"My watch, a Rolex Air-King from
the 1970s, is one of my treasured items because it is practical and goes
with everything I want to wear. It has belonged to others before me but
I guess it is mine now. Like many, I believed that phones have made
watches irrelevant; I started wearing this watch purely because I like
how it looks. After spending some time with the watch, however, I
thought I had rediscovered its functional worth: there is something
pleasant and polite about keeping time by checking one's wrist rather
than fishing for the phone. Perhaps this is still an aesthetic reason.
It will be nice to wear the watch on its original bracelet but a bent
edge on one of the links gives me a rash whenever I attempt to. Instead I
use a dark brown crocodile-embossed leather strap made by Japanese
clothing brand, Neighborhood. It is not official Rolex merchandise
although it fastens with a vintage Rolex buckle. Last year I cracked the
crystal face in an accident involving a ferret and bathroom tiles. Much
fretting ensued: I was hunting on the Internet for an exact matching
part but decided to go with the Rolex service centre in St. James. Other
than the cracked crystal, the watch was diagnosed with water damage and
I was recommended a full service. "No, please don't replace the hands
or the dial! I really don't need it fresh and shiny!" A bit of
negotiation and a few months' wait later, the watch was returned with
the cracked crystal face replaced and a new case back to prevent further
water damage. Relief! At least it still looks like how I remembered it
to be. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the edges of the crystal
now seem sharper than the watch in my memory. Oh well! Typically this is
the sort of thing that can drive me crazy but I think age has relaxed
my once-pedantic nature. After all, the process of using and repairing
only brings out the character in a manufactured item. And it is only
with the passing of time that we come to understand what we treasure and
why."
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