Today, Chris and I tried to visit
Builders Salvage and Surplus in Stafford, but their Falmouth location was only open until 13:00, contrary to their website. We wouldn't have made it to the Warsaw location until minutes before closing. Vowing to make the trip another time, we decided to make the best of our location and hit Potomac Mills.
Backdrop: The battery in my Skagen has been dead for over a year now. I haven't replaced it since Skagen are known to eat batteries annually. IIRC, replacement of the battery was $30+ so it just made sense to buy a more power-friendly watch. I've been searching high and low for a business casual timepiece which was either solar or kinetic powered. I finally narrowed it down to Citizen due to their reputation and price. The $1600 Tag Hauer that I saw in St Thomas was a bit too pricey and while I like the Breitling's, the prices of the ones I wanted were unfathomable.
Fashion Time was going out of business and running 40% off all watches. Not holding my breath on finding any deals, I perused the store unharrassed by their salespeople. Eventually, we came across the Citizen display. A woman had the attention of a salesperson who happily indicated she could serve both of us. I shyly asked to try the Skyhawk A-T and another model -- both of which had 2" bodies I was initially afraid that my 6.5" wrist wouldn't accommodate. Once placed on my wrist, they all felt natural and didn't look excessive or overly heavy. I was amazed when she felt confident enough to leave us with the watches at one point to help another customer. During my alone time, I searched online prices and found the price competitive. It wasn't a mind-boggling steal, but very reasonable. When she returned, I asked to read the manual which was impressive and sold me.
I now finally have a watch again!
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