Okay, so folks are all worked up about this “Captain John Watch.” Hear it all the time. People on the internet, guys at the pub, going on about it like it’s some kind of magic watch, super rare, super special.
They talk like it’s a hidden treasure, y’know?
Me, I got a bit nosy. Figured I’d see what all the fuss was about. So I started poking around. Wasted a good few weekends, I tell ya. Flea markets, dusty old shops, the works. Chasing this ghost of a watch.
My Big Hunt for a Small Thing
I even cornered this old fella, proper sea dog type, down by the docks. Thought, if anyone knows, he’s the guy. Asked him about the “Captain John Watch.” He just sort of grinned, told me, “What you’re lookin’ for, son, ain’t a thing you buy.” That stuck with me.
- Scoured those online chat rooms – just a bunch of talk, no real leads.
- Bothered a couple of watch nuts I know – they’d heard the name, but that was it.
- Even peeked into some boat museums, thinking maybe it was locked away somewhere.
Then, one afternoon, I’m rummaging through my old man’s shed. He wasn’t any captain, just a regular bloke who fixed things. And there it was, under a pile of rusty spanners and fishing line. A watch. Beat up, plain, nothing to write home about. But on the back, real tiny, it said “J.D.” – for him.
And it just clicked.
This whole “Captain John Watch” malarkey? It ain’t some fancy brand. It ain’t one specific watch. It’s just… a story. What people call any tough, old watch that belonged to someone they looked up to. Their own “Captain John,” see?
Kinda reminds me of this job I had once. Terrible gig. Sorting boxes in a freezing warehouse. And everyone there was obsessed with getting “the blue slip.” Supposedly, if you got “the blue slip” from the supervisor, it meant you were in, permanent job, the lot. People would suck up, work like madmen, all for this stupid “blue slip.”
Guess what? There was no “blue slip.” Just a myth the older guys made up to wind up the newbies, or maybe to give themselves something to dream about. The supervisor, a decent enough chap, pulled me aside one day. Said, “Look, mate, there’s no magic slip. You want a better job, you go out and find one.” He wasn’t wrong.
So yeah, this “Captain John Watch.” It’s the same deal, I reckon. It’s not something you find in a shop with a fancy label. It’s the watch your granddad wore, or that old timer down the street had. Nothing special to look at, maybe, but it means something to you. That’s your “Captain John Watch.” And that’s probably all there is to it.
