I was changing some leather watchbands to colorful ribbon ones the other day, and decided to take some photos. All of the above bands were purchased at various Brooks Brothers stores over the years, with the oldest from the now closed Madison Street store in Chicago. Brooks Brothers still offers this type of band, and actually the current bands may be a bit more durable than the old ones. At least that's the way it seems to me - ask me in another 15 years how the new ones are holding up.
Though some of these older bands are generally pretty tattered, scruffy and missing grommets, they still get worn occasionally throughout the year. Though I probably wear some of the newer Brooks Brothers bands more often, the main reason I keep these older ones is that Brooks Brothers doesn't make them in as wide an assortment of regimental stripes anymore, and of course, because they remind me of the past and the passage of time.
Though some of these older bands are generally pretty tattered, scruffy and missing grommets, they still get worn occasionally throughout the year. Though I probably wear some of the newer Brooks Brothers bands more often, the main reason I keep these older ones is that Brooks Brothers doesn't make them in as wide an assortment of regimental stripes anymore, and of course, because they remind me of the past and the passage of time.
Since I already had the watchbands out, I decided to take a photo of this old mechanical Orvis Hamilton field watch that was a Christmas gift circa 1981. This watch has a hacking function that can be utilized when the crown is pulled out to adjust the time. Pulling out the crown stops the movement of the second hand and the measurement of time, which is a great feature if one is trying to set the watch down to the second. Years ago, many companies offered this sort of Hamilton watch with their company logo on it. I don't wear this watch much these days, but it still winds and sets fine, runs smoothly, and seems to tell good time. As I look at this old watch and these ribbon bands, there is one thing on my mind, though. Even though this watch still measures the time as accurately as it always has, why does the passage of time seems faster than it did in 1981? I think I need a hacking feature to occasionally stop the passage of time itself, so that I can catch my breath. Then again, perhaps, that's what the magic of a good night's sleep and the occasional nap is for.
