Guilty pleasures... you know you've got them!

[WRXtranceformed]

Unfortunately like a lot of other people, 2016 has been a real motherfucker of a year for me, on a personal level as well as the whole Trump/Brexit thing. Losing my grandfather was just one of 2016's surprises for me.

When I saw my grandmother this week she said he wanted me to have his retirement watch. It's a 30 year old Seiko Chronograph. The inscription reads "From your friends at the Quincy MGT Club". He worked at the shipyard in Quincy, MA for the majority of his career after he got out of the Navy. My grandmother said he would wear a sport coat and this watch at any opportunity, even if it meant he'd be the only guy at the dinner wearing a coat.





It's obviously nothing special in the watch world, but it's now my most valued possession. I'm going to take it to a jewelry shop this afternoon because there is something rattling in the case, and I'll have them put it in a new battery and give it a good cleaning. I'd eventually like to have it replated because the original gold plating is wearing off the case and bezel, but I'll have them leave the clasp alone so I can always see some of the marks he put on it. I'm guessing completely stripping and replating a watch isn't a cheap proposition so it wont happen any time soon, will just be worn and treasured as is.

On a superficial note I'd never have the balls to buy an all-gold watch but I feel pretty fuckin' boss wearing it. It's definitely a statement piece.

Dude I am so sorry to hear about your grandfather, our condolences. However that is a very cool story and a very cool piece! This is the embodiment of what watches mean to the wearer; they often evoke emotions, memories or stories of the former owner that are simply hard to replicate any way else. I would do the battery / movement service (you can send it to Seiko for this) and even a cleaning but I would strongly encourage you not to have any refinishing work done. The character marks and such are part of this watch's story. And although the value in this watch is going to be entirely intrinsic and personal to you, a good rule of thumb for vintage watches is that the more original character / natural wear marks they have on the case the better! Trust me, clean and service it and remember why your grandfather wore it and why he gave it to you. This one actually hits my feels pretty hard because I have been slowly building a short list of examples for my "retirement watch" over the last few years and I can't wait for the day when I am finally done burning the candle from both ends and can pull the trigger on a piece that means that much to me. And hopefully hand that down to my children / grandchildren!