I've also had really good experiences with Simon's. Low pressure, very friendly, even in the height of the supply crunch were happy to shoot the shit about Rolex (and quite honest about not having any at that time). I've spent a fair bit of time there checking out Tudors, and the only reason I didn't buy from them is I went Omega instead. I asked them about Rolex out of curiosity more recently, and they said more basic models aren't too hard to get nowadays (i.e. Datejust) but they won't take names for things like the Daytona as they're still unobtanium.

Christopher Ward C63 Sealander. They use the version 2 of the SW330, so 56h power reserve, and build quality is just out of this world. Enough of a homage in the literal sense of the word (not the watch sense) to remind you a bit of the Explorer II, but not too close to feel icky.

I tend to agree with Chris. I have to say I stress-tested this out of ignorance with my first nice watch. My dad had given me an older Rolex Datejust (1990's, I got it in 2006), and I wore it for about 15 years, never thinking about servicing it. It kept good time, got a hair worse in the last few years, but nothing huge. I once left the crown open and it got foggy inside, so I left it open and let it "dry out." Kept running. Finally, last year, it slowed down enough to no longer tell anything like the correct time. I sent it into Rolex, who did an "overhaul" of the watch (their words, not sure what that means in this context) as well as putting a new crown and crystal on, and the whole thing was $1000, which I understand is pretty much the standard for a Rolex service. So I'm pretty well convinced that you'll net save money if you don't service your watches until they're not running well, even if they do need an "overhaul".

I definitely think that depending on the person, a watch can still be a necessary thing just based on the simplicity and reliability compared to a smart wearable. I used to own an Apple Watch at a time when I was working a lot of 24 hour shifts, and often it would run out of battery before I got back to my bed to charge it. Just having something you can quickly glance at and do nothing day to day to maintain makes a lot of sense to me. Now, recently buying a Casio AE-1200 for fun has really emphasized to me that everything fancier I wear instead of it is a downgrade in functionality, and definitely most of what I wear is not at all out of necessity. But I still like them!

Your hospital likely has an ethics guideline for maximum value of acceptable gifts from patients, as this comes up in a lot of instances. That said, 6 bucks is probably a fine gift. If he had given you a plaque or something that cost $20, you probably wouldn't think twice. Such as sweet thing for him to do, and I love the idea of wearing it next time you see him.