Not politicas and not nonsense...these are times that
(Login figcar) Moderator Posted Mar 8, 2012 7:39 PM
require people to "measure twice and cut once"...which is an old expression from carpenters when working with wood to make things. And the vintage watches we love are talking to us about modern life...about things made by hand...about patience...saving for a rainy day...waste not want not...all the old ideas that guided prior generations through periods of feast and famine...all this is part of the world our watches came from.
In the early 1900s General Motors couldn't sell their cars as cheaply as Ford could...so they created GMFC to loan people the money to buy their cars. Henry Ford thought is was crazy for people to borrow money to buy a car...he was old fashioned and thought they should save up for it. Debt was not considered something to aspire to.
Henry began his mechanical career as a watchmaker...first repairing an uncle's watch and teaching himself how to do it, in the process. Soon lots of people where bringing him all sorts of watches and clocks. Henry had to create and build his own tools to do the work. Eventually he moved off his family farm and got a job in the city, repairing watches. He was so young they made him work in a room in the back so no one would see him.
Ford and Hans Wilsdorf had the same ideas...Ford lived in a country that didn't need watches yet, they needed mobility. Hans had the right idea in the right place at the right time. Both men created their legends. Ford always kept a watchmakers bench nearby...and he would go there and work when he wanted to think.
If our watches teach us anything it is to slow down and think about what we are doing...to measure twice and cut once.