Watches, Pens, and the Craft of Analog Living
Ellen Ashford · July 31, 2026
The Watch Under the Rhinestone Brooches It was a Sunday in late October, cold enough that the vendor had draped a moving blanket over the folding table legs, and I almost didn’t stop. The glass case was full of costume jewelry — clip earrings, rhinestone brooches, a string of plastic pearls with a broken clasp. … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 27, 2026
The Watch That Started This Habit About seven years ago, I bought a 1974 Seiko 5 at an estate sale for twenty-two dollars. The movement was singing — a beautiful 21-jewel caliber 7009 humming along at 21,600 bph, keeping time within fifteen seconds a day. The crystal, however, looked like someone had used it to … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 25, 2026
The Drawer Where My Grandfather’s Watch Waited My grandfather’s watch arrived without ceremony. No velvet box, no letter tucked inside. My aunt handed me a small zip-lock bag at a family gathering in 2014, and inside it was a slim, gold-toned dress watch from the early 1960s — a Swiss-made hand-wind piece with a signed … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 9, 2026
A few years ago, I nearly paid $1,400 for a Rolex Datejust that turned out to be a patchwork nightmare. The dial was genuine. The case was not. The movement had been swapped for a cheaper ETA caliber, and the bracelet was a mismatched aftermarket piece worth maybe $40. Knowing how to spot the fake … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 3, 2026
The first time I considered restoring a vintage watch dial, I almost made a catastrophic mistake. I had just picked up a 1968 Seiko 5 — caliber 7005 movement, beautiful original matte black dial with applied silver indices — for $45 at an estate sale. It had a few hairline scratches and some minor spotting … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 1, 2026
People assume that finding the best vintage watches under 200 dollars means settling for something beaten-up, unreliable, or just decorative. I used to think the same thing, until a $45 Seiko 5 with a 7S26 movement proved me completely wrong. That watch kept better time than a $300 quartz I’d owned for years. After a … Read more
Ellen Ashford · June 30, 2026
The first vintage watch I ever bought cost me $45 at an estate sale — a beat-up Seiko 5 with a rattling case back and a crystal so scratched it looked frosted. I thought a quick clean and a new strap would be enough. What I didn’t know about vintage watch repair costs could fill … Read more
Ellen Ashford · June 28, 2026
Buying your first vintage watch feels exciting right up until the moment you realize you have no idea what you’re actually looking at. I remember standing at a flea market in Portland, staring at a tray of watches, completely paralyzed. The seller told me the piece was “all original.” It wasn’t. That afternoon cost me … Read more