The Heartbeat of Horology: Exploring The Human Connection to Watches
As I rummaged through my father’s old room, something glimmered out of the corner of my eye. There I discovered a gold Citizen watch- dead, yet full of life. I quickly took out my phone, trying to find out as much as I could about the possession. Not much came up, aside from a few expired eBay listings with no real insight. I saw that past auctions valued the item at approximately $40, yet the watch evoked more than a material cost in me. This begs the question: is there any true correlation between material cost and emotional connection?
My Father's Old Citizen
Although I am no philosopher, I have always found the association between a watch and its material value intriguing. In the story above, I knew that $40 could not buy out the feeling I had toward it. Every time I wore the watch, I felt a sense of pride and heritage. A gift that had once belonged to my father was now in the possession of his son-an individual who did not exist at the time of him being gifted the watch. I found beauty in an object’s ability to transcend generations, and so my learning journey ensued. From magazines to articles, my fascination and obsession for horology was only growing larger. I began to look at the collections of others and often found that their most prized possessions were never the most expensive watch in their collection; rather the complete opposite.
A Gift Sent to Me By Omega a Couple Years Back
A little less than a year ago, a friend of mine experienced the loss of a family member. He inherited very little from her, aside from a quirky wristwatch with little to no monetary value. He had never shown any interest in horology or watches as a whole, yet continued to wear it on his wrist with the utmost joy. Whether it told the time or not was irrelevant, because it told stories. Through the watch, he could feel his relative’s presence with him everywhere he went. Perhaps you have heard this argument before, in which many will say that a watch’s only true purpose is to tell the time. In theory, there is validity to this, as functionality is objectively important. However, the task arises when we try to find beauty beyond functionality.
For thousands of years, many tools and objects were created by skilled laborers who dedicated their lives to perfecting their craft. The term craftsmanship exemplifies one’s ability to create something functional yet radiant. For many, a timepiece’s significance is tied to the craftsmanship involved in its construction. For others, precious materials and intricate parts may mean little. The connection we as humans have to material objects and possessions is as fascinating as it gets. We begin to get so caught up in the economic value of items that we lose sight of why they mattered to us in the first place. In the case of my friend, a synthetic band with a cheap alkaline battery held no importance in his attachment to the watch; instead, the presence of life from past family made up for the lack of ticking. I will never know what my father’s old watch truly costs, although anything more than $70 would seem absurd. Yet if you offered me $70, I would tell you that no amount of money would ever make me give it up—and that is the beauty in true value.