Most of you guys know that i work as a church pastor (http://www.hunterbiblechurch.org). One of my favourite bits of the Bible is Luke 15.
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8–10
It's the joy of finding something that's been lost. Jesus' big point is that God is more interested in saving lost people than good people (bad people who trust Jesus go to heaven, not good people). But just recently I've gained a slight insight into finding a lost, treasured thing.
You guys know that a couple of years ago all of my Breitlings were stolen (apart from the SOSF which was on my wrist at the time). I didn't mind losing most of them but the Chronomat 0818 and the TransOcean 2129 were a real wrench.
Well a month ago i spotted the T/O on Ebay! I could tell it was mine by the case back serial number and markings on the movement. It turns out that the thief had kept the watch for a while and completely trashed it. It wasn't even working when he sold it to a collector in Sydney for $200. The collector stuck it in a drawer and then sold it for $900 to a watchmaker in Melbourne. He gave it a service and threw it on Ebay. It was in very rough condition but still obviously mine.
I got in touch with the police and my insurance company and the seller was super cooperative and sent it back (big kudos to him). Unfortunately the damage to the case was irreversible but i managed to get a NOS case for it from the same year (both 143--- serial numbers). I also treated it to NOS hour and minute hands and a touch up on the chrono hands. This morning i picked her up. And so, to paraphrase Jesus...
"Rejoice with me; I have found my lost T/O 2129!"...
