Although technology has greatly improved over the course of time and people are able to tell time through their computers, cell phones, ipods, digital and quartz watches, the allure of automatic watches is still alive and kicking. Personally, I am an automatic watch enthusiast and I have a couple of fine watches in my collection. Just like the unique paintings in a museum, an automatic watch is a piece of art on itself. What attracts me to the watch is the craftsmanship, aesthetics and tradition. Mechanical watches are made by hands. In fact, when you are buying an automatic watch, you are not just paying for the watch itself but also, for the man hours that it took to produce the watch. To make one automatic watch, watchmakers spend countless hours in the atelier assembling one part after another. And as if that is not enough, the watches are tested for a month to ensure that everything works fine before the watch is ready for the customer. Finally, the watches are regulated, polished and packed before being sent to different jewelry shops around the globe.
With proper care and maintenance, an automatic mechanical watch can easily last for over 100 years. In fact, there are some that have successfully been passed down through numerous generations since 1920s. It doesn’t matter whether your mechanical watch is expensive or affordable, it can be able to last for over a century. However, you should have it serviced every 5 years or so. Proper service means dismantling the watch, cleaning it with the right solvent (I use home dry cleaner), oiling different parts with a synthetic oil, putting back the watch together before regulating it – this should be done once every 5 years. Whether you own a $40 Seiko 5, $20,000 Rolex, $30,000 Omega or a $120,000 Patek Philippe watch, you need to have it serviced within that interval. Personally, I own a collection of mechanical watches that range from vintages to classics to modern mechanical watches. I have attached a photo of my watch collection above this article. One of the watches in my collection is special though - The one on the top right corner - a Jaeger LeCoultre Master Mariner. In 2013, I bought my house in Kilimani from a white man. After 6 months, I decided to do some gardening on a Saturday. And as I continued with it, my panga hit a metal object in the soil. Looking closely, it was a lost Jaeger LeCoultre Master Mariner automatic watch that had gotten lost in the flowers for many years. It had a rotten leather strap, the body was completely covered by soil and the back case was slightly blighted by rust. However, on picking the watch, it started ticking – what a miracle! I buy a good house and get a free watch on top. When I checked online, the mariner was valued at around $4000 (about Ksh 400,000) by today’s exchange rate. I had it serviced and polished and now, it has found a special place in my watch collection box in the company of my Omega, Breitling and Rolex amongst others! I am such a lucky man not only with pussies but also, with expensive wrist watches!
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