It's About Time(pieces)

Growing up, I never had allergies of any kind. 

After 12 years of living in Arizona, and without my approval or even knowledge, that changed.

To make a long, boring story short, when recovering from an illness, a doctor gave me some antihistamines to try to see if they would help, and they did.  So, without any further testing, I was informed I have allergies, and that was that.  Of course, I had no idea what I was allergic to, but no matter.

Shortly after moving to my current home, my watch broke.  Having worn one daily for more than 20 years, I felt completely naked without one, so a replacement was a must.

I prefer my watches to be water resistant to at least 50 feet, to have a metal band that is not in any way elasticized, and I have to like the way it looks.  So, I went shopping with this criteria in mind and found one that I liked.

I put it on and wore it happily for several weeks.  Then I noticed that my skin was getting irritated and itchy where the watch was.  I thought perhaps I'd gotten some water under the band, or the heat was causing irritation, so I took it off for a bit.  When I put it back on that evening, I immediately starting having the same reaction.  Now, I'm not always the brightest candle in the chandelier, but I was able to make the connection.  I took the watch off, and looked closely at the back.  It turns out that the back of the case is stainless steel, with the rest being "base metal" that was plated with something else, and the plating was coming off.  Yep, whatever "base metal" is, I am, apparently, allergic to it.

Being a bit upset, and unwilling to take out a mortgage to pay for a high end watch, I accustomed myself to life without one.  Which was harder than you might think.  Even after three years of not wearing one, I would, out of habit, go to check my watch to find out what time it was. 

Well, on Wednesday, Scott had asked me to pick something up for him at Kohl's.  When you walk into the store, one of the first areas you come to is the jewelry counter.  Being a fan of jewelry, I decided to have a browse.  When I got to the watches, one of them really caught my eye, and it was on sale.  In fact, all of the watches were on sale.  I took a closer look.  With the assistance of the saleslady, I discovered that it not only wasn't water resistant, it was also made from the mysterious "base metal", so it was out.  I looked at all of the other watches, and the ones that caught my eye weren't water resistant, and many didn't list what material they were made from. 

I'd pretty much given up, and was headed to menswear when a watch managed to catch my eye.  The one next to it was even better -- same style but a darker face which I preferred.  Then there was another beneath it.  I called the saleslady back over and, trying not to get my hopes up too high, asked to look at the watch with the dark face, and the one with a more decorative band below it.  I looked at one, she looked at the other and they were both water resistant.  Both had metal bands.  Neither were going to cost me an arm and a leg.  But only one was all stainless steel, which I know I'm not allergic to; the other didn't list the materials.

So I got it.  The watch is made by Relic, has a 12 year warranty, and, when you combine the sale and the coupon I had, was only $35.  I couldn't be happier.