My visit to Bailey's Fine Jewelry in Raleigh, NC

Last week I was in Raleigh, NC on business and prior to leaving, I had a little time to kill, so I decided to pay a visit to Bailey’sFine Jewelry. It is no secret that I am a huge Ball Watch fan and when I found out I was going on this trip I asked the members of the TimeZone.com Ball Forum if anyone knew of an Authorized Dealer I could visit and Bailey’s was the one that came up.

Unfortunately, the GPS function on my Android phone was acting up and I could not get it to sync to a satellite. The further I was going, the more lost I was getting, when I finally turned off the GPS and hit Google Maps to see if I could find my bearings. It WORKED! Mind you, I got trapped a couple of times on the NC State University campus, but I eventually got through.

Strangely enough when I finally made it to Cameron Village, where Bailey’s is located, they were closed. It was not quite 10am yet, so I sat on the park bench facing the store and waited for them to open. It was a beautiful day, almost 80F and sunny. A far cry from the 35F and cloudy I left behind in Montreal.  As I was sitting there, I noticed the super cool Ball Watch poster next to the door, so I quickly snapped a picture.

When they finally opened I was greeted by a very nice sales associate by the name of Staci Cloninger. I told her I came all the way from Canada to see her line of Ball watches and she lit up like a Christmas tree! She seemed very proud of them and since they had just started carrying the line, she apologized for their modest inventory. Apparently they are selling quite well and that is also part of the reason their stock was a little low.

Still, they had quite a few of the newest models, like the Trainmaster 120^th Anniversary, the Trainmaster Eternity, the Hydrocarbon Magnate GMT and the GORGEOUS Hydrocarbon Ceramic XV. The latter I got to fondle and admire up close. What a stunning watch! Staci was very patient with me and did not seem to mind pulling out anything I wanted to see.

I have been collecting watches for over 20 years and in that time I have owned over 200 high-end watches. I can honestly tell you, there is nothing like encountering someone who is as passionate about the watches they sell as I am about acquiring them. That energy is absolutely priceless and if I had not just recently gotten my Ball DeepQuest, I would have likely left with their Ceramic XV.

If you are ever in Raleigh, NC, I highly recommend paying them a visit. You can find them here:

415 Daniels Street

Raleigh, NC 27605
Phone: 866-725-3111      
 Fax: 919-829-7337      

www.baileybox.com

And if you do visit, tell Staci that Marc “Time2watch” sent you!

HAPPY HUNTING!!!