THE TIMEKEEPER. Copyright P. Audcent 2014
There was an advertisement for an auction, mainly bric a brack but some jewelry and five pocket watches, and it was these that caught my eye. For a year or so I have been collecting the odd pocket watch. It amazed me how many people wanted to dispose of great grandpa's pride and joy. Sadly when the price of gold or silver reached great heights people would sell the case for scrap and sometimes keep the movements or sell them via the Internet. Of course without the case the movement became almost unusable! However the auction ones were complete, two of each gold and silver cases and one of gunmetal. The gold ones or rather they were rolled gold where a sandwich of copper is heat pressed between two thin sheets of gold. The silver ones were Sterling grade. Yes I was interested in either the rolled gold or silver as long as they worked of course so I checked my accounts and looking at the photo's and description. I calculated a price using my pocket watch books. These books I had at home, gave all the makes and serial numbers of all main watches over the last two hundred years and fortunately the book itemized the approximate value of these various watches, I guess to help insurance valuation. So I selected the two I would bid for.
Well the day came I drove down to the auction house with the details on a piece of paper with my expected maximum bid prices.
I went to a cash machine and drew out what I might pay for the two I had chosen to bid, then went into the auction house. I did not have to wait long as generally small valuable items were auctioned before the furniture. The first watch came up and was sold, it was a Waltham and as I already had one similar, I waited for the second lot which was one of the watches I was interested in. I bid for this one until it reached my maximum, the auctioneer waited a moment and on the spur of the moment I bid an extra ten percent. Someone quickly bid over me so I shook my head. The third watch came up and so I bid again and then again. It was a fine silver cased English pocket watch about eighteen fifty with a lovely enameled landscape on the reverse side. I bid as high as I could go, combining both valuations of the first I had lost and the book valuation of this one. Yes it was a chance I would get this but alas an elderly gentleman beat me too it, and I thought as I looked around, all the people here in the room must watch collectors. Well the fourth one was snaffled up at the same over the top price so I waited to see what would happen to the plain old gunmetal one. It started off very low the auctioneer said it had no name and no serial numbers, he said as the gun metal was dark in appearance he suspected it was a pocket watch used in the great war. Nobody bid so I thought as I had driven all this way, and not return with anything, I put my hand up, but alas another person also bid, so again I raised my hand and the hammer came down, it was mine! I went to the office to pay and received my invoice and returned to the counter to pick up my purchase. Truthfully I was not over joyed at the item as my main focus was to bid and buy the more beautiful watches that had gone for far more than I had been wiling to pay, but I pocketed the item and left to find my car.
When I arrived home I took the pocket watch and studied it for a moment, I hadn't even checked if it worked or not but in turning the case in my hand I spotted a long slide on the edge and close by a sort of pimple. Ah methought this might be a chiming watch so I turned it on its back and raised the rear cover only to find another cover which I levered carefully apart. The mechanism had two plates but no spiral coil and there were no screw holes to take one. Next I wound the main spring three or four turns and gave a gentle shake and the watch started ticking strongly. I shut the rear covers carefully and set the time, then left it on the table whilst I had my lunch.
Whilst I ate I pondered what the slide on the watch was so I reopened the rear covers and checked the where abouts it was positioned only to discover one of the half pates covered any chance of investigation. The other plate covered the gear train and turning the thing over I checked the time against my wrist watch, they agreed to the second, well that was a relief. I re fitted the rear covers and tried to move the side slid, it would not move even though I pressed it in several directions. So I pressed the little pimple and tried up again and it moved with a faint click. The hands had now gone back to the time I originally set them an hour ago. Ah said I, its a watch for checking racing times!
Then a strange thing I felt hungry and I cast a quick look at my wrist watch and it too had changed. I switched on the radio and the one o'clock news filtered through, now all time pieces and radio agreed, what was more unnerving was I has just lost an hour, I pinched myself but no, I was not dreaming. So I lifted up the pocket watch it said five past one and pressed the pimple and slid the slid, the hands immediately changed back to one o'clock, the radio announced the one o'clock news and my wrist watch had altered back as well!
It was then and there that I first started the gambling. I know it was wrong of me but I couldn't resist making a fortune. At first I started on the horses, I found out which had won, slid the watch time back picked up the phone and bet on every winning horse. Naturally I won but I was also loosing part of the day though duplicating what had already proceeded. Well I got so clever at this that I went onto shares but I found to my horror that all the changing of the time had to be completed within the twelve hour limit. Well can you think of others I might have tried, for instance boxing matches and other sporting events gave me great returns, all those bets made within the twelve hour period. Alas eventually most local bookmakers have banned me as I'm too successful and the national ones have started to stop me as well, so now I have to consider other alternatives so suggestions would be welcome. Oh, the pocket watch is not for sale and burglary is not welcome at my place!
Authors note: Well it was a good story but of course this little watch would have had to have changed the whole world an obvious impossibility!
xxx