(Long post with probably nothing new in the way of information. Just wanted to share.)
My wife and I (both retired) decided yesterday morning that we'd drive up to Denver so she could do some shopping at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. This is not a frequent occurrence for us, as it's close to a two-hour drive from our little hamlet in the mountains, but we do like to visit civilization once a year or so. Cherry Creek is an upscale mall with shops like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and Neiman Marcus as well as more affordable stores like H&M, Macy's, etc. Of course, there are some watch boutiques there as well, so I'd have the chance to ogle Omega, Breitling, Rolex, and other high-end brands. I had always told myself I'd never be willing to lay out the kind of cash required to bring home one of those, being content with less pricey but still nice watches like Tissot and Citizen.
My wife, knowing how I like watches, made sure that I visited the watch boutiques, and we started with Omega. I should mention that this was a Tuesday afternoon, and the mall was not at all busy. In fact, we were the only customers in the Omega store, and the salesman was more than happy to show me whatever I wanted to see, even though I mentioned to him upfront that I was probably just looking. Omega is a brand that has kind of snuck up on me, ever since I saw an Aqua Terra in a consignment shop a couple years ago. Since then I've come to really appreciate the styling of many of Omega's offerings. I'd even been on the lookout for a more affordable watch that was styled similar to the Aqua Terra I had seen.
Anyway, as the salesman was showing me different watches (and suggesting that he could probably knock a few hundred off the price), my wife is basically telling me to pick one out for my 65th birthday (still a few months away), and once I convinced myself it would be okay, I ended up choosing a 41-mm Aqua Terra for myself, very similar to the one I'd seen in the consignment shop. I chose the rubber strap over a bracelet, finding it very comfortable and stylish. (The funny thing is that I'd always lusted after a Speedy, but when I saw these watches in person I was more attracted to the Aqua Terra.)
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The salesman indeed knocked $500 off the price (I dunno, maybe that's standard procedure, but I'll take it regardless), and once the sale was complete he brought out the box for the watch. Holy crap, the box is big and heavy! It appears to be constructed of oak, and actually conceals a smaller travel box inside.
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For the rest of our time at the mall it felt a little bit like I was carrying a bowling ball around in the shopping bag.
Funny story, too--after the Omega store, we went across the hall to the Louis Vuitton boutique so my wife could look at some bags. She ended up purchasing one, and the young lady that was helping her saw my Omega bag and mentioned that she knew someone at the Rolex store and that she could hook us up with a Rolex right away instead of us having to languish on a waiting list for years! Having heard the stories about Rolex and their ADs, I probably wouldn't have bought one anyway, but I chuckled nevertheless.
My wife and I (both retired) decided yesterday morning that we'd drive up to Denver so she could do some shopping at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. This is not a frequent occurrence for us, as it's close to a two-hour drive from our little hamlet in the mountains, but we do like to visit civilization once a year or so. Cherry Creek is an upscale mall with shops like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and Neiman Marcus as well as more affordable stores like H&M, Macy's, etc. Of course, there are some watch boutiques there as well, so I'd have the chance to ogle Omega, Breitling, Rolex, and other high-end brands. I had always told myself I'd never be willing to lay out the kind of cash required to bring home one of those, being content with less pricey but still nice watches like Tissot and Citizen.
My wife, knowing how I like watches, made sure that I visited the watch boutiques, and we started with Omega. I should mention that this was a Tuesday afternoon, and the mall was not at all busy. In fact, we were the only customers in the Omega store, and the salesman was more than happy to show me whatever I wanted to see, even though I mentioned to him upfront that I was probably just looking. Omega is a brand that has kind of snuck up on me, ever since I saw an Aqua Terra in a consignment shop a couple years ago. Since then I've come to really appreciate the styling of many of Omega's offerings. I'd even been on the lookout for a more affordable watch that was styled similar to the Aqua Terra I had seen.
Anyway, as the salesman was showing me different watches (and suggesting that he could probably knock a few hundred off the price), my wife is basically telling me to pick one out for my 65th birthday (still a few months away), and once I convinced myself it would be okay, I ended up choosing a 41-mm Aqua Terra for myself, very similar to the one I'd seen in the consignment shop. I chose the rubber strap over a bracelet, finding it very comfortable and stylish. (The funny thing is that I'd always lusted after a Speedy, but when I saw these watches in person I was more attracted to the Aqua Terra.)
The salesman indeed knocked $500 off the price (I dunno, maybe that's standard procedure, but I'll take it regardless), and once the sale was complete he brought out the box for the watch. Holy crap, the box is big and heavy! It appears to be constructed of oak, and actually conceals a smaller travel box inside.
For the rest of our time at the mall it felt a little bit like I was carrying a bowling ball around in the shopping bag.
Funny story, too--after the Omega store, we went across the hall to the Louis Vuitton boutique so my wife could look at some bags. She ended up purchasing one, and the young lady that was helping her saw my Omega bag and mentioned that she knew someone at the Rolex store and that she could hook us up with a Rolex right away instead of us having to languish on a waiting list for years! Having heard the stories about Rolex and their ADs, I probably wouldn't have bought one anyway, but I chuckled nevertheless.
