As a rule, my family tends to get rid of items that haven’t been used for some time, since my father firmly believes that by throwing away old stuff, we make room for something new in our lives. Despite this habit, my family has kept an old watch on a chain for as long as I can remember. It is displayed on a shelf in the bookcase in our living room. When I was a child, I was always trying to reach it, which is why the bookcase was usually kept locked.

My father once told me that the watch had been inherited from his grandfather. What’s fascinating is that he doesn’t actually remember how this happened, because he was very young at the time. He hardly knew his grandfather, who died when my father was just two or three years old. But before passing away, his grandfather had asked his son) my father’s father) to give the watch to my dad when he turned eighteen. So, in the end, this watch became the only thing my great-grandfather left to his descendants.

Every time I look at it, I feel as if I’m travelling back in time, trying to imagine how my great-grandfather might have acquired it. Perhaps he was a nobleman living in a luxurious house. Or perhaps the watch was stolen or simply found by one of my ancestors and then passed down from generation to generation. Whatever the case, the item remains a mystery in itself, and it really makes my imagination run wild.

Of course, it no longer works. Yet it has enormous sentimental value. It is also rare, which makes us feel special, as hardly anyone else can boast of having such an heirloom. Several times, collectors have offered a lot of money for it, so it’s obviously valuable. However, I’m convinced nothing would ever make us sell it, since it has already become a symbol of our family.