Apologies if my title is a bit click-baity. This title from the Mad Watch Collector certainly is. I do like his content, and this video has an interesting perspective. Much (all) of what he says has some truth to it. My opinion is that there is some utility to a smartwatch. My argument against it is just that what it TAKES from me doesn’t balance what it does FOR me. I have no interest in convincing you to give up your smartwatch. I also don’t have to justify why I don’t like it, but since the topic comes up, I think Russel here does a pretty good job at explaining some of the downsides… https://youtu.be/zMJ21m027tM?si=ixbQpynz9Ms4BE16

Man I'm psyched and I have to share it with you guys. My favorite Rado watch had a small part in the band break years ago. I searched around for this part online, to no avail. Well, I just took up the cause again because I love the watch. I contacted Rado and after exchanging several photos and emails, they found the part that I need to fix it! They had 3 in stock - I bought 2. $3 each plus $10 in shipping plus tax -$17. I'll post photos of the repaired watch. This is the one I call "Batman, the watch ". Warner Photos added.

This is probably my most versatile watch in my collection. Pretty much goes with anything. Great for travel and looks great on my wrist. Water resistant up to 100 meters. And, no I won't be diving with it. Or swimming with it on at all for that matter. Happy Wednesday!

Off to the office for a few hours.

This is long, but I think worth it This past weekend I was looking at the watches that I used to wear – all in need of some type of repair. I was telling Elizabeth that back in the day when I was really dealing fine art and antiques, I had a guy that could fix almost anything mechanical. Clocks, watches, victrolas, old mechanical music boxes – all kinds of things. I met him through a friend that referred me to him after I purchased 6 French Ormolou clocks that I paid good money for. I didn’t know much about them when I bought them, but found out that every single one of them needed repair. The shops that I called were all starting at $400 each to repair them. Man, I thought I just made a big mistake. My friend introduced me to this “old” guy, Ken Fairbanks who repaired everything out of a shop that he converted his garage into. Super interesting guy. It turns out he was doing most of the difficult repairs for all the shops in the area, especially on grandfather clocks. He not only fixed those French clocks for me for $130 each, he also waxed them and cleaned them up externally. They looked and ran great, and I was able to sell them at a profit. Over the years, I’d bring things to him, mostly watches for repair. When I tapered off in dealing, I lost touch with him and honestly figured he had passed. I did a search for his name and found this article in the Chicago Tribune. Maybe old Ken was still around! Today, I called the number that I found for him and low and behold he picked up the phone! We had a great conversation and I’m thrilled that he’s still around and still working on watches (that’s all the does now, nothing bigger). I now have 4 watches that I’m going to bring to him for repair. If anyone can get them back in the game, my money is on Ken. HERE'S THE ARTICLE: Column: After working on watches for decades, time on the side of Fox Valley craftsman Tom Strong / The Beacon-News At his home in Sandwich, Ken Fairbanks displays a Hamilton Chronograph watch from the 1960s on which he has worked. The watch has about 400 parts.