Getting Dad to love his Rolex again

[bobbyandy]

Warning- long post.

My wife’s dad received a Rolex back in the early 90s. It was a gift from a grateful group in the city where he lived, given for something heroic and selfless that he had done (an exciting story for another time). The watch was a Stainless Steel Datejust inscribed on the back with his name, date, and some details of the gift.

Some people in his social circle gave him a bit of grief, ribbing him about such a large sum of money spent on a watch (about $3-4k at the time) that could have been spent on something “useful and practical” if he had only been given the choice between a check and a watch.

I think he was initially thinking the same thing because he considered selling it back to the AD where it had been purchased. Someone (not me) told him that it couldn’t be sold once engraved so he shrugged, kept the Rolex and started wearing it.

It soon became his daily companion and he grew to cherish it over the years. When he and my mother-in-law were able to travel abroad a few years later, he made a point to dip it in several oceans (not sure exactly why but it was quite a big deal to him) even once lowering it on a rope from a pier so he could dip it in the ocean where there was no easy beach access to the water.

Things like this added to the growing story of his life adventures and I enjoyed every time he shared a bit of his story with me. He never babied his Rolex but fearlessly wore it doing everything life could throw at him and he never had it serviced, adjusted, or even inspected.

Some 20+ years later when it finally started losing minutes per day, he quietly put it back in the original Rolex box and kept it in a drawer. I think the ribbing about the expense years ago along with his old school “useful and practical” mindset kept him from spending any money fixing such a luxury item. He switched to using a quartz watch that he received while helping USA athletes at the Winter Olympics (another great story).

A few years later, I convinced my very gracious mother-in-law to bring the watch to us on one of their visits to see the grandkids – a secret mission done without my father-in-law’s knowledge. Once we had it in our possession, my wife and I took the watch to the local Rolex AD and they sent it off to the Dallas RSC for a long-overdue service.

It came back in amazing shape a few weeks later and, as they had since returned home, I mailed it back to him hoping that it would once again become his daily wrist companion.

We got a phone call when he received it and at first it seemed like we lost the connection. There was a long pause on the phone as he could hardly get the words out, he was so choked up with emotion. He thanked us for the kindness we had shown him in getting his Rolex fixed and I truly believe he was genuinely pleased with the result. He seemed very glad to have his Rolex working again. Mission accomplished - wear it in good health I thought.

Come to find out, he put it back in the box and put it in a drawer and never wore it as far as I know. I saw it last year after they moved to our city (a blessing to have them so close now) and it’s still in the original Rolex box looking brand new, as it did upon its return from the RSC.

My father-in-law told me recently that he occasionally takes his Rolex out of the box to admire it and reminisce and thanked me again for getting it fixed. I have yet to see it back on his wrist.

Occasionally in a quiet moment, I have thoughts second guessing myself and wondering if I overstepped with my clandestine RSC mission. Did I ruin it for him getting it fixed? I don’t think so (I certainly hope not) and I don’t regret that we got it fixed, but I just can’t shake the thought of that beautiful watch sitting in a box when it had been on his wrist for so long. He could be making more memories with it now. A Rolex like that with such a cool story is meant to be worn and loved and used in the course of a life well lived…just like it had been for over two decades.

At the end of the day, it’s his watch and I should be glad that he fearlessly wore it for as long as he did and respect that he continues to enjoy it in his own way and on his own terms. Maybe it’s not about getting him to love his Rolex again. Maybe it’s about me finally embracing the way he now chooses to remember and cherish the journey and all the life experiences and adventures he’s had with it over the years. Perhaps I’ll convince him to get it out next time I’m over and he can share more life stories with me. I would like that very much.

If you made it all the way to the end, thank you.