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decided to post this in kopitalk as this is more about the process than about the watch and i won't be including any pictures for privacy reasons...
i was resting after gym and waiting for my wife at her club... there was a caucasian gentleman (very old) walking back to his seat after getting a drink when we both heard the unmistakable sound of metal clanking on tiles...
we both turned to look: his rolex had dropped off his wrist.
i stood up, went forward and picked up the watch (with a khanjar on the dial) and handed it back to him and then decided to go back to my car first - to store my dirty gym clothes and also get a spare nato band and toothpick i had kept in my car, just in case he couldn't attach the bracelet back... my brief encounter with the watch made me suspect something holding a link is broken.
when i got back to my table, it appeared that the watch was still a cause of concern for the gentleman as he was now fiddling with the bezel with reading glasses put on. when i noticed that he has finally given up, i walked forward, introduced myself and asked if i could try to put his watch back together... he laughed and proffered the watch to me, commenting that he's had that watch for a long time and "it's the first time it's done that!"
the entire bezel assembly had come off since i last saw the watch and i quickly popped it back in for him. the bracelet was indeed broken and couldn't be repaired. i took it off and ziplocked it in the bag containing the nato strap, pushed the spring bars back and slipped the nato strap on and handed the watch back to him... but he said he didn't want to wear it with the strap!
the background of the watch and its owner: his friend was gifted the watch by the royal family in the middle east many decades back but didn't want it as he already had a rolex, and so this gentleman obtained the watch when they both met back in the UK.
now, as an old man, he was travelling through singapore on his way to visit friends and family in singapore and australia, and had come to the club with his niece and nephew-in-law whom are also club members.
after a short fuss, i strapped the watch on his wrist and that was when he finally admitted that the watch wasn't working very well so i might as well take my strap back and just zip lock the whole watch with bracelet for him to bring home. with this, he took off his watch again.
after inspecting the watch more thoroughly, i soon found out that the crown and stem was faulty, the date mechanism was sticky, and the only reason he was wearing it was to keep track of UK time... but because of DST and a half-working stem, the time will soon be an hour wrong... and that mostly he had wanted to have a watch on his wrist out of familiarity and habit but serendipity now dictates that it's time to be watchless.
my wife appeared at this time to ask if she could spend a little more time with her horse and i was more than happy to agree. the gentleman and i then spoke at length about his travels and his past experience and hobbies... and my love for watches and some of the more memorable buying experiences i've had. we also spoke about how rare his watch was and how where he can get the watch properly serviced back in the UK. i wrote down the list of contacts i had and stuffed it in the ziploc bag. as a pensioner, he was not willing to pay the amount required to retain the originality of the watch...
after talking for an hour, i took off my watch (a 16710-3186) and showed him how it keeps track of 2 time zones rather easily and eventually made an offer to buy his watch (cash + my gmt master 2) if he wasn't going to repair and wear it.
he seemed half surprised by my offer and accepted it - however i told him to think about it and talk to his younger relatives (no wife no kids) to make sure this was a deal he wanted and that no one else in his family wanted the watch. i adjusted the red hand on my watch to london time (DST!), resized the bracelet and put the watch on his wrist and then told him to try it out for the rest of the week he'll be in singapore and left my name and number with him.
after arguing about the "loaner" watch for 5 minutes minutes, he relented and seemed very happy he had a working watch on his wrist again. my wife and i had a great dinner and enjoyable meal with him and his relatives. he called me 3 days later and said that he would still like to proceed with the deal... and because his flight was a late night one, to come by his hotel lobby instead of meeting at the airport as we had agreed.
at the hotel, he invited me up to his room where i taught him how to adjust the GMT hand again, went through the contents of the original box and manual and paperwork that came with the watch, and told him to re-read the manual if he forgot how to use the watch. i had photocopied the pertinent pages of the manual onto both sides of an A4 paper for him (i made 3 copies for him) because i was going to mail the box and manuals by air to him instead of packing it in his luggage.
he then handed me the ziploc bag and told me he decided he didn't want money for the watch as the gmt2 was in terrific condition and working quite well for his needs and he's had a great time reminiscing the past with me. he admitted that it was not the first time someone wanted to buy his watch but it was the first time he had reason to "get rid of it". he knew his watch was worth good money and out of everyone who approached him, i had offered him the most AND a watch, but he had never wanted to sell it for money because the watch was just a watch to him. the gmt2 had made him realize he could now happily accept wearing another watch.
another friendly argument ensued... but i manage to end up paying him (in british pounds) way less than what i had originally offered. we shook hands and he promised that if he could find the box that originally came with the watch, he would mail it to me. we parted ways with a hug and big smiles on both our faces... and as friends, i hope.
i went back down to the lobby by myself and decided the last thing i could do was settle his hotel bill and after talking to 4 different hotel staff (of increasing seniority) about why i wanted to find out if one of their guest's room was prepaid, was exactly what i did.
i was resting after gym and waiting for my wife at her club... there was a caucasian gentleman (very old) walking back to his seat after getting a drink when we both heard the unmistakable sound of metal clanking on tiles...
we both turned to look: his rolex had dropped off his wrist.
i stood up, went forward and picked up the watch (with a khanjar on the dial) and handed it back to him and then decided to go back to my car first - to store my dirty gym clothes and also get a spare nato band and toothpick i had kept in my car, just in case he couldn't attach the bracelet back... my brief encounter with the watch made me suspect something holding a link is broken.
when i got back to my table, it appeared that the watch was still a cause of concern for the gentleman as he was now fiddling with the bezel with reading glasses put on. when i noticed that he has finally given up, i walked forward, introduced myself and asked if i could try to put his watch back together... he laughed and proffered the watch to me, commenting that he's had that watch for a long time and "it's the first time it's done that!"
the entire bezel assembly had come off since i last saw the watch and i quickly popped it back in for him. the bracelet was indeed broken and couldn't be repaired. i took it off and ziplocked it in the bag containing the nato strap, pushed the spring bars back and slipped the nato strap on and handed the watch back to him... but he said he didn't want to wear it with the strap!
the background of the watch and its owner: his friend was gifted the watch by the royal family in the middle east many decades back but didn't want it as he already had a rolex, and so this gentleman obtained the watch when they both met back in the UK.
now, as an old man, he was travelling through singapore on his way to visit friends and family in singapore and australia, and had come to the club with his niece and nephew-in-law whom are also club members.
after a short fuss, i strapped the watch on his wrist and that was when he finally admitted that the watch wasn't working very well so i might as well take my strap back and just zip lock the whole watch with bracelet for him to bring home. with this, he took off his watch again.
after inspecting the watch more thoroughly, i soon found out that the crown and stem was faulty, the date mechanism was sticky, and the only reason he was wearing it was to keep track of UK time... but because of DST and a half-working stem, the time will soon be an hour wrong... and that mostly he had wanted to have a watch on his wrist out of familiarity and habit but serendipity now dictates that it's time to be watchless.
my wife appeared at this time to ask if she could spend a little more time with her horse and i was more than happy to agree. the gentleman and i then spoke at length about his travels and his past experience and hobbies... and my love for watches and some of the more memorable buying experiences i've had. we also spoke about how rare his watch was and how where he can get the watch properly serviced back in the UK. i wrote down the list of contacts i had and stuffed it in the ziploc bag. as a pensioner, he was not willing to pay the amount required to retain the originality of the watch...
after talking for an hour, i took off my watch (a 16710-3186) and showed him how it keeps track of 2 time zones rather easily and eventually made an offer to buy his watch (cash + my gmt master 2) if he wasn't going to repair and wear it.
he seemed half surprised by my offer and accepted it - however i told him to think about it and talk to his younger relatives (no wife no kids) to make sure this was a deal he wanted and that no one else in his family wanted the watch. i adjusted the red hand on my watch to london time (DST!), resized the bracelet and put the watch on his wrist and then told him to try it out for the rest of the week he'll be in singapore and left my name and number with him.
after arguing about the "loaner" watch for 5 minutes minutes, he relented and seemed very happy he had a working watch on his wrist again. my wife and i had a great dinner and enjoyable meal with him and his relatives. he called me 3 days later and said that he would still like to proceed with the deal... and because his flight was a late night one, to come by his hotel lobby instead of meeting at the airport as we had agreed.
at the hotel, he invited me up to his room where i taught him how to adjust the GMT hand again, went through the contents of the original box and manual and paperwork that came with the watch, and told him to re-read the manual if he forgot how to use the watch. i had photocopied the pertinent pages of the manual onto both sides of an A4 paper for him (i made 3 copies for him) because i was going to mail the box and manuals by air to him instead of packing it in his luggage.
he then handed me the ziploc bag and told me he decided he didn't want money for the watch as the gmt2 was in terrific condition and working quite well for his needs and he's had a great time reminiscing the past with me. he admitted that it was not the first time someone wanted to buy his watch but it was the first time he had reason to "get rid of it". he knew his watch was worth good money and out of everyone who approached him, i had offered him the most AND a watch, but he had never wanted to sell it for money because the watch was just a watch to him. the gmt2 had made him realize he could now happily accept wearing another watch.
another friendly argument ensued... but i manage to end up paying him (in british pounds) way less than what i had originally offered. we shook hands and he promised that if he could find the box that originally came with the watch, he would mail it to me. we parted ways with a hug and big smiles on both our faces... and as friends, i hope.
i went back down to the lobby by myself and decided the last thing i could do was settle his hotel bill and after talking to 4 different hotel staff (of increasing seniority) about why i wanted to find out if one of their guest's room was prepaid, was exactly what i did.
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