“A Watch from ebay” by Tomos McCarthy
As I watch the hands move across the dial,
upon my face there is a smile.
As the watch ticks to keep the time,
I listen to its elegant chime.
With its balance wheel running fast,
its accuracy does not last.
But as a mechanical device its prone to fail,
and the watchmaker sets a high bail.
It now lives its life in a drawer,
where the conditions are dusty and poor.
Inspiration
Why I got the watch
In 2024, I was asked a lot what I wanted for Christmas. I wanted to keep the amount that people were choosing what to gift me themselves to a minimum, because you never know what they’re going to get you. I wasn’t sure what to ask for, and eventually I quite liked the idea of getting a mechanical watch. After looking on ebay for a while I came across a nice looking Rotary watch (the one in the left of the picture), so I got it as a Christmas present.
About the watch
The tan strap you can see in the picture is the one that the watch came with, but I replaced it with the black strap that you can see on the watch on the right. I believe that the watch is a Rotary c1965, but I’m not certain.
The breakage
I began to notice that the watch was making a pinging noise as it ticked, but I didn’t think it was a bad sign. However a couple of weeks later it stopped running. I took it to the watch repairer, and he quoted me £300! He didn’t open up the watch and inspect it, but said that it probably is a broken part, so he would have to machine it himself since they don’t make them any more. So I decided to take a look at it myself. When I took the back off I gave the balance wheel a push a few times until it was ticking on its own, but only facing down. I then adjusted the index stud (which changes the watches beat error), and then the watch was running well. When I moved it back I noticed that the hairspring was damaged and striking the balance wheel, making the noise and causing the watch to stop running. About a month later I brought the watch that you can see on the right of the picture as a replacement.
Contact me
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