The Reverso That Waited Twenty Years

My story with the Reverso goes all the way back to high school, when I was just beginning to develop an interest in watches. At the time, my mother generously offered to buy me a Reverso Dual Time with an ostrich leather strap. I remember how much I wanted that watch, but I also remember feeling that, as a high school student, I didn't quite deserve something so valuable yet.

The watch was on final sale because the shop was preparing to relocate in a few weeks. It was a wonderful opportunity, and deep down I really wanted to take it. But I couldn't quite bring myself to say yes to my mother's offer, so I came up with a little arrangement with myself. I told her that if the Reverso was still there the following week, I would take it as a sign that the watch was destined to be mine.

I waited patiently for that week to pass, although I remember being terribly excited when the day finally arrived. I rushed back to the shop and asked the saleslady whether the Reverso was still available. She gave me a slight smile, and somehow I already knew what she was about to say. The watch had been sold to someone else just a week earlier. My heart sank. I had wanted it so badly, but I had also been the one who decided to wait, and now the opportunity was gone.

Life went on, and over the years I more or less forgot about that little episode from my school days. Almost twenty years passed before I came across another version of the Reverso Duoface, and the moment I saw it, all those memories suddenly came rushing back. I remembered standing in that shop, my mother's generous offer, the excitement of waiting for a week, and the disappointment of finding out that the watch had already been sold.

What surprised me most was how strongly I still felt about it after all those years. I had looked at and admired many watches since high school, but seeing that Reverso again made my heart pound in a way I hadn't expected. It reminded me not only of the watch I had wanted so much as a teenager, but also of my mother and a moment of generosity that I had never really forgotten.

Nearly twenty years later, I realized that the Reverso had stayed with me much longer than I knew.