Spring Forward

By: Janet Werner

Daylight savings time can be time-consuming for the ‘horologists’…a term used to describe people who deal professionally with timekeeping devices… watchmakers, clockmakers. All their time pieces, watches, and wall clocks, have to be wound forward an hour in a timely fashion. (This isn’t as arduous as rescinding daylight savings time in the fall when time ‘falls’ back an hour. As all horologists will tell you, you don’t wind the time piece backwards, you have to advance it eleven hours. Or you can do what I do and pull the stem out for an hour, but then how will you know when the hour is up?

Greater dependence on cell phones as time-keeping devices makes it a good time to invest in collectible watches. Wrist watches are not in as great a demand, and for the small niche market who knows the value of quality time pieces, it’s a buyer’s market. For those like myself, who wear watches more for fashion, and who aren’t as knowledgeable as horologists, here are some guidelines provided by the Spring Antique Mall’s resident horologist, James King…

-If a new battery won’t start a quartz watch ticking, then it’s served out its usefulness. Unless the casing and the watchband are of high value, it’s non-value added to replace the watch mechanism.
-Look for “Swiss Movement” watches. They increase with time (no pun intended.)
-The more jewels in the jewel movement, the better. According to King, the jewels are for balancing the time piece; the different jewels have different weights. (Something new I learned.)
-Only use a jeweler’s rouge cloth to clean the cases of pocket watches.
-Watch boxes have value too; it increases the value of the watch if it is the original box.

When the watch stem is frozen and won’t turn, turn it over to an experienced watch repairman. If it is a Swiss Movement watch, he can usually get it running again if the watch mechanism hasn’t corroded. Swiss Movement watches run with a miniscule of oil in them which can dry out with age; this can be easily rectified.

Now is the time to collect time pieces. There are many men’s watches that are highly collectible…at the high end: Patek Philippe, Tag Heuer, and Rolex, to name a few, and very fine: Elgin, Bulova, and Hamilton watches. Although women’s watches don’t command as high a price because of their size, at the high end: Piaget, Cartier, and Rolex; also look for vintage Elgin, Bulova, and Hamilton. An internet search can provide a fair assessment of values…go to www.tias.com or check eBay and other auction sites. Be sure to check the local antique shops and antique malls as many good watches are procured from estate sales. When you have time on your hands, stop by the Spring Antique Mall and visit with James King and discuss watches and time pieces. The Spring Antique Mall is located on the southwest corner of I-45 North and FM 2920 (Exit 70A) in the U-Haul rental and storage center. Hours are 10-5 Mon-Fri, 10-6 Sat, & 1-6 Sun. And when you have free time, visit the Spring Antique Mall Facebook page and share your comments about your favorite time piece. For more information call 281-355-1110, or visit www.springantiquemall.com Please also take the time to read the article by James King titled “The Wristwatch…What’s in a name?” Don’t put off hunting for that timeless treasure…time’s a wastin’!

The Wristtwatch…What’s in a name?

By: James King
Spring Antique Mall

There are over 2000 different names of watches these days. Some that run on batteries or need to be wound each day. Some that will work 200ft under water, and others in the most extreme conditions. You can pay any were from a few dollars for a good used watch at an antique store up in the millions for a 24kt solid gold, 21 jewel diamond bezel with a sapphire crystal and titanium jubilee band guaranteed to last longer than you will. But face it; don’t we want to just tell time? I remember when Timex said their watches “Takes a lick ‘in and keeps on tick ‘in”. Not sure what licking my watch did but it did keep good time. We see athletes promoting expensive watches. Will that help me be a better player, capable of dunking a basketball at my height of 5’ 10?

If you’re like me and love the old vintage time pieces with names like Geneva, Gruen, Hamilton, Elgin or even Timex, just find yourself a good old watch, put a battery in it or give it a good wind and the next time someone asks “do you have the time” say “yes” and only you will know you didn’t spend a small fortune to just tell time.