Basil Jet wrote:

When I bought the watch I needed one... it told the time, it stored
phone numbers, it kept multiple appointments... ten years later, my
phone does all of that, so a watch is just jewellery now. It was a shame
to retire a working watch that I'd imported from Germany at a cost of 55
quid, but I couldn't justify spending one quid on a new battery for
something that bored me.


Perhaps you should buy a more interesting watch? I looked at Junghans
watches a few years back but found nothing exciting apart from the
fact that they were radio controlled. A fine example of Teutonic
efficiency but it hardly sets the heart alight ...

I eventually bought a Mondaine Swiss Railway Watch. I know the basic
Mondaine watches aren't all that distinctive, but this is one of the
rare "Stop to Go" versions that not only has a face that resembles the
Swiss Railway Clock, but also reproduces the distinctive 'kick' of the
seconds hand at the end of the minute.

It worked well and was fascinating to look at as the second hand
approached and performed its 'kick', but when a watchmaker replaced
the battery he couldn't get the "Stop to Go" set at the end of the
minute. That was in spite of lending him the instruction booklet
which tells you how to set it.

So the watch didn't have quite the same appeal when the 'kick' came at
23 seconds past. ;-)