Watches

I need a new watch. It loses time; 45 minutes every half hour.
It runs backwards?
Practically. And I have to wind it twice a day now.
Wind it? It doesn’t have a battery?
It predates battery watches. I’ve had it for more than thirty years. My father bought it for me in those Hong Kong days. What kind of watches are good these days?
How much do you want to pay? You want a watch that will last a year or two or one that will last a lifetime or two?
I want one that will keep time and I don’t have to wind up every night.
There’s this one for 300 dollars, runs on a battery, fashion goods maker, or this auto-mechanical one, Swiss, it winds itself when you move your hand, costs 800.
And this one?
That’s a battery watch. $50.
What’s the difference between the $50 watch and the $300 one?
Er, actually nothing. The mechanism inside is the same.
So the $50 watch is cheaper, as reliable as the $300 watch and less trouble than the mechanical $800 watch?
You could say that, yes. But image costs.

A man with one watch knows what time it is, a man with two watches is never sure.