Jay Leno decides it’s time for a new hobby

In 1891, there was a huge train accident called the Great Kipton Train Wreck, near Cleveland. One train slammed into another because one of the conductors had a watch that was four minutes off. The railroad investigators hired a Cleveland jeweler, Webb C. Ball, to investigate timekeeping issues on the railroad. Based on his recommendations, a national accuracy standard for train timekeeping was established that, for a time, made American watches such as Hamilton and Waltham the best in the world. In fact, some people believe the old saying “on the ball” originated not with baseball but as a tribute to Webb Ball.

Like a lot of car people, I like mechanical things. I enjoy winding the old clocks we have here at the garage, the whole process of turning the keys and hearing them click and chime. And like some men, I don’t wear jewelry, but I’ll wear a very accurate mechanical computer on my wrist that just happens to look like a piece of jewelry. I have a watch from A. Lange & Söhne that is no bigger than an ordinary watch but has a spring in it that is 12 feet long, meaning you only have to wind it once a month. I find that fascinating.

I was looking at another watch the other day, a Zenith fusée and chain tourbillon, meaning it tells time by pulling a tiny chain from a cone-shaped sprocket onto a spring-loaded barrel. It was invented in the 16th century and is what’s known as a “constant force movement,” meaning it compensates for the changing force supplied by the clockspring as it unwinds. This particular watch was like 90 grand, which is crazy, and even with 578 tiny pieces in the movement alone, it’s never going to be as accurate as an iPhone. But I loved watching the chain run out.

You can get a pretty nice car for that much money, but I started thinking: “I don’t have to get a sticker for it every year, I just put it on my wrist and go. I would enjoy looking at it, I would enjoy winding it every night and looking at it through a jeweler’s loupe (a magnifying eyepiece) and watching each link move.” I guess you either understand it or you don’t. My wife likes to travel; I like mechanical things. And when you crash your motorcycle and you’re in the hospital, at least you can look at your watch. That’s how this all got started—I was sitting in the hospital and I saw one and got hooked. It’s just another thing to learn, more useless information.

Of course, you don’t buy these kinds of watches to tell time. Most guys I know who wear expensive watches look at their watch and then they look at their phone and go, “Oh, yep, it’s correct.” For actually telling time, I have one of those Seiko Astrons that connects to the GPS network and is accurate to within one second a year. One second a year! You look at it and think, hey, doesn’t this year feel a little longer than last year?

I went to a watchmaking seminar once where they give you tools and you take a watch apart. A tiny screw fell and I couldn’t see it. The instructor came over and said, “It’s right there.” I was looking but I still couldn’t see it! So I’m not going to be a watchmaker, I can’t even see anything. The fact is, by the time you can afford these kinds of watches, your eyes are so bad you can’t see them anyway, but I’m fascinated by the level of complexity and the workmanship involved, just to have something handmade. And one thing the Chinese can’t do yet is make a fusée and chain movement.

This story appeared in print in the July/August issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join the club to receive our award-winning magazine and enjoy insider access to automotive events, discounts, roadside assistance, and more.

The post Jay Leno Decides It’s Time for a New Hobby appeared first on Hagerty Media.