Watches and Real Watches

I don't know how many watches I've had over my lifetime, but it's too many for me to try to count or remember. I even seem to remember a toy plastic watch when I was very little, and even though it didn't actually tell time, that wasn't the point, the point was I thought I was now just like Dad, with a timepiece of my own, though just for looks, not time telling, which at that age I didn't even know how to do.

The first "real" watch I remember was one I saw in a catalog and wanted more than anything for Christmas that year. It was a thing of beauty in my ten-year-old's eyes. Blue metal with time and date, plus it had a feature where you could turn a dial on the outside of the watch face and tell what time it was in other cities around the world. That was probably my most anticipated Christmas present of childhood, and I received it with joy (like in the spirit of the season). It was my Red Ryder BB Gun of Christmas presents.

In later years I always wore a watch, still do, in fact, though mostly when I'm at work. I just find it easier than trying to look at my cell phone each time I want to check how many precious minutes of my break have passed before I have to return to my desk. I know many men don't bother with a watch anymore, or just hate wearing one, and use the ubiquitous cell phone to tell time instead. But I think there is still a place for the watch.

My watches usually wear out after a couple of years and then I get a new one, and since there are so many cheap, poorly made watches available, I can pick one up for twenty or thirty bucks when the time (ha ha) comes that I need to replace one.

But there is a dream watch out there, one that isn't poorly made or cheap, and for adults, it's the ultimate watch statement. Can you guess what watch I refer to? This is a watch with a long history, going back to the early years of the last century. The company is called...Rolex. The name, the story goes, was just made up, as it is said that company founder Hans Wilsdorf wanted a name that could be pronounced with ease in any language.

A Rolex is not just a watch, it's also a piece of fine jewelry, a thing of beauty, and even an investment, for like any high quality product, it retains value over time, and can be passed down the generations.

Rolex was also an innovator among watch companies, with many firsts to its name, such as the first wristwatch to have a changing date feature (and then day and date), the first wristwatch case that was waterproof to 330ft, and the first wristwatch maker to receive a chronometer certification for one of its wristwatches.

But there are too many things that could be said about Rolex that are already common knowledge. Even for those who have never owned one (or even held one in their hands) the name Rolex is a household word, known the world over for producing the finest timepieces that money can buy. That's why people not only buy new Rolex watches, but older ones as well, creating a large secondary market for selling used Rolex watches.

Do you own a Rolex? In this economy, and with the paper money in your pocket worth less and less everyday due to inflation, it's nice to have something of real and lasting value.