Prompted by Gary's post about the ultra thin Piaget I now will bore the pants off of you all by yet again a visit back to memory lane.
The year must have been 1978 or early 1979. As a teenager I was still living with my parents and we happened to live above two brothers that ran a watch repair shop. From time to time I just sat there to have a chat and watch them work. One of the brothers was very absent minded and he completely lost track of the Sicura chronograph I brought in for repair. He ordered a new one for me and all was well again.
My interest in watches was sparked well before that and because of that I visited the Technical Library that was situated in a huge building complex that also housed a theatre and several schools, including a school for fine mechanics, AKA a watchmaker school.
The carpet in that library was made of nylon so a I hardly dared to come too close to the metal racks afraid of getting an electrical shock caused by static build up. (I still have this issue, I seem to attract it ). Bu that didn't stop me from reading the abundant collection of books and magazines on watches and the Concord Delirium was prominently featured in one of those magazines. I was mesmerised by that watch and mentioned it to the watchmakers.
They had seen it on a trade show but were not very enthusiastic about it. "If you wear the strap even so much too tight, the crystal will pop off when you flex your wrist because the watch will warp". OK, yeah, sure. Now I know why they mentioned this. Watches like these and well, all quartz watches that followed rendered them out of work. They were reduced to battery changers. Back then mind you, now qualified watch makers are in high demand again.
But in those magazines (and in the shop windows of a very high class watch dealer) were other watches that really peaked my interest. One of them was the Piaget Polo. There was a time that I would hide the fact that I once liked this watch but not now. There is something fascinating about it and its Concord clone. I'm beyond shame now 18 carat gold of course and quartz.
The year must have been 1978 or early 1979. As a teenager I was still living with my parents and we happened to live above two brothers that ran a watch repair shop. From time to time I just sat there to have a chat and watch them work. One of the brothers was very absent minded and he completely lost track of the Sicura chronograph I brought in for repair. He ordered a new one for me and all was well again.
My interest in watches was sparked well before that and because of that I visited the Technical Library that was situated in a huge building complex that also housed a theatre and several schools, including a school for fine mechanics, AKA a watchmaker school.
The carpet in that library was made of nylon so a I hardly dared to come too close to the metal racks afraid of getting an electrical shock caused by static build up. (I still have this issue, I seem to attract it ). Bu that didn't stop me from reading the abundant collection of books and magazines on watches and the Concord Delirium was prominently featured in one of those magazines. I was mesmerised by that watch and mentioned it to the watchmakers.
They had seen it on a trade show but were not very enthusiastic about it. "If you wear the strap even so much too tight, the crystal will pop off when you flex your wrist because the watch will warp". OK, yeah, sure. Now I know why they mentioned this. Watches like these and well, all quartz watches that followed rendered them out of work. They were reduced to battery changers. Back then mind you, now qualified watch makers are in high demand again.
But in those magazines (and in the shop windows of a very high class watch dealer) were other watches that really peaked my interest. One of them was the Piaget Polo. There was a time that I would hide the fact that I once liked this watch but not now. There is something fascinating about it and its Concord clone. I'm beyond shame now 18 carat gold of course and quartz.