A pal of mine inherited a watch when his father passed away many years ago - my mate would have been in his mid-20's at the time, so this was a good 25 years ago anyway.
The watch was a Rolex in red-gold - a really beautiful time-piece, by all accounts - and had been in my friend's dad's possession for years - since he was a young man himself, in fact. Despite the circumstances, my friend was obviously delighted to have such a keepsake, but it was only upon him acquiring the watch, that my pal and his mother found out that there was an inscription in Arabic on the back of the case.
Naturally, they both wondered what the inscription could mean, and my friend asked his mother whether his father had travelled in the Middle East when he was younger. His Mum wasn't entirely certain, but she suggested that he may have spent some time in the Middle East during his National Service. My friend began to imagine all manner of scenarios as to how his father may have acquired his watch.
Perhaps it was a gift from a wealthy Saudi he had befriended?
Perhaps he had won it in a game of backgammon?
Perhaps he had purchased it legitimately, and a grateful Egyptian had arranged the inscription, for services rendered in his defence?
It was a most intriguing mystery to one and all in the family. Of course, no-one in my friends family knew any Arabic, and none of them knew anyone who knew any Arabic. It remained a source of intrigue in the family for many weeks and months following the funeral, but with this being years before the Internet, and with no means of finding out what the inscription meant, this intrigue eventually petered out over time to a background pondering that occassionally would enter my friends head.
Around 1996, my friend and his wife decided to go to Paris for a weekend of romantic liaison. Whilst out wandering the streets of the City of Lights, they found themselves in vicinity of Les Halles; their intention being to go to the underground market in the vicinity. On their way there, they passed some street vendors standing behind tables full of the usual kind of tourist tat; miniature Eiffel Towers, berets, Louvre ashtrays etc, and my pal and his missus stopped for a sift through this gear - as you do.
My friend got talking to the lad behind this particular stall, and - it being clear that the lad was of non-European extraction - he asked him where he was originally from. "Egypt" he replied.
My friend, very excitedly, asked him if he could read Arabic script, to which the stall vendor looked puzzled, and replied that of course he could read Arabic script.
Almost trembling by this stage, my friend asked the young lad if he would mind translating an Arabic inscription from his watch, and proceeeded to give the bemused youngster a quick-capsule review of the sad circumstances in which he had acquired it, and the intrigue in their family over many years as to what the inscription might mean.
Somewhat hesitantly, the boy took the watch from my friend, admired the face for several seconds, and slowly turned it over to the look at the casing.
Slowly, a smile came acros his face.
Realising that the lad must surely have been able to interpret the inscription, my friend, with barely a whisper falling from his lips, asked:
"What does it say?"
The boy looked up and replied.
"Waterproof to 100 meters".
True story .
) and gold-plated (like my teeth 