I stopped by to return the blog visit and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment on mine. Very interesting post about your watch. I wouldn't have thought about the specifics of changing batteries. I've always done it myself, but then, I no longer wear a watch. My favorite doesn't seem to last long on a battery, so your post may be a clue as to why.

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    1. Leigh, what an interesting idea to change your own watch battery! I have no problem making my laundry soap or my own maraschino cherries, but somehow changing my own watch battery never occurred to me. Good luck with your watch!!

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