Grandad's Watch

by **Mortuus** 2013-08-22, 23:59

I came across the watch when I was going through my late father’s half of my parents’ dresser, not long after his passing. I did a double-take at a small, redwood jewelry box, and pretty quickly realized that this was my paternal grandfather’s possession, something my dad had saved since his dad’s death 20 years before. So the old watch inside belonged to “Old Raymond,” as I affectionately referred to my granddad, and was now, by default, mine. It wasn’t much to look at, truth to tell; the crystal had so many fissures – that’s ‘cracks,’ for all you folks in Rio Lindo – in it that seeing the dial, much less telling the time, seemed almost impossible. I could just make out the brand name immediately below the 12 o’clock position: Media. Media? Hmmm… never hoid of it!, said the ever-present voice of Curly Howard in my head. The Speidel Twist-O-Flex

was encrusted with a layer of tarnish, as was the bezel. I gently tried to wind it and found that it was pretty much stuck. I put it back in the jewelry box and didn’t think of it again until years later.

Fast forward ten years or so, and there I was again, kneeling on the thick carpet in front of my folks’ dresser, once again going through its contents. The occasion was brought about by my mother’s passing, thereby necessitating this sad task. After an hour or so of boxing up clothes and packing old Jewish prayer books,* the task was done. I then looked over to dad’s side of the dresser and remembered that old watch. I was, by this time, an avid watch collector, though I had yet to reach the epiphany that so many collectors had reached en route to WISdom, i.e., recognizing the lurid truth about ShopNBC, WG, Eyal, Jumbloat, et al. I pulled out the old redwood jewelry box, opened it, and there it was in all its cracked-crystal-and-thickly-tarnished glory. Jeebus wept…

*For those few of you who haven't slogged through one of my overlong posts that mentions it, I am, by birth, half-Jewish (mom's side) and half Catholic (dad's). Yes, I know that Catholicism is a religion and not a race, but you figure out a better way to express it...I'll be the first to pat you on the head and give you a sugar cube. Suspect

The watch went home with me that day, but only to languish in one of my “beater” boxes for a couple more years.

Fast forward again, and I’m taking that poor old Media watch out of the redwood box yet again, this time with a purpose. I had come to love vintage watches, and had even had my dad’s old Omega Seamaster de Ville restored to its former glory. Ditto a couple of vintage Midos, a pair of newly-acquired classic Omegas, and a Girard Perregaux that required virtually no service. So, after months and months of procrastination, I was finally holding “Old Raymond’s” watch with an eye toward, at long last, having it restored.

Unfortunately, I never took any “before” pictures of the watch, a practice that has become second nature since joining a few watch forums and starting to show off my collection. Still, we do have the “after” photos, and I like to think that they more than make up for the above-noted oversight. So, without any further palaver, here is the end product, my grandfather’s restored Media mechanical watch:

Grandad's Watch Ecc4446e-c57d-4279-bf7b-63fc29b7f350_zps50381bf6

For my fellow over-50-and-myopic watch brethren (and sistren, as well), the above links in the stretch bracelet are engraved with the Speidel moniker, though not as ostentatiously as they would in later years. No mention of the phenomenon known as “Twist-O-Flex,” either; just a patent number. Long-story-short, the bracelet is an oldy – but a goody – making me think that the watch, too, is probably pretty long in the tooth…or perhaps ‘long in the chapter ring?’ Okay, okay, here’re some more pictures:

(Note that 'Hong Kong' is engraved on the side of the case, just between the lugs)

So is it comfortable, Mort?

Absolument! As I may have mentioned in previous write-ups, I have a pretty decent amount of foliage on my wrists and forearms, so the term ‘comfortable’ is a serious issue. This particular Speidel – as most admittedly are – is very comfortable, and any pulled hair is the result of something I did, as opposed to it being the band’s fault.

So what about the ‘techy’ stuff, Mort? You know, the measurements and whatnot.

Okay, but there isn’t much:

(And since when did I start hearing these freaking voices – other than Curly Howard's, anyway – inside my head…? Are these the ‘voices for all the right choices,’ as Larry Megan used to opine, or are they coming from the devil’s imps, stoking the fires of H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks, awaiting my inevitable arrival…? I don’t know, but it’s sure scary to contemplate…nyuck-nyuck-nyuck!)

Brand: Media
Model: 1315
Type: Casual to dress wear
Country/Place of Origin: Hong Kong
Case Type: Pillow
Case Width: 38mm
Weight: 60 Grams
Movement: Non-hacking mechanical, 17 Jewels, marked with “U-T” on the movement (which, incidentally, is the same thing engraved on the movement of my Official Spiro Agnew watch...)
Misc: Stainless steel back, base metal bezel – oh, and a really way cool red arrowhead at the tip of the seconds hand.

Told you there wasn't much, didn't I?

What, no smarty-pants comeback? Jeebus, nuthin' but crickets...where's Curly when you really need him...?

I'll close by saying that I hope Old Raymond would be happy with the end result. And I hope you enjoyed slogging through this, as well.