The Breitling Watch Source Forums

The saddest realisation of all....

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Hello All,
I hope you enjoy my stories....

STORY 1
I am a bit of a mini dealer - buying, selling and trading watches at times. Although I do not actively look for sales a few people have asked me to help them source a watch.

One day a lady at work ask me to help recommend a watch for her husband. She wanted to get him a Two Tone Cartier Must de 21 quartz watch. I told her Rolex would be a much better choice. I explained the joys of a high quality mechanical watch.

She then told me that her husband already had a great watch that was given to him on his wedding by his parents in law. It was a Patek Philippe. She told me he had only worn the watch a few times since they got married in the mid 60s. She told me it was in her bank safety deposit box and the last time she had looked at it was a year or 2 ago.

I told her that was a very sad story..... why didn't he wear it? why didn't he use that watch as a step up for his career. Think of all the opportunities he could of had simply by having a Patek on display.... think of all the signals this watch would have sent to all his bosses over time..... Think of all the Fung Shi he missed out on?

I told her I could get it serviced for her at wholesale... turned out to be about AU$150- for a full overhaul and polish.

The watch was a classic Patek on a leather strap. It was genuine but small by today's standards.

WHAT A WASTE! Having a beautiful watch and not enjoying it..... although he had a successful career as an engineer, think about how better it could have been if he had worn the watch?

A year or 2 later her husband was diagnosed with cancer.... he was gone within 6 months. He had worn that Patek for the last 3 years of his life. Once he died she thanked me for getting this piece serviced and letting her husband get attached to the watch. The watch gained meaning.... the watch stopped being simply a material thing and became a beautiful curio for her when she was grieving.....

I think that watch will be treasured for generations to come.

STORY 2
A few years ago I was chasing used watches by advertising in the classifieds. Basically I was buying from people who did not value items and I was selling them on the international market via eBay and the internet (timezone, watchnet etc....). I received a call from an old lady who had recently lost her husband.

She was relatively well off. She had a Steel and Gold oyster she wanted to sell. She told me it was a gift to her husband in the 1950s. He only ever wore it about 20 times over the course of his lifetime. Yes - it was lovely.... but did it really matter that he missed out on the joys of wearing this piece - simply because it was too good to wear?

She told me the watch did not mean much to her as her husband hardly worn it. I paid her a fair price for it and that was it.

What a great shame..... this is like having a beautiful sports car but never driving it.... letting it sit in the garage....

Think of all the joy using this watch would have brought him.

STORY 3
This is a very difficult tale to tell as it only happened last year…..

A colleque at work wanted a matching pair of watches for his parents. I brought him a pair of Rolex TT DateJusts to inspect. Model 16233 and 69173 – both with white dials and romans. The ladies was actually my wife’s everyday watch – I got it polished and it looked great. Since this story I have replaced this watch for my wife with a 69173 TT DateJust with ivory dial and romans.

He then bought them and travelled 2500km to visit his parents (they lived in Melbourne but we were working in Brisbane). His dad was in hospital…. He presented the watches to them…..

Sadly the cold his dad had turned very ugly…. Cancer was discovered and he died a few weeks later.

His dad was so proud that his son had given him a beautiful Rolex DateJust. It truly looked a million dollars!

His son then become the owner again of the men’s watch whilst his mother wears the ladies watch.

Please enjoy your watches…. You just don’t know how long you have left.

MORAL OF THESE STORIES - wear your watches guys. I myself have been guilty of storing "precious" items.... but at the end of the day the memories will last forever. Obviously I do not wear my DateJust if I am welding or cutting the grass.... however 90% of the time I now wear a luxury watch. If it gets scratched, banged.... I simply get it fixed. We don't actually own any of our watches.... if we are lucky we have a 65, 70 or 80 year lease on them. WEAR YOUR WATCHES IN GOOD HEALTH.
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My watches:-
Rolex 16233 with diamond dial, Omega Speedmaster Pro, Breitling Navitimer - Old Navitimer II

I liked the 1st story, thanks for sharing it.

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Thanks for sharing the stories; they made me realize
how little time we really have in this world -- and how
we should treasure every minute we're here. Wearing
a fine watch as we fill our days is a bonus.

Steve

Well said and synopsed. I could not agree more!

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Chronomat, Steel/Gold, MOP Dial, 2-tone band (2008)
Super Avenger Black Baton Dial (2009)
Bentley B04 GMT Silver Dial (2013)
Avenger Blacksteel Baton Dial (2014)

Isn't it a bit ironic, that watches only remind us of the time??? After my father passed away, I totally stopped wearing a watch because I felt I didn't need to know what time it was, it wasn't doing me any good...I mean, there was nothing I could do to slow down my own clock...but I'm not angry anymore, I'm just glad he's no longer sick...He's missed, but everytime I look at my wedding band, and my Ling, I think of him, now! Probably up there having a Jack on the rocks...