My Virtual Watch Collection
MODEL 8935
The leather strap on my trusty Seiko had deteriorated to the point that it was in danger of falling off my wrist. I could buy a new strap, but I wouldn't accept anything less than the quality of the original, and I would definitely want "SEIKO" engraved on the clasp. I reasoned, however, that for almost the same amount of money I could get a new watch. This was strange reasoning since I wasn't willing to compromise on the quality of a replacement strap, but I was willing to give up my Seiko for a cheep watch.
Reason had nothing to do with it. I had been wanting a new watch for around five years, but couldn't justify replacing my Seiko, which was a perfectly good watch. This was before it dawned on me that one could rationally own more than one watch. Now that my Seiko was no longer "a perfectly good watch," I had the excuse I needed to buy a new one.
My desire for a new watch was really the desire for a different watch. I still liked my Seiko, I just didn't want to wear it all the time, just as I don't listen to the same style of music all the time. My Seiko was classical, and I was tired of classical. What was really coming to the surface was the desire to change the style of watch I wear as easily as I change the music I listen to. I wanted to go from classical, to jazz, to rock, to what ever else I was in the mood for.
So I wanted a cheep watch to replace my Seiko. Off I went to Wall-Mart. I found and bought an all silver watch faintly inspired by the Submariner (although I didn't know what a Submariner was at the time) for around $50. Over the course of the next week, this watch began to look uglier and uglier to me. Then my wrist started to go green, and the watch started to go brass. Back I went to Wall-Mart, and got my money back.
This Wall-Mart watch looked a little bit like what I wanted, but it wasn't quite right. Before I bought another watch, I figured I should do a little more investigation and get what I really wanted. What I discovered was that I had really expensive tastes. The watch I wanted was a Rolex two-tone Submariner with a blue dial.
Needless to say, I couldn't afford it. With a little more investigation, I came across the dark underground world of Rolex "replicas." I almost ordered a $200 Japanese Rolex "replica," but my conscience got the better of me. If people were to ask me if that was a Rolex, there's no way I could say "yes," but if I said "no," I'd be admitting that I had an illegitimate fake that infringed on the Rolex trademark.
My next discovery was a Submariner look-alike by Geneva. After postage and handling, and the Canada/US exchange rate, it cost me around $35, which was more then what it was worth. After a year, the numbers on the bezel were almost worn off, the little dot on the top of the bezel had come free, and then finally the crown fell off.
The Geneva was a waste of money. I was now prepared to spend a little more for the sake of quality. To be safe, I decided to stay with a name I could trust. I searched the Seiko catalogue for something along the lines of a Submariner, but I didn't like anything they had. My next stop was the Timex catalogue.
Before my Seiko, I had a Timex, which served me well for a number of years, so I knew I couldn't go wrong with one. In the Timex catalogue, I found model 29761. It was very close to what I wanted. The only thing wrong with it was that the bezel had black on it instead of blue, and the dial was white instead of blue. I tried to have a couple of stores to order one in for me, but they said it wasn't in the catalogue they ordered from. My next stop was amazon.com. I found the right picture for model 29761, but the model number underneath it was 2B111, which was a take-off of Rolex's GMT-Master II; not quite what I wanted. I e-mailed them about this, but they never got back to me, so I gave-up on buying a Timex.
I now wasn't sure where to proceed. I knew that amazon.com carried good stuff, so I began browsing through their men's dress watches with metal bands. This narrowed it down to over a thousand watches. The first thing I found was another take on the GMT-Master II by a company named "Invicta." Like the Timex, it wasn't exactly what I wanted, so I kept looking. Next, I found two Submariner like watches, both with black dials and black on the bezels, one with a stainless-steel case, and the other with a gold case; again, they were made by Invicta. As I kept going, I found a few more watches that were almost what I wanted, and every time, they were made by Invicta. Then I found it: Invicta model 8935. The exact watch I was looking for.
I tried to order it, but it couldn't be shipped to Canada. I then changed the shipping address to my brother-in-law in Florida, and e-mailed him to let him know it was coming. I should have done a little more investigating. After shipping and handling, postage from Florida, customs, and the Canada/US exchange rate, I paid too much. The worst was customs; just over $30. I would have been farther ahead if I had ordered from discount Invicta Watches.
As well, if I had investigated a little more, I would have also learned that for 35% more, I could have gotten an automatic, model 8928; but, what's done is done. It may not be an automatic, but I'm happy with my 8935. It's my first Invicta, but I won't be my last.
