5/31/21 Alternative Watch Possibilities?

     As I have mentioned ad nauseum, I want to get into collecting watches, but the ones I want are just not to be found right now.  There is a shortage of Rolex watches worldwide.  The story is that it takes them a year to make each one, so they are not just pushed out the door.  With that, I have had to adjust and think of creative ways to go about buying a collection I could be proud of.

    I was looking at random watches Sunday morning and I stumbled upon the Tudor brand which I have looked at many times and I almost bought a Black Bay Bronze which almost looks like dull gold a couple months ago.  Bronze is interesting because it will be affected by the environment and start to oxidize and turn different "rusted" colors from turquoise to brown.  The problem was that the strap did not fit my wrist and they seemed to not have a solution they could give me, like ordering a longer strap, so I decided to not buy it.

    This morning I "discovered" that they have a silver version of that watch, the Black Bay 58.  Silver looks very much like stainless steel but is also very reactive to the environment but even worse, it can be reactive to the person wearing it, notably the nickel in the alloy is a known skin irritant to a percentage of people.  They claim that they have solved the issues with reactivity to humans, so it becomes an interesting option which I think I might want to own.  The watch is priced fairly, under $5000, so it isn't that hard to get into it.

    Along with the Tudor brand, I also "discovered" a Bell and Ross watch I didn't know I wanted so badly.  I have wanted a watch with a red dial and red coloring, I think that would be striking and B&R has one right now.  The thing differentiating their brand is they do a square case with a circle dial which is inspired by the instruments on an airplane.  This is a limited quantities watch (only 999 will be made), which might also make it more desirable and valuable in the future.

    I showed the watches to Boy and even he is interested in going to this new store that I didn't even know existed.  Perhaps, if it is open tomorrow, we can make the short trip and check out their inventory.  I don't even know what to expect in this Covid era where everything is in short supply, maybe they also have empty displays much like Ben Bridge.  Yesterday, we did manage to walk in there briefly and they had a total of 4 sad Rolexes, 3 for females and the fourth might as well have been too, with all the crystals on the face.  To me, that makes it a watch for females, men's watches shouldn't have diamonds and jewels adorning the face.