May 20, 2007 in Features

The clock … … is ticking

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Photos by Holly Pickett photo

Local watch repairman Leo Tracy has worked on and collected watches for more than 30 years. “I just like the romance of the machinery of it,” he says.
(Full-size photo)

Larry Pearson sees history in the gears and dials of well-made timepieces.

“You can just look at our history as a country and it just dovetails right along,” says Pearson, president of the Inland Empire chapter of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.

Pearson, who lives in Walla Walla, spent the past few days in Spokane with fellow horologists (those who study timekeeping devices) at a regional convention. They listened to speakers talk about watches and clocks, showed off their collections, and bought and sold items from other members.

But the conventions may themselves be history before long, Pearson says. This could be the last time the 80-member group holds a regional meeting here, or anywhere, for that matter, he says.

“We’re not positive we can do it again,” he says. “We have such a small amount of members and they’re getting older.”

Fewer and fewer people wear watches regularly, recent studies say. Only about 10 percent of young people strap one on each day, The Associated Press reports. And spending on watches dropped nearly 20 percent between 2001 and 2006, according to Experian Simmons Research.

Just as computers pounded the nail in the typewriter’s coffin, it appears as if cell phones, BlackBerrys and other electronic devices may signal that time’s up for watches, at least for a good chunk of the population.

“I no longer wear a watch,” writes Spokane resident Melissa Swanson in an e-mail. “I rely upon my cell phone. When I change time zones, it reflects the correct local time automatically.”

Says Andrea Flanigan, community outreach coordinator for Hospice of Spokane: “I am watchless and delighted about it. I have a BlackBerry and it gives me all I need – telephone, e-mail, time, my schedule. It is heaven!”

But don’t count the watch out just yet, watch-lovers say.

Larry Verhaag, a watch repairman who works at Halpin’s Pharmacy in the Spokane Valley, says he has seen fewer high-end mechanical watches over the years. But Verhaag, 62, – who is also trained to repair typewriters – doesn’t think watches will ever go the way of the dinosaurs. A certain segment of the population will always continue to wear them.

“They’ve got to have time on their hands,” he says.

Plus, he says, there will always be people like him who have an appreciation for the craftsmanship that goes into a fine watch.

“I love to see mechanical watches,” he says. “It’s like seeing an old car. You drool all over it … This is my hobby. I like to see the insides. I’m not too excited about the outside.”

Tavis Karrow, a 27-year-old Spokane resident, says he loves his Steinhausen watch.

“I get to see the moving parts of my timepiece, and that reminds me of how precious our time really is,” Karrow says in an e-mail. “Cell phones will lose their luster after a while, but a good watch can be handed down from generation to generation.”

Terri Bedell-Ferguson of Spokane also says she wears her cherished watch each day.

“It’s an anniversary gift and it is full of love,” she writes in an e-mail. “My husband had it designed for me and it’s beautiful. A lot of love, care and consideration went into it. Every day I wear it and smile as I know the true value of love.”

Just as some people (who can afford them) own Porsches and BMWs, some people will continue to buy Rolexes and other top-dollar timepieces, says Dave Larsen of Larsen’s Clock Center in Spokane.

“To some people, a watch doesn’t mean anything to them and to the next person, a watch is basically like a car,” Larsen says. “A symbol of prestige and the ability to have finer things.”

Beauty is one thing. But plenty of other folks would never part with their watch for more utilitarian reasons.

Rebecca McNeill, who works at the Lake City Playhouse in Coeur d’Alene, relies on her watch to tell her what time to start shows.

“I spend so much time trying to discourage cell phone use that I would hate to carry one around with me,” McNeill writes.

Thea Nerud, a retired registered nurse from Spokane, says “my watch is nearly a part of me.”

“I remove it only to bathe,” Nerud writes. “It is my umpteenth Timex … Convenience and long habit are my reasons for still wearing a wristwatch. I cannot imagine hunting for my cell phone instead of a quick glance at my wrist to show me the time.”

And Amanda Dugger of Spokane writes: “I wear a watch because I am a vet assistant and need one to take the pulse rate of animals …”

Jim Lubic has been interviewed time and again about the demise of the wristwatch. Lubic is the executive director of the Ohio-based American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute. Even though membership in his professional organization continues to decline, he says reports of the watch’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

“Younger people don’t wear watches like they used to,” Lubic says. “One school of thought is that the 25-and-under group are not wearing watches like they used to, (but) when they become older and more successful they will wear watches again.”

Lubic likes to cite a quote in a recent industry publication from the executive vice president of Seiko who says, “Just because people spend more on cell phones doesn’t mean they stop buying watches. It’s like saying the engagement ring business is dying because people live together.”

Leo Tracy, who ran Tracy’s Jewelers in Spokane for three decades, continues to repair fine watches. He works at Larsen’s Clock Center and says he owns some 80 watches himself.

“I just like the romance of the machinery of it,” Tracy says. “They hold up under years and years of service. It’s one of the few machines we operate 24 hours a day and generally never service them.”

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