Another watch story...

I should have made this a reply to SoCalWis' post of last week.. and actually started to, but got sidetracked.

'cause, oddly enough, I did sell a watch last week that I didn't really want to sell.

What happened is a friend & neighbor came over specifically looking for a good watch. He knew well of my WIS-dom, you see, and I was flattered that he thought of me first. And so I cried "Sure! I'll trot out a box full o' likelies", and did just that. Easy as fallin' off a log, as I've lately been keepin' The Box O' Wen packed with the sale stock of Honest Ricky's Used Wristwatches.

Not the exact contents that day, mind you, but you get my point. I've been doin' enough local wheelin' and dealin' in watches that it behooves me to keep said sale & trade stock handy, and ready to go. I had a wide range in there, from a $10 generic quartz to a $200 Swiss automatic. And (yes, in retrospect I know this was really dumb) also 2 or 3 watches that weren't really for sale.

Well, you know what happened. Yup, he picks up one of the not-for-sale watches and says "How 'bout this one? I like this." And I gotta admit he has taste..

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..for 'twas the Bucherer Automatic.

Now, understand that while I was initially a little disappointed in that Bucherer, I've grown to love it to death. Yeah, 'tis almost certainly a redial. But a good one! And the movement is rock-solid and gorgeous. Just a fine ol' example of the marque, and of period Swiss watchmaking in general.

I hemmed and hawed, he pressed the point, back and forth for a minute or two. He could plainly see that I really didn't want to part with it, so I think that, in his mind, that meant it must be the best watch in the box. In the end I said "Look, you wouldn't want to pay what I'd have to get for that watch." DoH! Bad move! "Oh? How much? he says. Thinking madly I came back with "A hundred and fifty dollars!."

Well, long story short, to my horror he calmly pulls out his wallet and starts counting out a stack of twenties.

What can I say? I really didn't think he was prepared to go over $100. This is a guy who'd normally consider a $50 watch to be quite extravagant, after all.

Anyway, even though this represented a 50% profit, I still ain't real happy with the deal and I miss the watch. Guess that means I'm in the market for another Bucherer. Bright side is, I've got a bigger budget for the next one.