JK "keeping it real"
14 de abril de 2013
Timex shows that it still knows what people want
Disclaimer: I have not personally used this product. I bought it as a present for a woman I've been helping who was physically beaten multiple times over the course of several years by both her ex-boyfriend and her sister. She grew up in an upper middle class family, but now is living penniless (literally) in a domestic abuse shelter. Her story and the psychological damage have been horrifying. I explain this so that readers will know the impact that this watch has had on her.* * *In order for me to give anything 5 stars, it has to fulfill several criteria: utility, safety, craftsmanship, and durability. This watch wins on all counts.As someone who grew up with Timex Triathlon watches, I know that these watches are durable. I'd love to see Timex come up with a cool logo to replace the clunky-looking TIMEX that they write on their watches. But few things are perfect.So, the woman I bought this for has a tiny wrist. That's because she is tiny. She's shorter than 5 feet and weighs less than 90 pounds. No, she's not anorexic, she's just very small. And she has the one of the smallest wrists I've ever seen on an adult. So, getting her a watch that doesn't require taking out links or punching holes in the wristband is nearly impossible.Just to give you an idea of the kind of family she grew up in, she was wearing a Tag Heuer watch until a few months ago. Tag Heuer watches are famous and expensive. I priced out her watch and it was easily over $1000. As a reference, I've never owned a watch that costed more than $60.But then she decided to seek justice in the U.S. court system against her highly abusive ex-boyfriend. Her family got frightened because his family is powerful, and they told her that if she continues they will completely cut her off. I didn't think they would actually do this, but they did. For the past year, she has received absolutely no money from them, and even though she has several sisters, none of them have called or even emailed her once since her family cut her off. That is why she has floated in and out of homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters. She wants to see her ex-boyfriend brought to justice.During that time, one guy attempted to kidnap and rape her, and another guy pointed a gun to her head and robbed her. All of this is documented by the police.And these things resulted in her crying in front of me as she gave me her Tag Heuer watch to safekeep for her until her living situation stabilizes. Then she started arriving at many of her appointments late because she no longer had a watch. I'm not talking about meetings with friends because she has no friends since this happened. I'm talking about meetings with the assistant DA's office, abuse counselors, and other people involved in trying to help her through this horrible ordeal.Finally, I decided to buy her a watch. Why? No, I'm not dating her. I'm just trying to show her that America still has decent people. Why is that important? Because she is not from this country, and many Americans were living in her apartment complex and heard her getting beaten for over a year by her ex-boyfriend. And still none of them called the police? So, yes, I feel a sense of duty to show her that not all Americans are selfish. I owe a lot to my parents on this one, because they raised me to help others and stick up for those who are too weak to fight for themselves.I spent a lot of time researching watches because I wanted to give her a watch that would make her feel great and help to rebuild her self-esteem. Translation: I didn't want to give her a cheap watch that reminds her of all the cheap stuff she has to get from donations that people give to her shelter.At the risk of sounding crazy, I spent far too many hours researching women's watches. Because she is so tiny, a round-faced watch doesn't look right on her. Also, her skin is very sensitive as evidenced by the occasional eczema on her neck. I used to see red spots near her watch, and I thought they were bug bites. But she told me that her skin has a reaction to the Tag Heuer metal band.Finally, I found this watch. After reading several of the Amazon reviews, I realized that this was the perfect watch for her. Why?1) the watch is not round-faced. It has a nice oval shape which is great for a small person2) the wristband is the only one I could find (out of the hundreds of watches I researched) that was made for a person with a small wrist. Even on her wrist, when she fastens the watch to her wrist, there are a couple of holes still remaining.3) the wristband is made of calfskin leather. So she has no allergic contact dermatitis reactions on her wrist anymore.4) the watch looks classy5) this watch is made by Timex, and I've never owned a bad Timex watch.6) I'm not rich, so I couldn't go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a watch.Honestly, I was nervous about giving her the watch. Why? Because I was replacing her Tag Heuer $1000+ watch with a watch that costs less than $25. Even though it was a gift, I wanted to give her something that said "quality" as part of her rehabilitation process. I've watched the way that her self-esteem has been eroded by her current living conditions. And it doesn't help that her abuser lives a fantastic life in a wonderful apartment in a great area.Her reaction when I gave it to her? She started crying. She was shocked that it was new. For the past year, she has been living on second-hand clothes and donated food that is often close to or past their expiration dates. Her shelter is in a low-income and dangerous area, so she is constantly looking over her shoulder when she walks to and from it. And her friends who know both her and the ex-boyfriend all avoid her (it's part of her country's culture).She slowly and very carefully took it out of the box as if it were a Rolex. Then she touched the inside of the leather band and was impressed with how smooth it was. When she asked me to touch the inside of the wristband, I was also impressed by its quality. She turned the watch over several times to look at its build quality which she liked, and then she was surprised when she put it on and it fit perfectly. Just before she put it on, she told me, "I'll probably have to punch a couple of holes in it because every watch I've had has a wristband that's too large." So, that made this watch even more special.I will never forget that moment. I guess I could say that it was a "Timex moment". It shows that there are still companies like Timex which build a great watch for a reasonable price. And at the risk of sounding campy, it makes me proud that an American company puts out such great products. And my hope in giving her an American watch is to convince her that the hell she endured for the four years in America while she was beaten by two people very close to her is not what we consider the "American Dream".She has been wearing the watch every day, and she loves it.One other thing worth noting is that Timex makes this watch with a brown wristband. I was thiking about getting that one from Amazon (Model # T2M567), but the hands are gold-colored which makes it hard to see under certain conditions. The hands on this model (T21912) are black which makes them highly visible as other reviewers have commented.Normally, I don't write incredibly long reviews like this. But sometimes an item gains a special life of its own because of the story and circumstances surrounding it.As for this woman, she still lives in a shelter. She still has to subsist on second-hand clothes and food, but at least she has a first-class watch, and when you're rebuilding your life, you have to start from something, don't you?I can't recommend this watch highly enough. I'm not sure that it's the best watch for much bigger women, but if you have a really small wrist, then this is the watch for you.P.S. try to remember at the end of reviews you like to click on the "Yes" button that a good review was helpful. This inspires good reviewers to write more often, and that helps all of us.lthough I'm not so crazy about the Timex logo (they don't have one and just use the standard name of the company on their watches).Ver másVer menos
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