Swatches

This is a story about the watches I have had the past 9 years. Yes, they do not work and I still have them. I loved my watches. I wish I had before pictures so you could see that they were cool at one time.

My first Swatch:

Both my Swatch watches were of the Scuba collection which meant they could go so far underwater or whatever. Mostly I liked them because they were substantial. I don't like a wee little watch. This one started out with a bright blue Velcro band (which it still has, but is not bright) and a twisty thing around the face which had something to do with keeping time, but I'm not sure what. My brother liked to twist them when I wasn't looking and he broke it off. The battery died after three years and I got my second Swatch watch:

I got this one the year before my mission. It started out with a brown Velcro band and a twisty thing around the face. The band broke really early on and when I sent it in to get fixed, they sent it back with this plastic thing, which was kind of cool but not nearly as cool as the first one (in my opinion). I shattered the twisty thing off by hitting it with my tennis racquet once while I was wearing it and playing at the same time. I'm not sure how I pulled that one off. As you can see from the photo, the plastic band was tearing through where I did it up. I was worried on the mission it would rip through completely (I glued it several times). The battery ended up going out before the band though. I only had a month or two left by that time and I was committed to getting a Swatch (if you can believe it, there were no Swatch stores in Roswell NM). So I waited until I got home to get a new watch. In the meantime, I did get a watch from Wal-Mart which I hated, mostly because it was from Wal-Mart (my mission is where I developed my first deep hatred and loathing of Wal-Mart. I had already committed never to shop there again once my mission was over).

So, I finally get home and couldn't find any Swatches that I liked. None. My brand loyalty to Swatch did not know what to do. I did not want to buy a Fossil because I felt like everyone had one and if I had one then everyone would have the same watch as me (even though they do have those sweet vintage looking tins). I hate wearing the same thing someone else has. But then in the mall one day I found this watch:

I didn't get the whole band in the picture, but it is basically a big Fossil advertisement. So I went from hating it to advertising it in one day. I do like this watch and I have only ever seen one other person wearing it- some girl from Sweden on the Subway in New York. (I'm not sure why I think she was from Sweden, besides her fair skin and foreign language. I'm sure her shirt didn't say that or anything.) The band did break early on, and I was worried they would give me a new band and I only liked the watch for the band but I sent it in and it came back with a new band, but the same design. Thank you Fossil. The band gets cooler with wear. True to form, I've had it about 2.5 years and the battery just died. But the band and face look almost exactly like they did when I bought them. My other watches barely survived their battery dying. So, I ask myself, what is the difference? The brand or the materials? My Fossil watch is leather which must be more durable. I haven't been any nicer to this watch than my others. It has been wet. It has been worn every single day. It has been wacked on things or gotten stuck in small places I've tried to reach. So I'm going to get my first new watch battery. It is kind of bitter-sweet. I still like this watch a lot, so I'm glad I get to keep it. The down side is I don't get a new watch. But since I am unemployed, what money would I use anyway? I have been very pleased with my Fossil watch, but I would still by a Swatch any day of the week.