Thursday, December 11, 2008
Expert in Cheap Chinese watches speaks up
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Some 25 years ago a near relative whom I took to school daily was expert in breaking or losing his watch every week. So I became adept in getting him new 99 cent watches from the successors to Wooloworth’s dime empire stores , on a regular scheduled basis.
These Chinese watches fascinated me. After Nixon opened China to us in 1972, they cane, a dollar apiece, easy to activate and set, and easier to throw away rather than replace a battery. But I kept some dead ones.
I was in the habit of using drugstore watches after my good Rolex metal wristband broke, and it was fine, but the leather straps kept eroding. The mechanics worked forever, but the leather strips – which I preferred over metal – were decaying, or too stiffly constructed and had to be trimmed . They just would not last. Now I have this cemetery of electronically working watches that cannot be worn as intended.
Finally, a light broke. A drugstore watch that has lost its eroded strap, and a dead Chinese 99 cent watch had good plastic straps– can the straps be swapped? It all depends on the pin. In my case the pin fitted well and the watch was back in use.
To explain – watch straps are attached to the body by a spring-driven pin, fitted into an appx. 2 cm wide attachment space, Swiss or Chinese. If the pin fits, you can fit a hardy Chinese plastic strap on a Swiss or or a drugstore watch, and voila! You will have a new watch for a few years, your faith in the free trade and multinational cooperation will be strengthened, you will believe in the world as a unity, an will save a few dollars.
My contribution to world peace and cooperation.
Some 25 years ago a near relative whom I took to school daily was expert in breaking or losing his watch every week. So I became adept in getting him new 99 cent watches from the successors to Wooloworth’s dime empire stores , on a regular scheduled basis.
These Chinese watches fascinated me. After Nixon opened China to us in 1972, they cane, a dollar apiece, easy to activate and set, and easier to throw away rather than replace a battery. But I kept some dead ones.
I was in the habit of using drugstore watches after my good Rolex metal wristband broke, and it was fine, but the leather straps kept eroding. The mechanics worked forever, but the leather strips – which I preferred over metal – were decaying, or too stiffly constructed and had to be trimmed . They just would not last. Now I have this cemetery of electronically working watches that cannot be worn as intended.
Finally, a light broke. A drugstore watch that has lost its eroded strap, and a dead Chinese 99 cent watch had good plastic straps– can the straps be swapped? It all depends on the pin. In my case the pin fitted well and the watch was back in use.
To explain – watch straps are attached to the body by a spring-driven pin, fitted into an appx. 2 cm wide attachment space, Swiss or Chinese. If the pin fits, you can fit a hardy Chinese plastic strap on a Swiss or or a drugstore watch, and voila! You will have a new watch for a few years, your faith in the free trade and multinational cooperation will be strengthened, you will believe in the world as a unity, an will save a few dollars.
My contribution to world peace and cooperation.
Labels: 99 cent watches, cheap Chinese watches, Chinese watches, world peace
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 2:49 PM 
