What was your introduction to Rolex ?

[BASSETHOUNDS]

A sad event just reminded me of when and how I was first introduced to Rolex .
I just heard that the original Rolex AD in my home town passed on a week ago .
He was quite a character , but great fun and the greatest Rolex ambassador I ever came across . His family had the biggest jewelry store in town and it was him that brought Rolex to our town when he set up his own business . There was an enormous rivalry between him and his brother who had the more "classic" brands like Omega , Longines , Vacheron Constantin and dealt in the wedding rings and "communion" religious stuff . He , however started to design his own jewelry line etc.
Anyway , my family had been friends of his family for generations and it was only normal for him to come to stay in the south of Portugal with other friends when my mother had opened up a small hotel there.
It was during that vacation he was wearing a TT datejust and he couldn't stop talking about Rolex and how good it was . He waterskied with it , dove with it only just to prove it . It was also him that took the time to explain a young lad of about 13 all he knew about that watch . You guessed it ; That young lad was me . It was him who sparkled my interest towards these great watches and years later I got my first one . The rest is history .
I lost sight of this man as I left Belgium to live and work abroad in the mid '80 . Later he ran into personal and financial problems and eventually lost this AD status and his business to his brother .
May his soul rest in peace and let it be known that a great Rolex lover has gone to meet Mr. Wilsdorf .