People collect watches for different reasons. For some, it might be the thrill of having the trendiest watch on Instagram. For others, it could be their cold calculated speculation based on watch values with the intent to make a quick buck. There are hundreds of other reasons as well, but one that should not be overlooked is that some people collect specific watches as a link to their family history. I recently bought a Longines Avigation Big Eye Chrono, and it fulfilled a promise that I made to myself when my father died.
Longines Avigation Big Eye
I’ll admit in advance, that this story is not the typical one where a father passes a watch to his son, who in turns passes the same watch to his own son. While that did actually happen, the final outcome of this story is much more convoluted. That is because I will be talking about a different watch than the one that was doubly bequeathed. I want to discuss how buying a watch can provide closure to a personal loss, and how my new Longines Avigation Big Eye Chrono came to symbolize the connection I had with my father, and perhaps my grandfather.
My Dad’s Longines watch
My father passed away in 2014, and it was one of the most difficult personal challenges that I have ever faced. I am not alone in this sentiment. Practically everyone has to eventually wrangle with the concept of mortality. I think that dealing with tragedies and the aftermath can eventually make us stronger people. If not that, then maybe it makes us more sympathetic to other people’s suffering. So far this article sounds like a session at a therapist’s office, but that is not what I intend it to be. Instead, I want to focus on how wearers can apply symbolic meaning to a watches.
One of the last things my father asked me to do was to find a watch that had been given to him by his father, who he barely knew himself. To make a long story short, his father was in the U.S. Navy and was called on December 7, 1941 to fight in the Pacific theater of war. That was the last time my father saw his dad until the 1980s. This is when my father decided to find his father with the help an operator and a phone book. There is more to the story than that. Secrets were discovered, myths were overturned and understandings were reached. I am happy that my father got to reconnect with his father to smooth over a rough childhood and decades of painful silence.
This small Longines watch was owned by both my father and grandfather.
One thing that was given to my father by my grandfather, who I never met, was a simple 2-handed Longines watch. It was dressy and small measuring only 32 mm wide. It was also quartz, which was kind of the norm for the 1980s. I wrote about this Longines timepiece here in detail: Inheriting My Grandfather’s Gold Longines Watch. I was happy to get this watch, which I practically found in a sock, in a drawer, under some doo-dads. I wore it for a few years, and especially on anniversary occasions.
If I am being completely honest, the Longines watch that I got from my father was not really my style. I am not really a gold dress watch kind of guy, much less one that is so small that has a quartz engine. The strap width is a measly 16 mm wide, which is getting dangerously close to that of a woman’s watch. To combat the diminutive appearance, I employed an old-school bund strap that makes a small watch strap look larger than it actually is. A bund strap has a leather pad that sits underneath the watch and flairs beyond the watch. This type of strap adds visual bulk to a smaller watch, they are especially useful for small vintage watches. I enjoyed wearing the watch when it was working.
My circa 1979 vintage Longines gold watch on a bund strap
Many years and a few battery-changes later, the quartz ticker in this watch finally started malfunctioning. This timepiece just could not keep accurate time. At this point, I came to a crossroads of ownership. Should I repair the watch, or should I retire it? This was a difficult decision because repairing the watch might include replacing the quartz movement altogether. I wondered if the watch might fundamentally become a different watch than the one that my forbears wore if I replaced the movement. I decided that for the time being, the only way to maintain the originality was to simply retire it… or at least until I have a better plan of action for it. That will be a project for another day. The broken Longines quartz watch left a gap in my collection. Thematically, I felt like something was missing. I yearned for the connection that the watch provided to my father and maybe even to my mysterious grandfather (who was a complete stranger to me).
The broken quartz L950.2 movement
An idea struck me to buy a replacement Longines watch. With this, I could feel like I was wearing a token of something they both wore. Fortunately for me, they wore a singular Longines watch, but it could have just as easily been a Timex. The brand did not really matter. However, this is Longines we are talking about. I would be lying if I said that wearing this honored brand did not mean much to me. On the contrary, I’ve always admired this Swiss watch manufacturer for their history, heritage, and style. I guess I got lucky that my forebears picked Longines (and not Invicta! hee hee)
My Longines watch
To fulfill my dream of emulating my father and grandfather, I decided to purchase another Longines watch. In a family with few traditions, and very little wealth passed from generation to generation, having the same watch brand could be considered a link to my past. I know that I’m stretching here! It would be up to me to continue the line of brand ownership or not. This is the convoluted part of the story that I confessed to earlier. To most people, my actions probably won’t make much sense. To a fellow watch collector, however, I am betting it seems like a perfectly sane endeavor.
Carrying on the tradition
As long as I was going to stay within the Longines brand to find a replacement, I felt like I should have some latitude to pick the watch that best suited my taste, not someone else’s. I had my heart set on the Longines Avigation Big Eye, having read many articles of this vintage reissue. There are many great reviews on the web about the Longines L2.816.4.53.2/4. I’m not sure that I would add anything to the collective opinion about the model. In short, it is both conservative and quirky, modern and vintage. I feel like it is a horologically interesting watch, and it connects me to my paternal lineage (however loosely). To me, this watch represents a promise that I made to myself to never forget my father’s love, and that alone makes this watch special to me. Plus, it’s cool as hell.
Charles Hughes, Jr. with his pet boa constrictor in college
Having both the old and new Longines watches in my collection fills me with a sense of fulfillment. As silly as that sounds, I infused sentimental meaning into an inanimate object. The Longines Avigation Big Eye has more value to me than just what I spent on it. I guess you could say that I am carrying on a family tradition… and that is priceless.
New versus old Longines watch
