Bill Roberts
I have no memories of my Grandpa Roberts; he died 16 days after my fourth birthday.
From conversations with my dad and aunt, I know that he was a kind and devoted father, with a wry sense of humor; and from conversations with my grandmother, I know he was a loving and supportive husband, because she was active in civic matters, rare for women in the 1940s and 1950s.
Grandma Roberts told me that Grandpa would hold his watch close to my ear so I could hear it ticking.
I don’t remember when she gave me his watch; I do remember wearing it on my wedding day.
Grandpa’s watch is protected by a watch case with two covers or “backs,” known as— surprise!— a double case back. Its hinged back, on which grandfather’s initials are engraved, opens to reveal an inner back, sometimes called a “cuvette” (a French word meaning “bowl”). The cuvette opens to reveal the watch’s mechanical movement.
Technically, it’s the watch case that’s gold, and on the insides of both the outer back and the cuvette there’s a serial number under the Keystone Watch Case and J. Boss hallmarks: 7714509. According to another website, my grandfather’s watch case was produced between 1882 and 1927.
More technically, his watch case is 14k gold-filled. In 1859, James Boss received a patent for making cases with brass sheets sandwiched between two thin sheets of gold. This revolutionized the watch case industry, enabling the production of less expensive and considerably stronger cases, with harder gold surfaces less apt to wear.
My grandfather’s is an Elgin watch, and there’s a serial number embossed on the mechanical movement: 21499844. According to several websites, his watch was manufactured between 1917 and 1919.
Grandpa Roberts worked for B. F. Goodrich, and in 1944 the company issued a promotional Bulova watch, set inside a miniature version of its Silvertown rubber tire. “B. F. Goodrich ‘First in Rubber’” encircles the watch’s case back, with the company logo in the center. At some point, I acquired this watch, too.
Both watches still keep excellent time!
Watches mark time’s daily passage, second by second, and the image of grandfather’s holding his Elgin watch to my ear so I could hear those seconds ticking by is a comforting one.