Uncle Fitz

The first thing I notice about the watch is its weight—it seems heavy for a timepiece, maybe more than a pound. Made of solid gold, roughly 125 years old, it’s about two inches across. Under its sturdy glass cover can be discerned, in delicate, exuberant Victorian script, “Elgin Nat’l Watch Co.” The hours, traced by thin black hands, are displayed as Roman numerals; a smaller dial where the “VI” would be shows the seconds in Arabic digits. From the top protrude a fat stem for winding and a thick loop, slightly bent, to attach a gold chain.

But it’s the back of the watch that’s even more intriguing, rendering it a piece of Adirondack history. There’s an etching of a cabin among tall pines, with a man tending a fire in front, and the logo