The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-06-17
HOW WATCHES RUN.
Their Regularity Depends Upon the
Owners Magnetism.

every man is his own magnet is the prepo-
sitiOn recently evolved by Washington Jew
eler of many years experience. 7. f. Schmitt
has a shop IN Eleventh street, near the avenue,
and there, in a little old-fashioned brick house,
one OF the architectural relics of The city, be
runs hospital for disabled timepeces of all
sorts, with the wards OF his institution full
most OF the time. Here, through the expert.
ence OF many years. he has discovered mystic
bond betwiXt the watch ana It's owner that few
have suspec ed.
at is all dependent on the an lmal magnetism
OF the owner. whether or not his watch will run
fast or SLOW" said the jeweler when explaining
his theory TO the Post man. The same watch
viii run at different speeds when carried by
different persons, aud no person Is likely 10 mt
a watch on and have 1t keep satisfactory lime
without returning once twice TO the ieweIer
to have the regulator touched TO get the system
OF IL Keyed up TO the same pitch as that of its
owner.
Now, l used TO have friend who had an
excellent Swiss watch, While l had one or an
other make. By mutual consent at one time
we exchanged watches, and, though they had
gone all right before, they then changed their
gait entirely. mine running i've minutes ahead
IN couple Of days and his running tlve minutes
behind. There was ten minutes difference In
our temprramrnts. But that is nothing COM
pared 10 the difference between some people
Sometimes watch that will run we'll on one
man will not go with another, aud there are
some people VINO cannot get watch that Will
run on them at all.
II remember a good many years ago had a
man come TO my place with an old-fashoned
English lever silver watch 10 be repaired. |
had some very nice gold watches in stock at
the time, and as he looked well of / tried To
sell him one, but lie laughed aud said If any Of
the old watches had IN the store would run
twenty-four hours in his pocket he would give
me twice what asked Tor IL. He said he had
treuS all sorts of gold watches and had never
been able 30 get one that would run while lie
had IL. He had eXperime nted with bis brotner's
watch only a little while before, he said, aud 1t
cost him So so TO have il demagneTized after he
had carried IL In his pocket two Gays. Most sill
yer wa.che s:acted the same way with him, but
the old English watch he was carrying had a
double inside case 10 IL ana worked fairly WELL
1--WE never been able to tell whether the
average watch will run faster when IL is in its
owners possession or not. There seems TO be
no rule on the subject, but can never regulate
a watch on my swIngboard there and then give
IL TO a customer and have II keep good time.
Then there Is a variation with a change in
vitality. watch will ordinarily run slower
the longer il Is carried after cleaning, because
the oil dries and the bearings are harder, but l
have had customers come 10 me and say that
their watches had started up and gone 10 gain
Ing time several months after they had been
cleaned. just tell them that 1 can't account
for 1t except on the theory OF change in their
OWN vitality or temperament. It's one of those
things that cannot be explained, but 1t is true,
neleSs."-Washingtsn Post.