Narrative Description -- Tangible Object

Narrative Description -- Tangible Object of Value

My father and I have always been very close. Since I reached the age of responsibility, I have always felt very acutely that my father was with me in spirit at any important event in my life, such as formal interviews and special occasions where he cannot actually accompany me. That is partly because he has allowed me to wear his watch that has also always been his (only) prize possession. He grew up following NASA's space race to the moon during the 1960s and always admired everything associated with it; it was one of the reasons he studied engineering. The only expensive material object that my father ever purchased for himself is his Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph watch, the exact same model worn by all NASA astronauts throughout the space race. When I have the opportunity to wear my father's watch, I feel connected to him and to his interests and life history, I am reminded of some of the reasons that I respect and admire him, and I also understand how many different types of beauty there are besides what we usually think of in connection with "art."

Ever since I was a child I remember being fascinated by my father's watch. It looks much "busier" than ordinary watches, especially to a child. Back then there were hardly any other watches of its type. Unlike traditional watches, my father's Speedmaster has two additional buttons or "pushers," one above and one below the winder or "crown." The watch dial has three small "sub-dials" at the 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 o'clock positions: one is a continuous "small second hand"; another is an elapsed minutes recorder; the third is an elapsed hour recorder. The two time-recording sub-dials keep track of the time measured by the large "chronograph sweep hand" that looks like the second hand on traditional watches. A chronograph is a watch that doubles as a stop-watch and the large sweep hand is not a second hand but a stopwatch that remains at the 12:00 o'clock position except when it is activated by the first (top) pusher next to the crown. The same pusher stops (and restarts) the chronograph sweep hand and the second (bottom) pusher returns it to the 12:00 o'clock position. When I have the opportunity to wear his watch, it reminds of my childhood and of our relationship every time I look at it or receive a compliment about it.

My father's watch also reminds me of how grounded and humble a person my father is. When he originally purchased the watch in his twenties, it was a relatively expensive watch, but it cost him less than a tenth of the price of the same watch today. Back then, it was recognized mainly for its association with NASA and it has always been known as the "moon watch" because Omega advertising continually emphasized the fact that the Speedmaster Professional was specifically tested by NASA and selected for the space program. The reason that the watch reminds me of my father's humility is the way he avoids wearing it in any company who might perceive it as a purposeful display of wealth or status.

My father has never worn it where the circumstances would amount to rubbing his (apparent) wealth in the face of others. In my family it has always been a good-natured joke that my father's watch is worth more than everything else he owns combined, except for his car. In fact, if my father keeps both his car and his watch for much longer, it may be worth more than everything else he owns including his car. He has always bought his clothes at places like Target and he said many times that if he ever lost his watch he might have a hard time justifying paying for a new one and that he might not be able to enjoy it afterwards because it would be such a waste of money. He has taught me that status symbols (like expensive watches and cars) are almost always a sign of insecurity and that he loves his watch because of its history and because of its mechanical beauty and in spite of the fact that is also recognized as a status symbol rather than because it is.