Sherlock Holmes (or Arthur Conan Doyle, to be exact) once said that nothing except bootlaces and pipes highlighted a mans individuality as well as his watch. Seeing as how bootlaces are the only thing I own on that list, please do me a favour and reward me with this watch so that my uniqueness isn’t defined by bootlaces alone.

My older brother gave me a sweet H&M watch last year for Christmas and unfortunately I was at a Birthday party in October for an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. After a few drinks and some light conversation she asked me to see my time-piece, so I removed it and handed it to her. She flipped it around in her hands a few times and then put it on. I thought nothing of it until moments later she came out of nowhere and confessed her long repressed and undying affection for me. I was so overwhelmed by her forwardness that I reacted abruptly and levelled with her – let’s just say my disinterest was abundantly clear. The ensuing tears and banshee howls (did I mentioned it was HER Birthday party) punched my ticket and with that I made a quick escape. I haven’t seen the watch or her since, although she did send me a message offering to mail it to me.

I need a new watch…please help.

As I Write This My Wrist Is Bare
——————————————

It is perhaps serendipity that you are giving away such a simple but lovely, and most likely reliable, timepiece. “7:36” is what the timepiece that I wore up until a couple months ago now reads. That must be the time it died. I do believe that all it needs is a new battery but I already decided that its untimely death was a sign to move on. The body was getting beat up and worn out along with discoloration. I got some good use out of it.

The timepiece is now, decidedly, a mere memento of a mysterious young man I met several years ago, back in the day when I suffered from writer’s block. (I only started wearing the timepiece in question about a year ago, though I kept it for several years). I can’t say why I waited so many years to where it on my wrist, to make it a part of my being, but I can talk a little about how I got it and why it was special.

It was an anonymous gift from a mysterious friend, a gesture that was never spoken about in our subsequent communications, but it could have come from no other person. And therefore, the watch came with a certain implicit, bittersweet message: “I think you are special, brother, but I have no time for you.”

The first time I saw this man, I knew he was a kindred spirit. And he knew it too. It was obvious, even in our later discussions. But there was one thing standing in our way, the citadel of time. He seemed to be on a secret mission: I would imagine that he was a Mosad agent, or working on the cure to some disease, or some amazing innovation in information technology, or writing a symphony. It could have been so many great things because the boy was undoubtedly brilliant; he would never say.

I could only confirm that we saw the world the same in very important and deep ways, and that we were fighting a similar battle against the dark forces of the world. We were brothers in that way. And so this timepiece that has expired is a kind of a symbol of love: of a love for another time.

What was most special about this mysterious young man is that knowing him and interacting with him, and being intrigued by his aura of mystery, helped to cure the terrible ailment which is writer’s block; when you know that you have the talent but you just can’t write anything that satisfies you and too often nothing at all. This man became a muse and in playing around in my imagination with that mystery that surrounded him, I was able to create some competent and beautiful tales and poetry. And that is what this now elapsed timepiece of mine represents: it is a memento, a reminder of that thrilling time when I was able to overcome my literary predicament and take control of my craft and instill the necessary confidence in my soul to develop my craft further.

And now my wrist is bare.

When my time piece died I told myself that I would just rely on my blackberry to give me the time. For the most part it is suitable but there are times when it simply takes too long, or my hands are full, or it is socially awkward, or I don’t have the blackberry on me. There are benefits to having one’s time piece strapped to one’s wrist: all it takes is a quick glance and you have what you need. Time is crucial to me because I know how true the old adage is that time is money, and money is time, and that we live our life in time. I’ve wasted a heck of a lot of it, and I’m driven to waste a heck of a lot less of it from hereto forward. There are times when I need to know how long I still have to work on some great project before the allowed time runs out or I have to go to work—a quick glance is much more complementary to an active stream of thought. There are times when I am anxious to leave work or anxious to get away from someone talking too much and wasting my time—pulling out my blackberry says too much to other people about my unrest. And of course I only have two hands and too often they are full—again a quick glance and slight twist of the arm. Finally, my blackberry does need to charge, and I am considerate enough of my blackberry to turn it off sometimes, to give it a rest, because it does way too much for me, much more than I can ever do for it—eventually a watch becomes so comfortable that it feels we are not even wearing it (and that’s a good thing).

Needless to say, I am very attracted to the Timex Field Watch you are giving away this Holiday Season—and as I write this my wrist is bare …

It is time for a new time piece, one that will symbolize a new phase in my life, perhaps one that speaks for a man on a mission.

I have terrible luck with watches. I’m somewhat of a connoisseur of watches, but they never seem to last long for any number of reasons, usually unexplainable. It’s rare that a watch will last me a year before it needs the entire movement replaced.

However I’ve often been told to stop with the fancy watches and go for a tried-and-true Timex. So please, let me have this classicly beautiful, time-tested piece of horology.

Other than the Timex Indiglo watch I had in elementary school, I’ve never owned/worn a watch. After recently graduating from university, I think it’s time I kick my sporto look and finally mature into a young professional/modern gentleman. Did I mention my birthday is 4 days away?!

Does a watch a modern gentleman make? Certainly not. However, in addition to telling time, a watches is a man’s only piece of accessory self-expression. The Timex Field Watch represents my preferred balance between style and minimalism, flair and functionality.

An ungarnished wrist, however stylish, cultured and confident its owner, is like an unpolished shoe. Classy perhaps, but in dire need of a little TLC. While the watch will not make the man, such a simple and elegant timepiece can certainly help in that man’s self-expression.

Though The Modern Gentleman has already helped me (perhaps more indirectly), I’m now asking that TMG assist me in polishing my style…and my wrist, directly.

My previous watch I bought for $8 on the streets of New York from a man called Big, a dashing thing it was; and to offer my answer to the question you posed in your story : the reason I wanted to wake up and put a Roolexx on my wrist was that it kept time 1.5x faster than a normal watch, so if I was doing something I was simply not interested in it would pass at a rate that I found more agreeable.

After a while of enjoying the fast time of three quarters of a day well spent however, my watch began to only move one minute for every ten that passed, which invariably led to me staying up for hundreds of hours at a time, hosting parties starting at 6:30am and arriving days late to important business meetings.

I retired the watch and have since been stumbling through life without any semblance of the time. In summer I am okay, as the sun stays in sky longer, allowing me more hours of estimation, but now coming into the depths of winter I am lost. I write this message as I am hopelessly waiting for a bus to take me to the airport so I may travel home to see my family, whom I have been without since I was 17 – having missed all my flights home in the last 4 years.

I wish dearly to be re-united with my family, but for fear that I will not, and will instead for the fourth consecutive christmas, receive nothing under my tree, I ask from you: not merely a watch, but a second chance at life.

Love,

Patrick Wade

Simply put…. my trusty old Times just kicked the bucket recently… not sure what happened but while I know my way around a circuit board well enough, I am utterly clueless when it comes to watch mechanisms and could not for the life of me figure out if one of the gears was just jammed, broken or what happened…. This was early November and I’ve been meaning to buy a new watch since, but with the madness that is practicum (and the budget constraints that come with it), plus christmas and a few birthdays having just rolled around, I haven’t had either the time or the money to go out and actually shop for a half decent watch.

I actually really like the look of that watch so either way there is a good chance I’ll pick it up down the road (probably surprise myself for my birthday in February), but if you guys could hook me up and throw a bit of Christmas love my way, it would certainly make my day. (And it would mean I wouldn’t have to rely on my phone for time for the next 2 months). Peace,

L

After reading the comments, I think this watch should clearly go to Pat Wade…not only did I die laughing reading his post but he seems in need of a new timepiece the most.

“A friend’s older brother once asked me why anyone would wear a Rolex when they could wear a Timex? ”

There is a huge difference between a $40 watch and a $4000 watch, in terms of feel, look, and confidence. A luxury watch is flawless, meaning once you get used to them. You beging to notice the low-end timepieces lack of finesse and quality.

I believe everyone needs to have a luxury watch at one point in their lives, its amazing thing.

Phnmeeonal breakdown of the topic, you should write for me too!