What makes something an heirloom?
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What makes something an heirloom?
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Re: What makes something an heirloom?
#2[dead]
Re: What makes something an heirloom?
#3Love those watches. These days you’ll hear people refer to an object as an heirloom, like an heirloom couch, which is typically an expensive object that has potential to be an actual heirloom. By definition, for an object to be an heirloom it has to be passed down through generations, but I like the use of it to refer to an object’s quality, which correlates to its potential to be passed down. Only then, when you talk about potential heirloom status does value enter the conversation. And I think that’s just because well-made things are typically expensive, especially these days. So value is only relevant given the correlation with quality. Nonetheless, I’d love to purchase an heirloom watch that one day becomes an heirloom.
Re: What makes something an heirloom?
#4I have a similar story, actually. My dad carried a pocket watch all the way through the early 1980s. Actually, he had two. One was a cheap department store watch, a "Waltham" made well after the Waltham watch company went bankrupt and the name was bought by some unknown firm that churned out cheaply made watches. It runs but loses 30+ seconds a day. When I inherited it, it still had the watch strap I had made for him as a Father's Day present when I was six. He carried it every day, and I used to play with it when I went on delivery runs with him (he owned a small business, which meant spending long hours in a delivery truck).
The other is a beautiful gold pocket watch given to him by a friend who (literally) owned a bank. He never carried it, and neither do I.
Re: What makes something an heirloom?
#5I recently inherited the Minolta X-700 and Nikon F4 film cameras from my grandfather who is now quite old and nearing the end of his life. Neither had been used in a long time. I gave them a good cleaning and purchased some film. Besides using disposable cameras when I was younger, I had never shot on film with a proper camera. I have grown up admiring beautiful photos of animals and nature printed on the walls of my grandparents’ home that were taken by my grandfather on his trips all over the world. I have always admired them and wanted to recreate them.
After cleaning the Minolta, I purchased some Kodak Portra 400 film and then took it on a vacation to Albania and Greece. I had an incredible time lining up shots patiently and deliberately since every shot cost $1.50, and I could not review the results in the moment. The feeling of using a camera that my grandfather had used to capture moments from his trips four decades previously is hard to put into words.
When I returned home from my trip, I had the film developed and digitally scanned. I thought the pictures turned out pretty well for being as inexperienced as I am. I built my own gallery on my website to host them because they hold a much more special meaning to me than all of the photos I have previously taken on my iPhone. After curating the photos, I went to visit my grandfather. When I showed him the photos, he really enjoyed them. My grandparents shared a few stories about traveling with that camera and how they had the prints of the animals on their wall made.
Nobody else in my family wanted the film cameras. I am very glad I acquired them, and I plan to maintain them and eventually pass them on. To me, these are absolutely an heirloom. They are high quality, still functional, were revolutionary when they were released, and came with valuable stories and experiences from my grandfather. I couldn’t have asked for a better object to receive from him. I plan to take these cameras on all of my future trips and hopefully visit places he went to and recapture them half a century later.
Re: What makes something an heirloom?
#6The Rolex Oyster Air King is one of my fave watch designs. It's so simple but elegant when paired with a nice leather strap.
Re: What makes something an heirloom?
#7I have 2 Oyster Perpetuals that belonged to my dad. I'm certain he bought both of them, so it's not got the history that would give it the "heirloom" title. Unfortunately I have no interest in wearing them, and don't think any of my relatives would either -- one of these days I should ask around.
Re: What makes something an heirloom?
#8I might not know what heirloom really means because it's hard for me to think of a purchased watch as an heirloom. (From the post though the Seiko is clearly the one that has the strongest familial connection.)
A piece of furniture a grandfather made feels more like what I think of as an heirloom. Something one-off, made by the person you are remembering. But also a letter my mother wrote, her handwriting, is more valuable, more heirloomish than whatever the most valuable thing is that she owned.
Re: What makes something an heirloom?
#9I have two notable pieces that stand out from my father that I consider heirlooms. One is actually a gift, souvenir he gave me. The other just something of his I took when he passed.
The first is a Plankowner belt buckle he received from the SSN USS Olympia. He was not in the Navy, but, rather a contracted engineer along for the maiden voyage doing things he could not talk about.
The other is a yellowed, framed poster. It has a sketch of an astronaut doing an EVA along with the signatures of the team that worked on the project.
The project was a biological experiment that took place in cislunar space on the way back from Apollo 16s moon landing. My Dads signature is there along with Ken Mattingly’s (the command module pilot who performed the EVA).
I have this hanging above my computer in my home office.
Re: What makes something an heirloom?
#10My dad dug out of his B-17 navigator's desk a chunk of German flak that missed his head by about an inch. The only reason it missed him was because he had just turned to grab his flak jacket. It was his good luck charm for the rest of his life, and is a prized heirloom. It's about an inch and a half long, just right to carry in his pocket for his subsequent combat missions.
Maybe an heirloom is an object that is simultaneously priceless and worthless.