Intermatic, Cal. ETA 2781, 17 Jewels

July 2006 I was cleaning out some boxes
and found another Intermatic ETA 2781. Due to a post from Adam in NYC about Hangar Queens (watches that are rarely worn) or maybe just because I wanted to wear something really light, I suddenly had the wish to wear it and took this quick and dirty wrist shot. I had just washed off the white stuff that had been coming out of the plastic band (the watch was in a box at ambient Bangkok temperature of average 30 degrees Celsius around the year) and was already noticing that the plastic had become a bit sticky after scrubbing it with soap water.
Fortunately I did not proceed and cut a rubber band, because after the band dried, it was not stick anymore. What I did however was a rigorous stress test. Whenever I observe "white residues" coming out of a rubber or plastic band, I pull it very hard and I also bend it just to make sure it would not crack. It would be a bad idea to lose a watch this way, even that watch cost almost nothing, well, the price of one meal in a decent restaurant in a G10 country.