When Time Was On My Side

When life began for me

As a youngster going nowhere

not concerned about the grime

until I found a second chance

among the pendulums of time

This urchin of the London scene

became a master of the zones

dispensed the minutes ticking by

clocks amazing Frank Hope Jones

From Liberty’s to Selfridges
all the sciences and the law

Whitehall and the Bank of England

I spent time in every door

Every system made one ponder
how time will finally unlock

the secrets of the everything

with a calibrated master clock

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hope-Jones 

What a terrific break for a young man such as I. Having no real idea of what ambition and aspiration meant I happened upon a Synchronome opportunity to become useful. 

This job for a callow youth took me in and around every important London Institution. Beyond that all over Great Britain and eventually Europe and the USA. Life to me is the opportunities one takes full advantage of.

The Watch

In 1965, I turned 16 on July 30th. To my delight, my father gifted me a beautiful automatic Seiko watch

nless steel Seiko watch with a date window. It was the perfect complement to my career as a master clock system engineer. My apprenticeship required a blend of mechanical skills and a solid understanding of electricity. After each system visit, I would calibrate the master clock using the precise ‘TIM’ dial-up system with a telephone handset. I soon realised that my new watch kept astonishingly accurate time, boosting my confidence to the point where I needed ‘TIM’ only once a week on the first day of a new working week.

 

During a visit to a City of London system, the resident engineer asked if my watch was an Omega. I replied that it was a Seiko, and he noted its resemblance to his Omega. The main difference was the impressive watch strap on the Omega. Curious, I asked where he had purchased it, and he told me about a high-class jeweller just across the high street. I entered the jewellers with high hopes of finding a similar strap. However, my expectations were dashed when I was rudely informed that an Omega strap would not fit my watch, and even if it did, they refused to sell me one on principle. The truth is, I wouldn’t have been able to afford such a purchase anyway. In those days, it was still very much a know-your-place on the high streets of the grand city.

 

It would be many years before I could consider acquiring an Omega watch. One night, I was watching a TV program about the latest innovation in watch escapement technology. George Daniels, Master watchmaker, had invented the first new escapement since Thomas Mudge created the lever escapement in 1754. I was captivated by the beauty of this innovation, which was to be presented in a classic 1950s Omega style, and I knew I had to have it.

 

Added text December 2024