The Lesson of Mexico

So we went on a sweet cruise a week ago with a couple of friends. Relaxing week. Enjoyed copious amounts of food and sleep (Ok, I enjoy copious amounts of food all the time anyways, but sleep is usually harder to come by). Got a touch of sunshine, and just enjoyed being away from it all for a week.

I've been to Mexico a couple different times but I've never been deep into Mexico. This cruise took us to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. I anticipated being able to bargain with the locals for cheap trinkets and I was correct; at all three stops there was plenty of opportunity to waste your money on cheap crap; however, I did anticipate purchasing a fake Rolex watch.

My dad bought a fake Rolex for $30 back in '91 or so. He bragged about it all the time and loved it; so I of course thought to myself how I would buy my own fake Rolex on the cheap and think it was so great. I took plenty of cash to shell out whatever was the negotiated price. I figured there had to be some inflation to take into account since his purchase was nearly 20 years ago.

I get into Cabo San Lucas (our first stop) and nobody has any watches. I finally ask somebody about it and he pulls out a huge box from underneath his table like I'm asking for drugs or something. His asking price? $150. The watch he showed me looked sweet. The one I liked the most was a red Rolex with a Coca-cola symbol on it too. But $150 was way out of my range. I was thinking the starting point was going to be around $80-100. I didn't even bother bargaining with him. On the way back to the boat, though, I discussed with my friend and was confident that if I flashed him $80 cash he would give in. Still, I can get a decent, American guaranteed watch for $80. I didn't go back.

Fast forward to Mazatlan (stop number 2). Right off the boat there is a huge Mexican market and I find a table with plenty of watches to choose from. Her initial asking price? $75! What a deal! I almost shelled out $80 yesterday in hopes of negotiating him down from $150 but this girl is STARTING at half of yesterday's price! I talk her down to $55. In my mind I'm thinking 2 things: 1) No matter what I'm getting a screaming deal compared to what I was looking at yesterday, 2) $55 today has to compare favorably to $30 20 years ago if I adjust for inflation. So no matter what I'm getting a sweet deal, right?

I'm down to two different watches, basically deciding on the type of face I want. One is a bright silver face and the other a white face. I waver and waver and finally settle on the white face. I hand over the cash and slip on the watch. No adjustment to the watchband needed as it fits perfectly. It must have been fate.

I am so excited about my watch I flash it around to my wife and friends the rest of the day. I keep telling my wife all day and through the next how stoked I am to have a fake Rolex just like my dad had all those years ago. Honestly, this thing is good looking and I must say I'm good looking wearing it!

Flash forward to Puerto Vallarta (last stop). I don't need to look at watches here because I already have the sweetest watch ever made! We buy some other random trinkets and happily get back on the ship for two more days at sea. As we pull out that night, I wave goodbye to Mexican soil.

That night we go with our friends to a game show-type event on the cruise ship. The entire crowd is split into teams to do whatever is asked. The host asks for a watch. I quickly slip off my watch and toss it down to the front (a couple of rows only and the guy caught it). Another watch was already submitted so he tosses it back up to me. I put it back on, no problem. I check the time and it's 11:15. Wait a minute. . . it feels like it's been 11:15 forever.

Oh. . . S. . . H. . . I . . . T . . . !. . . ! . . . !

(I apologize for the lettering above but surely all who know me know I cussed anyway so I'm just trying to do justice to my feelings at the moment).

The second hand is NOT moving. The watch has stopped. Surely I just haven't been moving my hand around enough for the self-winding mechanism to kick in, right? I shake the stupid thing like crazy and can hear it attempting to wind, but no tick (or roll in the case of this "nice" knockoff Rolex-more on why it's "nice" later).

So I bought the watch in Mazatlan and basically 1 day later the thing breaks. I obviously can't go back so I just have to sit and stew in my misery the next two days at sea. I spend the next two days with the watch constantly trying to wind it, shake, it, do whatever I can think of to get it to work. My wife and my friends just laugh the whole time.

So this past week Rachel is so kind and takes it to the jewelry repair store to get it fixed. The estimate to fix it? $150! $70 for the part and $80 for the labor. . . because it's such a "nice" knockoff it's hard to take it apart and the part that broke is basically the most expensive part of the watch, and obviously the part that makes the watch go. "It's a real shame" the repairman tells my wife, "this is one of the nicest knockoffs I've ever seen." Rachel calls and tells me the bad news. She even tells me I can pay to get it fixed if I really want to but it better get REAL Rolex treatment from that point on. I'm not an idiot, the dream is dead.

$55 down the drain, what a waste. I don't even think the girl that sold me the watch knew it was a lemon, I think I just happened to pick the "one" that was ready to die. Well, at least I keep telling myself that. And by convincing myself of that, I have obviously not learned the lesson of Mexico.