Hello, and an interesting "What would you have done" scenario

[lars_blnr]

Last year, my employer started a new "tradition": For their 10 year anniversary, employees could pick any watch (or jewelry/hand bag, if so inclined) for up to $10k (including tax) as a gift for their loyalty. I was in luck, as I was just on the cusp of having spent 10 years working there.

I always had a soft spot for wrist watches and already owned an automatic Orient dress watch, but going shopping for a $10k watch was something else. I went to three high-end ADs, two that carried only Rolex and Omega, and one that carried everything else besides Rolex, and told them my story up front. One immediately recommended the GMT Master II BLNR, I tried it on and really like it. To see more options, I went to the second dealer that had anything but Rolex. My two favorites there were a Grand Seiko Chronograph and the Omega "Dark Side of the Moon", whose MSRP was outside my range, but surprisingly the dealer was willing to "make it work". Finally, I went to another Rolex AD and had a refreshingly honest talk with them. He didn't have a BLNR in store (he even called around to try and get one from sister stores, but they were all reserved), but instead of trying to sell me something else he had in stock, he recommended I immediately get the BLNR from the first store I visited.

Long story short, I'm now the proud owner of a GMT Master II BLNR, which is an amazing piece of engineering and art, but it's mostly sitting in its box, simply because I'm too nervous to wear something on my wrist that's worth more than my car.