The Sunny Rolex Reveal: Time Was On My Side

Green box reveal on the day the Chicago River turns green for St Patty’s Day.

This might be PurseBop’s shortest reveal article. There’s no time to waste as this baby already is in rotation.

It dates back to a December visit to New York City for a special event. Naturally, the agenda included shopping, this time a very special excursion. Leaving the city, we headed to the Rolex boutique at the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey to accept delivery of a watch that I had planned to gift Mr. PurseBop for his birthday.

Until now, his reveal received only an Instagram post. In case you missed it, it’s here.

For those of you that follow the world of luxury watches, you know just how difficult it is to obtain any luxury watch at the moment. We’ve discussed this in more detail as we explain the reasons.

Read: Here’s the Real Reason No One Can Buy A Rolex

Now, I confess Mr. PurseBop is more of a watch person than I. As a result, this expedition, experience and purchase was solely dedicated to him. No Birkins or Flaps on this day.

Prior to our visit, I worked with the boutique manager to select something sporty yet more elevated to suit his personality. The actual visit to Rolex was exhilarating. The boutique is brand new and the staff ever so charming.

Finally, Mr. PurseBop saw his watch for the very first time. And after all the oohs and aahs (mostly from me as Mr. PB is a man of very few words…) we had his watch sized. But naturally the story isn’t over…

While we were waiting, unbeknown to us, the manager had a sweet surprise up her sleeve. In our conversations leading up to Mr. PB’s watch selection, I had shared with her how much I loved the collection of brightly colored dial options for the Oyster Perpetual 36 (12600). These limited edition dials were released in five colors at the end of 2020. If I remember correctly, the manager explained that these watches were some of the hardest to obtain. Beyond being limited edition, availability was affected by production shortages during the pandemic.

Rolex.com

She excused herself and said I’ll be right back – I have something I want to show you. Hubby and I continue to celebrate with champagne. I was really pleased that I could do something special for him, since almost all shopping expeditions are all about me.

She returned with a tray in one hand with a white cloth covering what was beneath. I really had no expectations. Until she sat, invited me to sit, and then unveiled the two hidden beauties. I gasped with glee, OMG! This was totally unexpected and a total surprise (this is the photo I wish I had taken!).

The only photograph I took with my Chanel J12 watch on the table during the decision process.

Before me sat the choice of two of the five special edition oyster perpetual Rolex watches. One was in tomato red and the second was in vibrant sunny yellow. Choices, choices, choices. And passing on both simply was not an option!

Both watches were 36 mm and I loved them equally. During the next few minutes the three of us busily and intently deliberated. So much so that there are no photos. It was so exciting and I was so caught off guard that I didn’t start documenting the process until I had made my decision.

Our deliberations went something like this: as much as I love the tomato red, both my husband and the manager noted that I love pink and it could clash with one of my many enamel shades. The second factor we considered was neutrality. I wanted it to be a daily fun watch without concern for matching ensembles and/or handbags. Also noted was that my special ring has a circle of rubies that would clash with this red.

Although I confess my mind was not 100% made up, both of my partners in crime seemed to feel that the bright yellow was the way to go. I agreed that it looked really nice against the tone of my skin.

Today March 12th, 2022. Michigan Avenue Bridge.

Decision made: yellow for PurseBop. As I left the boutique, I felt incredibly lucky leaving the store to score this special treat. And that is the tale of how Mr. PurseBop and I both received Rolexes on his special birthday.