GOOD OLD DAYS:

The worn leather band is original, the face has water spots in its corners, and the back is hand engraved, “Prof. Albert Einstein, Los Angeles, Feb. 16, 1931.”

The watch, and photos of Einstein wearing it, are on display at William Harold Jewelers on the Balboa peninsula, where owners Tim Harold and son Tim Jr. enjoy welcoming customers to view a piece of world history.

Einstein was a visiting professor at Caltech in 1931, and while they can’t officially confirm the story, Harold said it appears the watch was given to him as a gift from Caltech that same year.

Another possibility, Tim said, is that it was given at a Jewish National Fund dinner Einstein attended about the same time.

Tim said it would be nice to know the exact lineage of the piece, but said all that really matters is that the watch belonged to Albert Einstein.

“His life is far more penetrating in our lives than some of the other people that we’ve had stuff from,” Tim said.

While the store at times has displayed and sold items from collections owned by wealthy, famous people, that doesn’t compare to what this particular piece of jewelry represents.

“Einstein was a man of the century, not some run-of-the-mill rock star,” Harold said.

Harold purchased the watch last year from a friend who bought it from the son of a woman who supposedly had an intimate relationship with Einstein.

Tim said his father has already turned down some significant offers for the watch.

“A lot of people come in to look at it, and when you have an unusual, unique piece it’s hard to see it go sometimes,” he said.

The Harold family has owned the jewelry store for more than 30 years, and Tim worked summers there as a teen, polishing jewelry and emptying trash.

Tim, who works alongside his dad, said he likes to look at the watch and imagine what Einstein was doing while wearing it.

Tim said it’s easy to identify the watch in his store as the one Einstein wore on the sail boat because of its unique look.

On a rectangular, solid 14-karat gold face, the numbers are vertical, with 1 to 5 on the right side of the face, 7 to 11 on the left side, and the second hand inset at the bottom, covering the top part of the number 6.

While it may just be “romantic speculation” on his part, Tim said he likes to imagine that the water spots on the face came from the watch’s exposure to the ocean while Einstein was sailing.

“I like to attach stories to the watch,” Tim said, noting the hand engraving on the back.

“It’s really deep, and it’s a real specific way of engraving, almost like it was chiseled or carved in to the back. For the adventurous collector, there is more research to be done.”

Toni Pickford, who has worked for the Harolds for 23 years, said part of what makes the store’s jewelry so interesting and fun is their history.

“We’ve had so many great pieces over the years, and I like to imagine where the things come from,” she said.

The Longines Museum in Switzerland, which owns a pocket watch belonging to Einstein, offered to purchase the watch it manufactured, calling it the “missing link” to their collection, but Harold said he may keep it for at least a while longer.

“It doesn’t make sense to sell it,” Harold said.

“It’s priceless if we keep it, because people will come in here for years and years just to see it.”

WHERE TO GO

William Harold Jewelers is at 3116 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach. For information, call (949) 673-0365 or go to www.williamharold jewelers.com

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at [email protected].