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With Photobucket reconfigured as ransomware, I thought I'd download my albums and close my account. I only bought a digital camera because of watch forums, so the pictures are mostly of watches, going back to the start of my hobby. I hadn't actively used Photobucket for some time so it was like opening a time capsule.
I hardly remember some of the watches, and most are remote from what I might buy today. The early ones are almost exclusively quartz. I was quite young when quartz came along and it was the equivalent of word processors and computers replacing typewriters. A smart young professional getting on in the world wouldn't wear mechanical... The jumping seconds hand was a symbol of certainty and accuracy, digital displays with counters even more so.
I only reverted to watches with mechanical movements when watch companies began to reserve their most 'serious' designs for mechanical watches. In retrospect, I was being carried along by the manipulative force of the mechanical renaissance. I remember dragging my heels for a while by declining anything with a display back, which I found a bit trivial.
Anyway, before consigning the images to a memory stick I thought I'd share a stroll down memory lane. I'll post a few a day as I dig through the albums.
1950s Benson (Cyma movement). Terrible picture. It's actually quite handsome.
A bloke in a pub wanted to buy this because it was 'Series 1'. I thought he was mad. Somebody else asked if I bought it in a petrol station, which seemed closer to the mark.
Swiss Army Cavalry. I still like this one.
These date from the 1980s - before the official commencement of my watch hobby. Two were presents from my wIfe - the Tag and the vintage Benson. I remember being amazed that she'd spent so much. The Tag had only just been released and originally had a red strap. The straps didn't last long and red ones were soon unavailable. I bought the Swiss Army on holiday in Stratford-upon-Avon, and straps were soon hard to get for that as well. This was before the internet - if jewellers didn't have a strap there was nowhere else to go. I don't think any of these watches were above 35mm but none seemed small. In fact, the Swiss Army felt big when I first had it. Maybe it was 36mm.
I also remember a Swatch, a Casio world timer and a Rotary (when Rotary were the epitome of affordable conservatism on the British High Street). I still have the Benson - gommed up with solidified oil. The Tag and Swiss Army were sold on eBay a while back. I can't remember what I got for them but it was more than I was expecting.
I really liked the Swiss Army. It had a nice gun-metal finish, and I'd be wearing it today as a beater, had I ever found a suitable strap for it. My liking for military style watches was there from the beginning, it seems.
