Self Winding Watch
A 1920's invention that fits any time period (literally).
The self-winding watch gives you the ability to "turn back time"...
a chance Gatsby never got.
So, what is the Self-Winding Watch?
The self winding watch was invented by John Harwood and allowed the popularity of watches in general to skyrocket. When he took up watch repair, he realized that most of the damages were caused by dust and moisture getting inside of the watch. After realizing that, he made it his responsibility to come with a way to avoid those damages. The idea came to him when he watched children in the park playing on a see-saw. He believed that using kinetic energy to tension the spring of a wristwatch would allow for the watch to work effectively without enduring the damage of dust and water. After many experiments, he found the perfect prototype using an old pocket watch. This gave him the chance to travel to Switzerland and be granted a patent for his design. With the ability to produce the first self-winding watch, Harwood gave people the ability to take time into their own hands.
So, why have a Self - Winding Watch?
A self winding watch allows you to change the time to whatever it truly is, or whatever you wish it to be. This gives you the ability to keep up with the daylight savings time and set the time early if you want to be punctual. The self winding watch could also serve as a great accessory because the 20's were all about looking cool.
Even the GREAT Jay Gatsby has one too!
Gatsby, throughout the entire novel, hopes to repeat the past in order to be with Daisy again. What he doesn't realize is that Daisy has changed as a person, and is no longer the girls he fell in love with. This blind hope handicapped Gatsby and eventually led to his death. The self winding watched worked well for him because it allowed him to take time into his own hands. If his wished it to be morning, he would turn back the watch and voila! So, while it may not have literally been the morning, it satisfied Gatsby and allowed him tocope with what had happened.
Textual Evidence
1. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
2. “Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can!”
3. "No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.”