I have not liked the fact that Rolex is not being carried at Ben Bridge in the mall. Basically, if you take a step back and look at what is left, the mall is in a sad state of freefall. I can't think that the mall has everything if it doesn't have any high end products to shop for. Growing up, I thought you went to the mall to buy expensive cameras, TV's, heck, the mall closest to us in Eagle Pass had a music store. I thought people bought their music instruments at the malls. When I first arrived in Austin, Dillard's had a section where they sold "hi-fi stereo equipment" and VCRs and stuff. As time goes by, all that stuff keeps falling by the wayside. I just think back to Highland Mall and in the end, it was like 50% shoe stores (at least the last time we went). Without the differentiator (Rolex), Ben Bridge is just another jeweler, like Zales, nice but nothing to dream about.
Apparently, Rolex and other high end watch makers are trying to focus on their own stores and boutique shops. I am fine with that, but I am not sure if Austin is a big enough market to deserve a Rolex dedicated store. That said, we found the next best thing yesterday. Having to venture out of the comfort of the mall, we ended up at Korman Jewelers. This is an independent store not associated with a mall, but it has existed for many years, so they must be legitimate. The other option is the Ben Bridge at The Domain. If I am in the mood of making a day of it, maybe this works, otherwise, it seems like a lot of walking around outside for one store.
For all my whining about the mall dying, Boy and I were real excited upon entering the Korman store. We both headed straight for the closest brand, Omega, and they had many choices to choose from. They must have had about 40 watches to show, although the one I like with a meteor face was sadly, missing. The guy assigned to us said he could get us one if we gave him some time. I then told him my situation, that I had been waiting for a Rolex Milgauss to show up at the mall's Rolex dealer but now they no longer carry the brand. I am starting to believe the world shortage of these watches as they also had barely a handful of watches. Half of their back wall is set-up to display the Rolex brand, with the green felt on the walls and stuff, but they barely had I would say maybe 12-14 watches to show. He had some Cellinis he said he could work on the price for us and we could walk out with a steal at $16,000. It was tempting, but I really want the Milgauss as Boy's graduation gift. Boy was trying to talk me into the Omega meteorite watch instead. It is a beautiful watch, but a Rolex is a Rolex. The guy offered to put us on his waiting list, but he also said there are already other people waiting for the same thing.
I am sure we will end up buying some watches here in the immediate future. Boy, Javalina and I really like the idea of wearing beautiful watches, and this store had the two big brands plus Tudor, Hamilton, and a couple other up and comers. The guy was really great and he mentioned that they are trying to get Patek Phillippe, and or Audemars Piguet which usually round up the top 4 brands always mentioned as the best watches.
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