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Luxury Watch Fun Facts to Rescue Any Conversation Over the Holidays

By Barbara Korp
23. prosince 2024
4 minutes
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Christmas: The contemplative time of year when we gather with our loved ones around the tree to eat, laugh, and answer awkward questions. While we usually manage to cleverly dodge questions about our relationship status, career path, or the plans we made last year to get fitter, it’s not really an option on Christmas Eve. But don’t worry! We’ve gathered a few fun luxury watch facts that will help you avoid the most awkward questions and get you talking about your passion: watches! Watches are a fascinating topic of conversation that appeal far beyond the inner circle of watch enthusiasts. They combine technology, art, and history, and thus offer numerous starting points for discussion – even among people who aren’t (yet) passionate watch enthusiasts. Moreover, watches are often associated with personal stories: a gift for a special occasion, an heirloom, or an unforgettable memory. These emotional ties make watches a universal topic of conversation that can bring people together from all walks of life. My strategy – whether with friends, at business events, or at Christmas parties – is to let my conversation partner tell the story behind their watch. However, if your conversation partner isn’t wearing a watch or you want to steer the conversation in a different direction, you can always intersperse the following five fun facts. If these don’t help, we have the ultimate tip at the end of this article on how you can save any conversation. We wish you the best of luck with your loved ones this holiday season!

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso – an ideal way to start a conversation
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso – an ideal way to start a conversation

Rolex: The Brand of Astronauts

We all know about Omega’s connection with space – after all, the story of the Moonwatch is legendary. But did you know that there have also been many Rolex watches in space? Yes, several astronauts wore Rolexes privately and took their watches with them on their missions. These instances provided Rolex with the ideal opportunity to obtain feedback on the accuracy of their watches in space – and it was very good. On the famous Apollo 13 mission, for example, pilot Jack Swigert wore his favorite watch: a GMT-Master. Thanks to his tried and true companion, the crew managed to return to Earth despite major technical problems. It’s not proven that this good fortune was actually due to the watch. What is certain, however, is that Jack Swigert wrote a letter to Rolex thanking them for creating a watch he could always rely on.

Rolex GMT-Master 6542
It’s been to space: the Rolex GMT-Master, here: ref. 6542

The Tiny Jean Pocket of Watches

If the person opposite you is wearing jeans, this fun fact is perfect: It’s about that tiny pocket within the large pocket of jeans. Today, it’s considered a classic feature of jeans, but it’s either not used at all or at most for storing coins. The pocket was originally intended for watches. When jeans were invented, the majority of the population still used pocket watches. Unlike with a wristwatch, you always had to think about the best and safest way to store a pocket watch – thus the tiny jeans pocket was born.

Vacheron Constantin pocket watch
A luxury item worth protecting: A pocket watch from Vacheron Constantin.

Leather from a Shipwreck

Luxury watch brands attach great importance to the quality of the leather used for their watch straps. But your conversation partner will hardly guess where the most exclusive leather for watch straps comes from: a shipwreck! We’re talking about the Metta Catharina, which sank off the coast of Cornwall in 1786. At the time, the ship was carrying the finest Russian leather. The wreck was discovered in the 1970s and several sheets of leather were recovered in good condition! Luxurious and truly unique watch straps were made from it.

Why do clock hands run to the right?

We all know that clockwise means to the right. But why is that? Coincidence? Of course not! The reason is quite simple: The movement of watch hands is based on the movement of sundials. The shadow cast by the sundial is like the hand – and in Europe, which lies in the northern hemisphere, this shadow is cast to the right. When the first mechanical clocks were developed in Europe, the hands ran to the right. If mechanical clocks had been developed in the southern hemisphere, the hands of today’s clocks would probably run to the left. Hard to imagine, isn’t it?

Omega received the Silver Snoopy Award

The connection between Omega and Snoopy dates back to 1970. That was when the Omega Speedmaster helped members of the Apollo 13 mission to measure the time for an important maneuver and thus save the astronauts’ lives. For this extraordinary achievement, Omega received NASA’s Silver Snoopy Award, an honor that is normally only awarded to people who have made a significant contribution to space travel. To this day, Snoopy from the Peanuts comic series adorns several Omega watches, whose popularity remains unbroken.

The Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 50th Anniversary brings back childhood memories.
Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 50th Anniversary

The Ultimate Tip: Your Personal Story

Better than any fun fact, however, is a personal story about your watch, or a funny experience you’ve had with it. Try to be a bit self-deprecating, it helps. For example, I feel like I should be overly punctual because I’m known as a watch lover. Or I could describe how my cheap but very glittery fashion watch is often mistaken for an expensive luxury watch and I’ve received countless compliments on it. Or that I couldn’t wear my Rolex for several months because my dog loved to lick the Jubilee strap (he wasn’t interested in other watches). As you can see: It’s often the little things that steer a conversation in a different direction – and make you laugh.

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About the Author

Barbara Korp

Barbara Korp

The moment I learned that watches were a lot more than just simple jewelry, I was hooked; I become enamored with the elegance of timekeeping. But there was one small hitch: most models were just too big for me to wear! That didn't discourage me, however. In fact, I developed quite a niche interest.

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