Since it was near Mother's Day here in the US, I decided it would be a good opportunity to do something nice for my stepmom. She takes good care of my dad, (25 yrs) and we're good friends, so it felt right. I should point out that she had a Seiko for many many years, a gift from Dad, but lost it one day while working outside. My dad even used a metal detector on the property to find it, but no luck. She's had another Seiko for a year or so, but isn't attached to it so much. Anyway, I pointed her to the CW website and told her to pick something out. She was in a little disbelief that she could select anything as she asked me a couple times. After a few days, she decided on the black dial D9 Encore and I emailed CW.
The folks live in a rural area of Southern Washington so they have their mail delivered in town and generally pick it up a once or twice a week. After about a week of waiting, and anticipation building, She was checking the mail every day.
I think it showed up 10-12 days after emailing Chris. Despite some recent difficulties, I'm pretty sure this is more the rule than the exception for CWL.So on with the show!
It's taken months to get this one usable photo as they aren't photography people. The main reason is that in just about any light, the diamonds tend to blow the whole picture out. When you try and do it yourself you realize that the photography on the CW website of this watch is pretty damn good. I finally directed them to shade the watch with something and they got the above image.
First thing you'll notice is this is a substantial watch. All of us were surprised at how big it is. You need a lot of real estate for 64 diamonds though, (just under a full carat) each nestled in it's own setting. Here's a shot from the CW website for reference: Linky
What Mum loves most about the watch is it's supremely easy to read. Even though the black enamel dial is shiny, the hands really stand out, and the anti-reflective coating make the crystal pretty much disappear. She gets lots of compliments when she wears it out and loves talking up CWL, and how she got it. She says the clasp is very secure and it took some time to figure out how to open.
The main attraction here though is the bling. She says the diamonds really light up in any lighting and have great color. She also likes the fact they are conflict free.
It's already become an heirloom as she's decided it will go to my daughter when the time comes. Though it'll be awhile as she's 20 years younger than my dad. Ol' boy knows how to pick 'em, eh? If I follow suit, my wife should just be finishing up college.
There you have it, if I missed anything just ask. All you guys who have to hide your purchases or endure the wrinkled brow, pretty sure this watch would be a great way to smooth things over this X-Mas.
A huge thanks to Chris and the whole gang at CWL for making this possible.
ET
Great Job "ET". Excellent gesture.
