I purchased this item on the 9th of September and was pretty stoked. As you know, when I’m stoked – I blog about it. But I’m still holding off until I actually get a hold of the item.

The reason is because the transaction seemed too good to be true; and I wasn’t about to share my joy, only to find out at the last minute that it was a false alarm. In fact I’m breaking the rule somewhat today because even if I’m absolutely sure it has been shipped to my aunt’s house in the US, I’ve yet to have them confirm if the item is indeed the item I’ve purchased. You never know; there’s always a first time for me to be a victim of the classic “bait and switch” in online transactions.

And I’ll be talking about it in detail next month, for now I’ll just stick to the safe facts.To me, when I have recurring thoughts about something, chances are that thing is good for me. Of course the usual disclaimer applies: no exaggerations (like thinking about driving a Lamborghini), just stuff that I (usually) have the means to acquire.

It doesn’t have to be an obsessive type of thought – but the mere fact that my gut instinct is to return to a certain thing; I’ve learned to interpret that as my instincts telling me: “This thing, if you get, will make you happy” And it’s not just the normal happiness of getting a new toy – but the long-term contentment where I find myself looking back and say “Yeah, this was a really good decision!”

This gut instinct of mine, has never failed me – especially with material stuff. And I had that same feeling when I was shopping with Cris in Shang months ago.

I’m not really a watch person, but I’ve always wanted to have a watch. You know, just in case you need to go somewhere and be presentable. You have to at least have some respectable apparel for those occasions; Shoes, ties, suits, etc. Naturally, a watch is one of those things.

But as I said, horology never appealed to me. I would love to have expensive watches if I could, but they’re just not a priority in my spending preferences.

I have to admit however, that I’ve always appreciated unique designs in watches. I distinctly remember as a kid being awed the first time I saw a Tag Heuer S/EL ¹ I believe it’s called the “Link” series today. – and I even didn’t know about Tag Heuer then. In fact I was still in grade school and the only thing I was focused on was GI Joe’s and the like.

I wanted a watch that appealed to me just like how the S/EL stood out when I was a kid. The appeal of staple uber-expensive brands is certainly there, but they have always been in context of the respect (or envy) they command because of their price tags – not because they stood out naturally. For example; if you had shown me a Panerai without me knowing about the brand… I probably wouldn’t be impressed. The fact that it’s a Panerai is part of the appeal, not necessarily because Panerais have designs that are appealing. ² At least to my taste, your mileage may vary. But now when I see a Panerai looking design, I would notice it immediately because I already attributed it to the said value of the timepiece. I wasn’t after that kind of an appeal.

What I wanted was a watch that, without knowing the brand or the price, would make someone seeing it for the first time say “Hey, that looks really cool!” Not even to ask me the brand, but the simple fact that it can make them say “That’s a nice looking watch” then I know I’ve made the right decision.

And all these years, I’ve never seen a watch that would jump out at me the way that S/EL did… until I saw the TO series by Issey Miyake. ³ Yes, I believe it’s a fashion or perfume brand – totally obscure in context of horology.

I’ll save the reasons why it appealed to me for another post (when I actually have it). Sufficed to say, I chose it ⁴ I got the automatic version – which is not the one pictured in the link. over similarly priced (though more expensive) Tag Heuers.

The reason why I was stoked about it was because I actually got it at $500 off! When I first saw it, I had to debate wether it was worth it or not. Issey Miyake isn’t really known for watches, and given the price, wasn’t I better off just getting a Tag? But the whole point of me wanting to get a watch this time, was precisely because of the TO series, not the Tags, nor the Rolexes etc. – if I wanted those brands, I would’ve gotten myself one a long time ago. I decided to hold out for now… but I would revisit the page once in a while to appreciate its beauty 😉

One day, I was surprised to see it priced $500 cheaper – which was significantly below a thousand dollars. ⁵ I mean are you kidding me!? $500 is a brand new Lumix LX3! Now would be a good time to get it… but since no one I knew was coming home from the US, ⁶ The automatic model was not available in the Philippines I thought maybe I could just leave it alone for a while. Who knows, by the time someone does come home, the price might be even lower then. I had nothing to lose by waiting… right?

When I got wind of my aunt coming home first week of October, I decided to make the purchase. To my horror, it was back up to the original price! I was seriously devastated, I even wrote Amazon asking about if it was a promo and when it would be re-instated (they weren’t any help btw). I would now be visiting the page and refreshing just out of sheer frustration. “I should’ve fucking got it when I had the chance!”

Carpe Diem is what I always say; and the moment I stop following my own advice, everything turns to shit. So yeah, I’m constantly reminded by God, the cosmos, whatever, to trust my gut – this was no exception.

One night I was ranting about it with Cris, and I visited the page again, and whoa! it was back at the “sale” value! As soon as I saw it I just jumped right in and bought that fucker. Who cares if it was a glitch or not, I wasn’t about to wait and find out. It’s easier to just sort it out afterwards (since Amazon can do a refund, etc.).

The reason why I didn’t post about it then was because while I got it through Amazon, which is a pretty reputable dealer, the watch being offered at that price was from a different store. So I wasn’t sure if the shop would end up calling Amazon saying “Hey, this product you processed for us, it’s too cheap! You have to correct it.” If that were the case, while there would be no harm done since they could just cancel the order and refund the credit, but I was really hoping it would be processed.

So I waited…

On September 11, I got an email from Amazon telling that the seller has shipped the item! And I checked my card, and it was indeed just $900 bucks. Yay right? Not so fast; now the [only] problem left is if they actually sent the right item or decided to do something similar to a bait and switch. I just got confirmation today that it’s now with my relatives… and I’m awaiting their verdict wether or not it was the same item which I had sent them images of.

Crossing my fingers…

UPDATE

My Aunt’s response:

YES, CARLO, IT IS HERE AND SOOOOO CLASSY LOOKING! WITH METAL CASE, METAL STRAP, AND THERE IS A BLACK POUCH IN THE PACKAGE WHICH IS STILL UNFOLDED.

Looks like everything’s in order 🙂 I’ll be talking about it again first thing October