My grandma set foot on Ellis Island in 1906. She and my great uncle, and her first child, who was less than a year old and born in Lodz – then under Russian rule, were met by family who had made the voyage earlier. My grandfather came a year later. Family members were already settled in Brooklyn and were there to take her home. I love it.
They all pitched in and bought her a 14 kt gold pocket watch with a diamond chip on the hunter style case. I can imagine her crying when she saw it. Such a gift.
I’ve inherited in, velvet case and all—it has a tiny ding on the front of the case, it’s wrinkles, she wore it on a chain and it probably hit a table or something. It doesn’t tick.
Perhaps it needs a simple cleaning or maybe a more complex bit of work. I own my own working pocket watch, and had it maintained over the years, and it was rather reasonable back home but not here. It would cost over $150 just to check it out.
No matter. It’s a treasure beyond measure.
I wear it like a locket – the front is half moon and tiny star (the diamond),
Even the date it was made thrills me – 1905.
Yes treasures are still treasures even if they are cracked or missing pieces. They are a story. A memory of someone long gone.