The saddest realisation of all.... ATTN PEOPLE BABYING BAGS!

anemonefish

Member
Jan 9, 2009
18
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I was talking to my DH about a posting I saw on TPF yesterday.... it was about BABYING BAGS.... well... I mentioned it to him.... he then told me of a great article he saw on a watch web site......

I think there is a good moral to the story.... PLEASE USE YOUR BAGS!.... because we are all here for only a short period of time! 30, 40, 50, 60 years remaining at most!

Hello All,
I hope you enjoy my stories....

STORY 1
I am a bit of a mini dealer - buying, selling and trading watches at times. Although I do not actively look for sales a few people have asked me to help them source a watch.

One day a lady at work ask me to help recommend a watch for her husband. She wanted to get him a Two Tone Cartier Must de 21 quartz watch. I told her Rolex would be a much better choice. I explained the joys of a high quality mechanical watch.

She then told me that her husband already had a great watch that was given to him on his wedding by his parents in law. It was a Patek Philippe. She told me he had only worn the watch a few times since they got married in the mid 60s. She told me it was in her bank safety deposit box and the last time she had looked at it was a year or 2 ago.

I told her that was a very sad story..... why didn't he wear it? why didn't he use that watch as a step up for his career. Think of all the opportunities he could of had simply by having a Patek on display.... think of all the signals this watch would have sent to all his bosses over time..... Think of all the Fung Shi he missed out on?

I told her I could get it serviced for her at wholesale... turned out to be about AU$150- for a full overhaul and polish.

The watch was a classic Patek on a leather strap. It was genuine but small by today's standards.

WHAT A WASTE! Having a beautiful watch and not enjoying it..... although he had a successful career as an engineer, think about how better it could have been if he had worn the watch?

A year or 2 later her husband was diagnosed with cancer.... he was gone within 6 months. He had worn that Patek for the last 3 years of his life. Once he died she thanked me for getting this piece serviced and letting her husband get attached to the watch. The watch gained meaning.... the watch stopped being simply a material thing and became a beautiful curio for her when she was grieving.....

I think that watch will be treasured for generations to come.

STORY 2
A few years ago I was chasing used watches by advertising in the classifieds. Basically I was buying from people who did not value items and I was selling them on the international market via eBay and the internet (timezone, watchnet etc....). I received a call from an old lady who had recently lost her husband.

She was relatively well off. She had a Steel and Gold oyster she wanted to sell. She told me it was a gift to her husband in the 1950s. He only ever wore it about 20 times over the course of his lifetime. Yes - it was lovely.... but did it really matter that he missed out on the joys of wearing this piece - simply because it was too good to wear?

She told me the watch did not mean much to her as her husband hardly worn it. I paid her a fair price for it and that was it.

What a great shame..... this is like having a beautiful sports car but never driving it.... letting it sit in the garage....

Think of all the joy using this watch would have brought him.

STORY 3
This is a very difficult tale to tell as it only happened last year…..

A colleque at work wanted a matching pair of watches for his parents. I brought him a pair of Rolex TT DateJusts to inspect. Model 16233 and 69173 – both with white dials and romans. The ladies was actually my wife’s everyday watch – I got it polished and it looked great. Since this story I have replaced this watch for my wife with a 69173 TT DateJust with ivory dial and romans.

He then bought them and travelled 2500km to visit his parents (they lived in Melbourne but we were working in Brisbane). His dad was in hospital…. He presented the watches to them…..

Sadly the cold his dad had turned very ugly…. Cancer was discovered and he died a few weeks later.

His dad was so proud that his son had given him a beautiful Rolex DateJust. It truly looked a million dollars!

His son then become the owner again of the men’s watch whilst his mother wears the ladies watch.

Please enjoy your watches…. You just don’t know how long you have left.

MORAL OF THESE STORIES - wear your watches guys. I myself have been guilty of storing "precious" items.... but at the end of the day the memories will last forever. Obviously I do not wear my DateJust if I am welding or cutting the grass.... however 90% of the time I now wear a luxury watch. If it gets scratched, banged.... I simply get it fixed. We don't actually own any of our watches.... if we are lucky we have a 65, 70 or 80 year lease on them. WEAR YOUR WATCHES IN GOOD HEALTH.
 
Thank you for sharing the stories, I heard a similar story not too long ago and it was that story that made me actually stop babying a lot of my bags. When I got my first LV bag I told myself that I would only use it on special occasions but then I got another and I got a few other designer bags and well how many special occasions would there be when I'd get to use those bags. The story I heard made me actually start using my bags and other special items on a daily basis and if I feel I don't use anything enough anymore or don't like it anymore instead of storing it away, I now usually give it away to someone else who might be able to appreciate it because who knows about tomorrow, I may never see the day where I want to use that item again.
 
Great stories. They definately put life into perspective.

It's funny because the other night my DH told me to stop babying my bags and to start enjoying them as life is too short and what's the point of having nice things if I wasn't going to use them...
 
^ It's funny as my DH uses his Keepall all the time when flying, etc and doesn't baby it at all and it looks great. I guess I need to listen to him more often (but I won't admit that out loud for him to hear LOL)
 
I have a similar story to tell-- I collected this certain brand of bag for the longest time since College. They were HOT that time, I bought them one by one and adored them too much that I did not want to use them and ruin them. I collected over 12 bags, all UNUSED and just sitting there because i do not want to soil them or damage them.

I was happy using this unknown bag I had and years passed, I got busy with life and career and I look at those bags lovingly as usual. I wanted to use them but they have become to PASSE for my taste and even though they held a very important place in my heart-- I sold them one by one because they were not ME anymore. I sold them at the same price I got them because they are all Unused even if I owned them for 10 years already. I babied them so much that I lost the chance to enjoy them at the time they were so popular and hot!

I totally regretted not using them, the ones who benefitted were the buyers because they were all vintage yet new and I sold them at the price I got them for 10 years ago!

I will NEVER do that again....:tdown: The only place I wont wear my LVs at is the wet market
 
Wise advice indeed, while I look after my LV's when using them they are "working" bags - bought to be used. They are no good to me still looking pristine and new once I am no longer living.:nogood:
 
great realization! i do realise that which is why i do not particularly baby my bag or other stuff. i think it's a chore to buy something you love yet have to spend so much hardwork trying to keep it in prestine condition.

i was at a concert the other day and there's this guy who was busy taking photos and videos of the concert the whole time!! i was wondering did he even get to enjoy the concert because i certaintly did not pay so much to be a photographer!
 
I couldn't agree with you more! I grew up watching my mother run back and forth to the bank switching out her phenomenal jewelry collection until she got fed up and didn't bother any more. Then my Dad bought her a giganormous safe for the home and she quickly tired of that because it was too much work for her to crack it open each time she wanted something. Consequently she ended up not wearing her good stuff and it still sits back at the bank gathering vault dust! Same goes for all of the Hermes and Leiber bags she used to collect - too good to take out, LOL!

Not me, baby! When I first got into LV I only had 2 speedies. The black MC for all of winter and the white MC for all of spring and summer and that was all I wore for a couple of years. To this day they still look amazing and even the handles are a uniform warm honey color (some well-used bag handles get a dark greasy look to them). The SA's always are amazed when I tell them how old my bags are! Now I rotate everything for max use- from diamonds and watches to bags to fine coats and shoes and luggage. I have yet to have anything break down on me or become ruined in any sense of the word. These things are made to last a lifetime and for me, they do just that!

Enjoy your goodies everyone, each and every day!!
 
I've been given a Cartier Santos from my dad as my 18th birthday present a few years ago and have hardly worn it because I'm scared I'll ruin the leather and scratch the case. Will start wearing it more often now! x