If you’re ever in a room full of fellow watch enthusiasts and you’re looking for a way to break the ice, simply ask everyone this: which watch in your collection could you never sell?
22mm wide vintage Oris - Credit Guest Author
Part of the fun of watch collecting is the stories that come with every design. We all have our first ever timepiece that begun our journey into the world of horology and there’s also those “Holy Grail” designs we just love and wear more than any other. Then you have those watches that fall into your lap more unexpectedly. Maybe it’s a watch that was gifted from a loved one for a special occasion, or maybe it’s a second-hand timepiece that’s been handed down to you.
For me, the watch I would never sell falls into the latter category. It’s a watch that was kindly gifted to me by my dad following the loss of his mum and my grandma. It’s a watch that transcends any material worth and truthfully, any bias I have about certain styles of watches. It is a special treasure and one that keeps me connected to my grandma.
22mm wide vintage Oris - Credit Guest Author
The watch in question is a dainty, 22mm wide vintage Oris. And I’ll be honest, I probably know just as much about this watch now as I did when I received it. We lost my grandma about thirteen years ago which was six years before I found myself falling in love with everything watch related. So, when I was gifted this gold-plated Oris, I knew nothing about it other than the fact it told the time and it needed to be wound once a day using the crown.
The name Oris also meant nothing to me, which feels blasphemous to admit now, and I don’t believe I even Googled the brand back then to learn more about it. I really was a total newbie with watches. Six years later and I got my first job writing for a jeweller, and funnily enough one that was an authorised retailer of Oris.
22mm wide vintage Oris - Credit Guest Author
As you can probably guess, it was during this time that my obsession with watches began and whether intentionally or not, Oris became a fast favourite. I have a strong feeling my grandma’s watch is from the 1970’s based on its design but the only verified information I have is that it’s gold-plated, measures to 22mm wide and 10mm tall and has a manual-winding Swiss made movement inside.
It is without a doubt the smallest watch I own, and I love it even more for that. It wears absolutely tiny on my five-and-a-half-inch wrist, but it reminds me of my grandma’s small wrists because of it. It also has a really nice egg-shell white dial, which I think was probably originally white but has yellowed over the years. The dial is stamped with Art Deco-like Arabic numerals and set with two simple black hands for the hours and minutes.
22mm wide vintage Oris - Credit Guest Author
The strap is definitely not original, and I’ve replaced it myself more recently since the brown leather band my grandma wore it on began to fall to pieces. When it’s off the wrist, there’s a stainless steel case back printed with lettering that confirms it’s gold-plated case, Swiss manual movement and Oris manufacture. I have no information on the movement itself but considering this watch is at least thirty years old, it keeps time incredibly well and has a power reserve of around 30 hours.
I don’t wear this Oris watch all that much, but that’s purely down to the fact it’s so sentimental to me. It carries a lot of history and feels like a tangible link to family that is no longer with us. It’s well worn, and I love it even more for that. Every scratch on the glass and scuff on the gold-plated case is part of a narrative left behind by my grandma. It’s exactly why I’ll never get the glass replaced or the case re-polished.
22mm wide vintage Oris - Credit Guest Author
I think it’s fairly obvious why I would never part with this design, and I’m sure most of our readers have a possession that falls into this same category. It certainly shows plenty of wear and may not get as much wrist time as some of my other watches, but that does not make this watch any less valuable to me. I also weirdly like the fact I don’t know much about the watch. It keeps it a bit of a mystery, just like my grandma herself.
