Black and white? Or De-saturate? That is the question

I began editing my photos, using the inspiration i got from the William's feature documentary work. I felt my work would also suit a black and white style as it would incorporate the darkness of the workshop and the emotion I am trying to portray through my subject. However, i have never been a fan of making photos black and white as i feel it can often flatten the image and take away the desired effect. Although i love to look at and appreciate black and white photography, i am never as keen when i have edited them myself.
From a lot of previous editing experience i came familiar and liked the outcome of de-saturating images, therefore, i experimented with turning my image black and white and also de-saturating the same image to compare the outcome.
In my opinion i prefer the de-saturated image so much more. By incorporating a few other tweaks in the colour adjustment I feel the image captures the rusty and dirtiness of the workshop. I also feel it adds a slightly old fashioned, unglamorous feel to the image, which in turn supports the portrayal and representation of jewellers that I wish to portray within my project.
I have shown one example of the comparison below;