There are moments in our lives when we give special thought to the watch we choose to wear.
A wedding. A graduation. A family reunion. An anniversary. An evening out with someone we love.
Sometimes we select a particular timepiece because of the occasion. Other times, it is simply the watch we've always worn, quietly accompanying us through life's most meaningful moments.
Over the years, these watches become part of our personal histories.
Every scratch, nick, and small imperfection can represent another chapter in a watch's story. A mark on the case may remind us of a particular adventure. A worn strap might reflect decades of faithful use. The watch itself becomes a silent witness to the lives we've lived.
And when a watch passes from one person to another, those stories travel with it—even when the details have been lost to time.
That is what I find so extraordinary about timepieces. They don't simply measure the passage of time. They accompany us through it.
Rediscovering a Lifelong Passion
My passion for watches was reignited in a completely unexpected way.
I was preparing to accompany my son and his Scout troop to summer camp. As I considered what to pack, I began looking through my collection of analog watches, trying to decide which one I wanted to take along.
Some had been tucked away for years.
As I handled them again, I found myself remembering how I had acquired them, where I had worn them, and the people and experiences I associated with them.
What began as a practical decision about which watch to take to camp became something much more meaningful.
As I rediscovered these watches, I found myself appreciating them in an entirely different way. Some of my watches had accompanied me through important moments in my own life. Others had histories that began long before they found their way into my collection. I became fascinated by the experiences they might have witnessed, the people who had worn them, and the memories they carried.
Every family story has a beginning. A watch purchased today might someday become the one a son remembers his father wearing, or the gift a daughter treasures long after a special occasion has passed.
Whether a watch has already lived through generations or is only beginning its journey, what matters most is the life it will accompany and the care it receives along the way.
My appreciation for the craftsmanship, history, and enduring significance of timepieces deepened when I acquired a vintage Mido Multifort and began researching its origins and previous ownership.
A Timepiece and a Moment in History
The Mido Multifort had once belonged to a person named Ellis Dawson.
As I researched the watch and its history, I became particularly intrigued by a date associated with it: May 19, 1940. On that day, Winston Churchill delivered his first radio broadcast to the British people as Prime Minister, an address remembered as Be Ye Men of Valour. The Second World War was transforming Europe. German forces had advanced into France, Allied armies faced extraordinary uncertainty, and Churchill spoke to a nation confronting the possibility of invasion.
It was a moment when the course of history seemed to hang in the balance.
I cannot know precisely what Ellis Dawson was doing that day, whether he heard Churchill's words, or what personal significance the date held for him.
Learning what was unfolding in the world on that particular day gave me a sense of awe for the connection between this particular timepiece and the history that surrounded it.
While history was changing the world, ordinary people were living the moments that would become their own history—falling in love, raising families, celebrating milestones, and facing uncertain futures—all while the watches on their wrists quietly marked the passing hours.
The watch’s survival allows a small part of his history to continue. To me, that is remarkable.
A Timepiece That Holds My Own History
Some timepieces connect us to extraordinary moments in world history. Others preserve moments of deeply personal significance. In 1993, my parents gave me a Movado Museum watch to commemorate my college graduation. Engraved on its caseback is a private message expressing their love and support—a sentiment that has grown more meaningful with every passing year.
More than three decades later, that same Movado remains the watch I choose for my life's most meaningful occasions. It has accompanied me to weddings, the adoptions of my niece, nephew, and son, and funerals where the passage of time takes on an especially poignant meaning. What began as a graduation gift has become a treasured companion through my life's celebrations, new beginnings, and farewells. With each occasion, its significance deepens, carrying not only the message of my parents' love and support, but the unfolding history of our family—and perhaps, one day, the stories of generations yet to come. No other watch, regardless of its craftsmanship or price, could replace what that particular timepiece means to me.
And someday, I hope my son will wear it, too. Perhaps it will accompany him through moments of his own life, just as it has accompanied me through mine.
The Value of a Timepiece
These two watches represent different kinds of history.
The Mido connects me to a period of extraordinary events that shaped the world.
The Movado connects me to my own family's history, to a moment of achievement, and to the people who loved me.
Yet both illustrate the same fundamental truth.
A timepiece does not need to be expensive, rare, or made by a prestigious manufacturer to deserve a place in a family's history. A watch worn every day by a parent or grandparent may become far more meaningful to the next generation than an extraordinarily expensive luxury watch.
Its value is not always found in its brand, its materials, or what someone might pay to own it.
Sometimes its greatest value is simply that someone we loved wore it.
With proper care, periodic servicing, and thoughtful preservation, many well-made timepieces can continue functioning for generations. They may require repairs. Components may need replacing. Cases may accumulate new scratches and straps may wear out.
But the watch—and the stories connected to it—can endure.
We are not always the final owners of the watches we cherish.
Sometimes, we are simply their current caretakers.
Why I Founded Willamette Watch Company
Willamette Watch Company grew from a desire to share my appreciation for timepieces and the connections they create across generations. A vintage watch offers an opportunity to carry a piece of the past into the present, while a new timepiece represents the beginning of a story yet to be written. Both have the potential to become something far more meaningful than the day they were acquired.
My vision for Willamette Watch Company is to bring these stories together through an appreciation for craftsmanship, thoughtful selection, and a commitment to preserving the character and quality of every timepiece. Whether you're drawn to a watch with decades of history or searching for one to accompany life's next important milestone, my hope is that you'll find something here that speaks to you.
I invite you to share in this passion—and perhaps discover a timepiece whose next chapter becomes part of your own story.
Discover. Collect. Restore.
WILLAMETTE WATCH COMPANY
Salem, Oregon