The Time of My Life

The story of a very special watch

I have long thought that, if I owned my own company, or was CEO of one, I would make it a policy to give every employee his or her birthday off as a holiday. After all, a birthday is something everyone has, and is independent of culture or religion. If it falls on a weekend, the person may choose a different day of the same week to take off. Well, I do own a company, and I am its only employee, so it’s only fair to give myself my birthday off, right? As it happens, it’s today, but since my usual podcast recording day is Tuesday and I’ll be working anyway, I decided to cheat a little and skip last week’s Substack post. But today’s is timely, on time, and about time. I promise.

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I remember back when I was getting into this whole watch thing, reading about the typical arc of an enthusiast with regard to Rolex. At first, the novice thinks Rolex is the “be all and end all” of watches, the top of the pyramid. Then, once he or she learns more about watches, realizes that there are so many brands worthy of interest and Rolex is just one of them. There’s almost an anti-snobbery factor then, where the brand becomes one to eschew, in favor of more “insider” choices. But then, after some years of collecting, the now seasoned enthusiast returns to Rolex with a renewed interest and a more mature perspective and respect. It’s a brand that produces consistently superior quality in huge numbers while also having been present at so many historically important events and discoveries. I can vouch for this arc of interest, since I experienced it myself. As I type this, I am wearing my very first Rolex, and it remains a significant one in my collection, even though it seldom sees daylight anymore.

When I turned 40, back in 2010 (you do the math, but keep it to yourself) I got this Rolex Submariner, ref. 14060M. It came from a now defunct jeweler at the Mall of America, after consulting with one of the best salespeople I’ve known to date. His name was Calvin and I think in me, a relatively new watch enthusiast (I had started writing for Hodinkee around that time), he saw a kindred spirit and someone with whom he could nerd out a bit, instead of the usual mall window shoppers and engagement ring buyers. At first I was considering a GMT-Master II, and he told me about the recently released caliber 3186 movement in it, and its advantages. But in the end, I was a newly minted diver, and the Submariner was the one for me. I ordered it with the caseback engraved to commemorate the date, and paid for it on store credit, one month at a time. It’s long since been paid off, and has paid me back through countless adventures.