My Milestone watch – Roger Smith Series 1
On life’s journey there are moments considered “milestones” – the most significant or meaningful of moments. Some the result of action such as accomplishments; others inaction such as simply surviving the passage of time. Milestones IN live and milestones OF live.
Milestones don’t come as surprises. They can be expected and indeed created.
A milestone birthday is not a surprise, it was anticipated. A milestone event such as a wedding shouldn’t be a surprise. And an accomplishment such as winning a gold medal, while less expected, rarely comes without much work and energy to achieve.
Milestones are marked differently than day to day moments. Celebration, recognition, and in some cases a special watch. The time aspect of watches relates to milestones that are associated with the passage or remembering of time such as birthdays, retirements, graduations, etc.
As such, my grandmother purchasers a gold Patek Philippe for my grandfather on their honeymoon in Europe. I inherited it in my late teens and in a sad story for another time, sold it. That piece was the nugget that started my watch collecting 20 years later. In some way, I’ve been hoping for that exact piece to reappear in my life. It is of course lost to history and never to be seen again.
As I saw the completion of my 6th decade on the horizon, I felt it appropriate to mark the milestone with a watch equally momentous. I know 60 isn’t 100, or 75, or even 65, but 60 seemed quite an accomplishment for me and as good an excuse as any to push the boundaries of the collection – and my bank account.
So, four years ago, I placed an order for a Roger Smith Series 1 in Rose Gold. Hoping and planning for its arrival around my 60th birthday, I settled in on a grassy spot on the banks of my life’s river, grabbed a sandwich, and let the next 48 months flow by.
While accuracy of a watch can be measured in seconds per day, predictability of delivery of an independent watch is often off by months, if not years. This gorgeous yet understated – in the most British of ways – times piece arrived within days of my 60th birthday. Well Done, all!
Sadly, it took me a moment to remember its importance and significance.
Much had changed in 4 years, and I got distracted on the banks of the river. Those 48 months were some of the best and worst moments of my life. Accomplishments, regrets, excitement, emotions high and low. The collection changed its meaning; my role in my life and the lives of others changed; friends came and went. The milestone that was years away (turning 60) was now here and maybe not as much a celebration as I thought it would be.
But the watch remained true to its calling.
Unlike “louder” pieces with seasonal or “one of a kind” colors and esthetics designed to jump off the wrist, the Roger Smith calms me, reminds me to think of the centuries of watch makers whose many moments flowed without celebration or milestone. Not undeserving, but like most of life, under recognized.
That’s not to say a Roger Smith is unrecognized. It traditional ¾ plate, effective engraving, and efficient single wheel co-axial escapement are the realization of saying more by speaking softly. The rumored closed wait list and significant price increase would indicate that at least a handful of collectors recognize the importance of Roger Smith and the watch’s connection to the history (and future) of horology. Or, have a milestone to celebrate.
It was one of the few watches I purchased sight unseen as there are so few on the planet.
Upon arrival I was taken by the ease of winding; the satisfying click as the stem traveled the short distance to engage the hands; the sweeping of the hands smoothly settling on the minute desired. The watch has a hack second and clear markers for hours, minutes, and seconds making it quite accurate as well as precise. No reason to be late for any milestone in one’s life.
Some say it’s “overpriced” while forgetting that price and value are distinctly different; value is relative to the beholder; and watch collecting has never been a great investment in general. Adjusted for inflation, I’m not sure my grandmother’s gift to my grandfather held much of its value over time. Yet he wore it for over half a century and marked numerous milestones with it. And as a grandson, it’s one of the few things of his I wish I still had.
Am I worthy of this watch?
Not can I afford it, I did that. But do I deserve a piece so rare and sought after? Only collecting in this environment of overwhelming voices telling you what to collect, who the “cool kids” are, where the “value” pieces are, and how millionaires and billionaire are one upping each other would cause me to ask this question. It can be hard to see one’s collection clearly these days.
But am I “worthy” of it? That’s a question that will take time to determine. How I wear it, respect it, engage with it, celebrate it, maybe tie my story with it. It’s certainly more unique and special than a mainstream Patek Phillip while still reminding me of the properness of my grandfather, who wore a tie and jacket to dinner each night – even in his own home!
Do I see it for its value, price, or role in my life? It already holds the role as the mark of my 60th birthday and in many ways as a replacement of the “one that got away” – my grandfather’s watch.
At the end of the day, I acquired this Roger Smith to celebrate and mark a milestone of my life and not as an investment. I will treat it as thus and leave its future to the future.
As they say – only time (on a rare haute horology timepiece) will tell.
