Hermes/Tavannes Belt Buckle Watch

 

By Bruce Shawkey

This image (left) is from the book "A Man and His Watch." It says Hermes, but was made by Tavannes in 1928 the company was approached by English King Edward VIII to design a watch he could wear when golfing. By glancing down at his belt buckle, he could tell the time by depressing a button that would release a lid, revealing the watch.

Tavannes re-created watch in the 1990s (below). It has a titanium case (to reduce weight) and supposedly can be special-ordered for $5,750. I was working with Tavannes at the they unveiled this watch at a tade show in Las Vegas.

No More NAWCC

I decided to end my membership with NAWCC. Been a member since 1988, that's 38 years. Just couldn't justify the cost any longer. Not attending any shows. All inventory liquidated. I e-mailed Laura Taylor, Bulletin Editor, to give her the news:

Wanted to let you know i decided not to renew my dues for another year. I am not going to any more shows, and my retirement is less and less about watches, and more about travel and enjoying life.

It has been a pleasure working with you, and I wish you all the best.

she wrote back:

I'm so sorry to see you leave the NAWCC. I appreciate your many contributions to the Bulletin!

Take good care and enjoy whatever adventures come next. And remember, if you come across an interesting watch story, you don't have to be a member to contribute an article!

All the best,

Laura Taylor

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By my count, I wrote over 50 articles for the NAWCC Bulletin, working with three different editors. Diana (Burnett) DeLuca (the best), Monica Elbert (the worst), and Laura Taylor.

Get a Longines Wristwatch for S&H Green Stamps

 By Bruce Shawkey

From the 1968 S&H Green Stamps catalog, you could get this Longines  "Gold Medal" wristwatch for 26-1/2 books of stamps.

S&H Green Stamps was a line of trading stamps popular in the United States from 1896 until the late 1980s. They were distributed as part of a rewards program operated by the Sperry & Hutchinson company (S&H), founded in 1896 by Thomas Sperry and Shelley Byron Hutchinson. During the 1960s, the company issued more stamps than the U.S. Postal Service and distributed 35 million catalogs a year.

Customers received stamps at the checkout counters of supermarkets, department stores, and gas stations among other retailers, which could then be redeemed for products from the catalog. The company ceased operations in the early 1980s, after which S&H accepted savings books for those who had remaining book unredeemed.