About five years ago, i made my first big watch purchase and dove head first into the world of watches. I bought a submariner from a grey dealer over the internet. The watch landscape was a bit different compared to today's market, especially with Rolex. The steel shortage was no where in sight, and models were relatively plentiful. In fact, the thought process at the time, was if you bought at full MSRP from an AD, you were a sucker. I had been consuming every bit of info i could on places like Rolex Forums, Watchuseek and the Omega forums, to learn and research watch options for my first big purchase as well as reading up on reputations of names i would see pop up over and over again. DavidSW was one in particular that seemed to have an immaculate reputation, and as such, while his pricing was good, it seemed to offer a slight trade off between low pricing and rock solid reliability. I gathered my funds, negotiated a modest discount, and pulled the trigger and sent the wire.
Then came the wait.
The thoughts flooded my mind: Did i really just wire this money to a stranger? What if it's a scam? What if he sends me a fake watch? Time stood still. It was being shipped overnight but there was a reason (that now escapes me) on why it would take an extra day. I tried to put it out of my mind and be patient but it was nearly impossible. A constant state of panic, and excitement remained constant until the FedEx carrier came. I shut the door to my office and opened it so methodically and carefully it was if i was tasting a fine wine. It was here.
Fast forward to today. The magic and butterflies are gone, but it has become an anchor in my collection. I can't remember exactly when it happened but the incredulous feelings that i owned such a watch have passed. I read someone else describe the watch like putting on your favorite pair of jeans. Comfortable, you know it looks great, and it can go anywhere you can. The watch has been scratch up from its and my adventures to such a level than it is almost an uniform brush effect, something I no longer fear. "The first scratch is the worst", they say "and then you can start to own the watch". It feels as if i have owned it forever at this point, and barring the most extreme activities i'll snap it to my wrist and do just about anything with it: shower, swim, bike, beach days, office duty and more. It has become maybe not my best watch, but likely the last watch i would ever sell if i ever needed to consolidate the collection.
댓글