Rolfe said:
Beanbag,
Do you think that running around to try to catch trains and buses (the original reason for having to wear a watch in the first place), carrying a heavy schoolbag, might have been the problem all along?
Would that have been more of a shock to the delicate innards than my Mum doing housework and stuff?
Rolfe.
I'm guessing we're talking somewhere around 1960 or so. The concept of "sport watches" really hadn't been developed at that time. The normal activity level for children would break the balance pivots quite easily. When I was in watchmaking school, I'd buy old watches in the local flea markets to have something fresh to work on besides the usual school watches that had been stripped and reassembled about 40 - 50 times. In most cases, I was buying from the original owner, who usually related the tale that one of their children/grandchildren had gotten ahold of the watch and it never ran again. The usual excuse was that the children had overwound the watch, but almost always I found that one or both of the balance pivots had been broken off. Just a matter of cutting out the old balance staff and rivetting in a new one, plus a good clean, lube, and adjust, and I'd have a decent watch for less than ten dollars, plus a passing grade.
Housework, while heavy, usually doesn't involve too much impact, and is therefore a lot less hard on the watch. The biggest risk would be water getting in the watch while washing up or cleaning, and most mothers would remove their watch, ESPECIALLY if they had only one (which was common) before filling a washpail.
Of course, you mentioned that your mother had the watch three years before she gave it to you. As an odd coincidence, it was normal for a watch to require a complete service and cleaning about every two or three years, as the state of watch oil technology in the 60's and before was nowhere near as sophisticated as today. It could just be that the watch was on its last legs when you got it.
My first watch in the 60's was a pocket watch designed especially for children. It was built like a tractor and survived the many times I pried the case open to ogle the works. The fact that it stayed in a pocket had a lot to do with its survival.
Antishock systems have gotten a lot better and are found in almost every watch made since the 90's. In the 60's and before, shock jeweling was a selling point that indicated a higher-grade watch, and was prominantly listed on the back of the case. If it wasn't mentioned, then it had plain jeweling for the balance wheel.
These days, you just see either "quartz", "Mechanique", or "automatic" on the back of even high-grade watches that start out at $2000 US and climb up from there. Shock jeweling is pretty much assumed to be universal. Having to re-staff a balance wheel is pretty much a rarity these days, and usually only to restore a vintage piece.
Regards;
Beanbag
Watchmakers have developed suitable ploys for dealing with clients who experience such impossibilities as overwinding a watch, losing the night jewels, etc. It usually provides subtle amusement among other watchmakers and (usually) is not too expensive for the customer.
