A few months ago, while attending the wedding of a very good friend of ours in the city of Dallas, Texas, we ran into an old friend and classmate that we have not seen since the late 90s. When we first saw him, we were not sure if it was him or not; however, after looking at his wrist, we then knew it was indeed our friend and watchlifestyler Raymond. The iconic Rolex Date on his wrist was the telltale sign.
This Rolex Date ref. 15210 with white dial, small black roman numerals, block markers, oyster bracelet and engine turned bezel is not one that we often see in the wild. Our friend wore this watch every single day during our college years in the early 90s and last time we ran into him in Mexico City —back in 1999— he still had it on.
After briefly catching up with him in Dallas, we decided to schedule a get together during his next visit to Chicago. A couple of weeks ago, he joined us for dinner and shared with us a very interesting story about his watch that left us in awe.
Contrary to our belief, the Rolex Date on his wrist is no longer the same watch he used to wear in school. It's actually a third identical watch. Yes, a third one. But why?
Back in 1990, he received the first watch as a High School graduation gift from his father. After almost a decade wearing the same watch every day, that original watch was stolen. Immediately after, he purchased a second identical watch because it was very meaningful from a sentimental standpoint. Unfortunately, a couple years down the road, that second watch was also stolen and a third identical was then purchased several years ago. As they say, the third time is a charm. Isn't it almost unbelievable that someone would buy the same identical watch three times? Well, perhaps just as crazy as the story we published on the Audemars Piguet Jumbo 5402SA that had been sold and repurchased multiple times. Click here for that story.
As you can appreciate in the pictures, this is truly a gorgeous watch with a very well balanced dial and iconic look; however, nowadays it appears very small on a man's wrist. As you all know, the Rolex Date is smaller than the Datejust with a case measuring only 34 mm. Fortunately, our friend has a very slender compact body frame and the watch looks just stunning on his wrist. Additionally, we find this watch to be one of the most elegant Rolex watches out there.
This watch is so representative of him, that every time we see one for sale, our memory takes us back to those wonderful years in college sipping 'Cubas' —rum with cola— and partying till dawn.
After sharing a handful of memories and old time stories over a bottle of the best rum in the world —Zacapa Centenario Solera 23 from Guatemala—, we then devoted some special attention to the watch and snapped a few images for our beloved readers.
Enjoy the time machine. A gorgeous watch, a great friend and a memorable evening.
For more info click here.
