A Piece of Time

I thought I'd share with you a few of my watches that have personal engravings. I don't often have the story behind the retro/vintage watches I find so the ones that come with an engraving help tell a story and are a piece of time.

A retirement, a special occasion, a gift from someone?


I love the one above - an interesting event in time. Perhaps an annual ball? The particular style of engraving is quite nice.


July 11, 1952 - perhaps a birthday watch? This particular Bulova watch was $71.50 in 1952.


Perhaps a retirement watch for Mr. Cartwright? As a collector of watches, do you think I'll receive a watch when I retire? Will it be a new one or a retro/vintage one?

Caseback on my East-West Shrine Game Watch



The three shots above are a watch I found that commorate the 1933 East-West Shrine Football game. An annual college all-star football game; in 2018 it will be the 93rd playing! I can't find information on whether this was simply a commeorative watch available to the public or whether they were provided to the team players and/or coaches. My example was for the eastern team.

From the Shrine website:

Created by the Shriners in 1925, the East-West Shrine Game was the nation’s first college all-star football game. The game is driven by the desire to support Shriners Hospitals for Children in its mission to help children in need of expert medical care. More than 1 million children have benefited from Shriners Hospitals’ unique way of providing hope and healing, regardless of the families’ ability to pay for services.

1933 East-West Shrine Game Roster

1933 East-West Shrine Game Program

Love the leather helmet on the player silhouette above. Program images courtesy of the Shriners East-West Shrine Game website.

A Simple Engraving of the Owners Name

I really don't know the significance of the engraving on my Hamilton "Linwood" below. Personal ID numbers for F.W.K.? Address? Telephone number?

Rudimentary engraving, but cool nonetheless