Dan C.

I have always admired fine watches, but couldn’t bring myself to spend more than $100 on a watch — my father was a child of the Depression era, and brought me up to be frugal! But I always dreamed one day of owning a Rolex. I had a favorite uncle growing up, Uncle Louie. He was a very nice man, very smart, very generous, and my sisters and I always loved it when he came to visit and went on adventures with us. Even though he was the sweetest man you could imagine, for some reason he never married but remained a bachelor his entire life. His passion was traveling, and we loved receiving post cards from his trips all over the world.

We were all very sad when Uncle Louie passed away a few years ago, and also touched and amazed to learn that he had left his entire estate to his 22 nieces and nephews, divided equally! My frugality dictated that I’d spend most of what he left me paying off my bills. But I also wanted to buy something special, to remind me of Uncle Louie and what he meant to me. What better tribute than to realize my dream of owning a Rolex and buying a GMT Master-II — the “travel watch” invented by Rolex for PanAm pilots to track the timezones when flying around the world! I found a lovely used 2001 “Coke” version of the watch, a classic. I only wear it when I travel, and the rest of the time it sits safely in my Wolf Cub watch winder. Every time I wear it or see it gently rotating in my winder, it brings to me warm memories of my time with Uncle Louie, his kind face, gentle laugh, and his enthusiasm for travel and new experiences. I can only hope that I may leave as fine a legacy as Uncle Louie left us.