A Busy Day at the Convention

7/19/2018 Day 3

Started the morning off with a cheese omelet, two pieces of peanut butter toast, and coffee. Wrote the blog and put out a couple fires with eBay bidders, then off to lunch in York. I again chose the "Around the Clock Diner," because it has good food at reasonable prices. I sat at the counter. I chose the "Around the Clock Sandwich Melt," which consists of turkey, bacon, cheese, and tomato on grilled seeded rye. Chose a cup of chicken corn chowder as my side, and a Diet Pepsi. All delicious. I had a spritely, cheery waitress named Karen. At one point, I overheard her tell another waitress she was going home to take a shower and rest for a little while before coming in for another shift.

So I said to her, "Karen, honey, before you go home, would you top off my Diet Pepsi?"

"Oh, sure," she replied. "I'm not going home right away."

"OK," I said, "but when you leave, would you please tell me, because I have abandonment issues."

She looked at me kind of funny for a few seconds, and then we both started to laugh.

Funny little exchange. She looks like a career waitress, but I seriously doubt she's heard that wisecrack from a customer before.

Anyway, the bill came to $12, and I left a $2.40 tip which I hope Karen will get, because she had indeed left by then.

The World Wide Traders (WWT) show was on its second and final day in York, and I ultimately decided not to go, because I couldn't get any information from the web or the phone on what the fee was to get in. I'm really not here to buy anything except for one watch that is being shown to me by a client at the NAWCC Mart at the Utz Center on Saturday. But I figured if the entry fee was cheap enough for NAWCC members on the final day, I'd breeze in and take a look around. I also have a few friends in the WWT. Oh well, no big loss. I got onto U.S. Highway 30 East and headed for Columbia to NAWCC HQ, where festivities would be underway in about an hour.

I attended one lecture on chronograph watches, but had to leave early because the auditorium was so beastly hot/stuffy I couldn't stand it. I think the AC in the building was pushed beyond capacity because so many people were in the building picking up registration packets and milling about.  One of panelists leading the lecture was John Cote. The basics of the lecture were that chronographs (basically wristwatches with stopwatches built into them) were originally intended as scientific instruments for either working people, or specific sporting people (motoring, track and field) who needed a device to measure time and/or a device to easily convert time into speed, or time into distance. They were inexpensive, priced for the working man (or woman). A few were cased in gold for physicians and people of similar wealth, but most were cased in base metal (either stainless steel, or chrome-plated, or a combination chrome bezel, stainless steel back.)

It is only recently that chronographs have become a fashion statement, especially for the rich, which has led to an exponential jump in price, especially the "sport" chronographs by Heuer, Rolex, Breitling, Omega, and so forth. The trend is likely to continue, and high prices have led to counterfeiting, swapping parts, laser engraving to put different brand names on movements, and so forth. All of which translates into buyers needing to use extra caution, and buying only from known suppliers  with good reputations in the business. And even then, you are not assured of getting the watch that you paid for. It is fairly well known, for example, that a famous and established auction house back in 2007 sold a fake Omega Seamaster model 300, and refused to to publicly admit it when experts around world pointed out to the auction house that it was a fake. We collectors can only assume the lot was discreetly removed on the day of bidding. Technically, the watch was not a chronograph, but I bring it up to illustrate that when graduating to high-end watches costing $10K and above (or even lower in some instances), buyers must REALLY know what they are doing and/or enlist the help of a trusted expert.

After the lecture, Cote led the group into the NAWCC museum to show off its chronograph exhibit, so I joined the group at that point and got to ask John several questions. All very enlightening.

Next was a reception outside for people who had registered to attend. This was a catered affair with several buffet lines set up with meats (beef brisket, chicken breasts) which you could have with or without bun, baked beans, salads, fruits, desserts, and soft drinks. The event must have had one or more sponsors, because the cost of attending was only $5. I ate light because friends Nancy and Al told me they were taking me to dinner after the day's festivities. I had a beef brisket sandwich, fruit, brownie, and lemonade. Then found a table in the shade and sat on one of those flimsy folding chairs that caterers love to use. Had good conversations with table mates, including Steven Humphrey, who retired as executive director just prior to the new director, Tom Wilcox, taking over. I also had a nice chat with Jarett and Deena Harkness of Spring, Texas. Jarett took over the Hamilton Electric watch repair business from Rene Rondeau, and is doing well and is establishing himself as a fine human being. He sells watches on his website (Ham electrics and mechanical wathes) and also buys and sells at shows such as this one. Wife Deena is leaving her nine-to-five job job to work full time with Jarett, and the first thing she is doing is updating the company website, unwindintime.com.  I have purchased several watches from him.

Next up was the re-dedication of the Library and Research Center in honor of Fortunat Mueller-Maerki, who has been the library's major benefactor over the past 30 years. He has donated literally tens of thousands of dollars' worth of books to the library over the years. He has written reviews for hundreds of books for the NAWCC's educational journal, including a couple of my books. While he resides in Austria, he is most often on the road both in America and Europe keeping up relations with his scores of contacts, which include watch company executives, museum curators, leaders in horological academia, and so forth. Despite his standing, he is one of the most friendly and approachable people you will meet. While he loves watches (pocket and wrist), his true passion is clocks, especially large tower and street clocks. And if you get him talking about clocks, your bladder better be empty, because you are in for a long talk. Anyway, Fortunat brought his family with him for the unveiling of the renamed Fortunat Mueller-Maerki Library and Research Center, and it was very touching. I hold a special place in my heart for this event, because I have used the library and research center at least a dozen times in the last 20 years, sometimes staying the Columbia, Pa., area for a week at a time. There is no doubt that I owe a debt of gratitude to this gentleman. I know personally that the NAWCC budgets the Library a pittance (one year, $200) annually for new acquisitions because they know Fortunat will be bringing in boxes of books, ranging from the newly published to antiquarian. But for Fortunat's generosity, the library would be a shadow of what it is.

After the ceremony, I met up with friends Nancy and Al, and a couple of other guests, at the Wrightsville, Inn. I have already explained in a previous blog entry the highlight of that evening for me, but now I will tell you about the food and drink, which ran a close second to the thrill of holding half a million dollars worth of watches in my hand and examining them up close. To drink, I had a couple of Shock Top beers, one at the bar before my fellow diners arrived, and one at the dinner table. The featured item on the menu is the "Colossal Lump Crab Cake" for $23.95. To call it a "cake" is really an injustice. It was a giant fist-sized heap of crab meat chunks fiddled from fresh hardshell crab out of the Chesapeake Bay. They must have to fiddle a dozen crabs to get this much meat. What's holding it together is just a little bit of mayonnaise, and of course they season with a little bit of Old Bay seasoning. It can only be prepared broiled on a metal steak platter; it cannot be breaded or battered and then deep fried. And thank god for that, because it would ruin the delicate flavor the crab. I think it will be a long time before I'm able to settle for something inferior to this! The side items I had were a tossed salad and cabbage slaw, and they were certainly acceptable, but the shining star of the meal was the crab meat pile!

We adjourned the dinner at 9 p.m., which is the restaurant's closing time. The drive back to the airbnb was challenging in the dark; thank goodness for Google maps and my smart phone. How in the world did we ever survive before these two modern conveniences?

I arrived back at the house utterly exhausted. I certainly cannot hold up to a full day's standing, walking (car was parked a quarter mile from NAWCC HQ on a steep hill), conversing and sometimes glad handing with peers, etc., like I used to. Definitely time to lose some weight and get in better shape when I get back home!

Bruce