Watches

There was a man who admired fine Swiss timepieces. He absorbed the history of watchmaking, gloried in the intricate works, thrilled at the gentle sweep of the second hand in the finest watches.

Whenever he had 5, 10, or 20 bucks, he went out and bought an imitation of one of these beautiful watches. He ordered them online, he bought them from the streetcorner hoodlum. Sometimes when he got a little extra money, he'd buy a more expensive replica, even though its second hand lurched forward just like the cheap ones. He knew their works were far inferior to those of the Swiss watches he adored, and he freely admitted it, always pointing out to people how much he truly valued the real deal.

He kept buying the replicas. He probably had a thousand of them.