Horological Meandering

Dave G
2037

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25 years of collecting...

Hi all,

After doing some collection inventory work this past week, I thought I would share a group photo (actually two group photos - a reason for this), and a bit of the story of my collecting journey.  I've been an avid reader and occasional poster here on the Purists/PuristSPro for more than a decade, and this wonderful site has educated me and stoked my passion for collecting continuously.

Like many, my real start in this hobby began with a  gift from my wife in the form of a Rolex Submariner more than 20 years ago for my 26 birthday.  At the time, she paid $3300 for it, which I thought was crazy, but that watch is still with me and has travelled through all sorts of places in the World and never failed.  It was serviced once by the Rolex service center in Manila, but admittedly I haven't taken the best care of her.  Still, she runs like a champ and will never be sold.

My family and I live between the USA and Hong Kong and thus I have a collection that is split between two homes.  During my list trip to the States, I took photo #1 of the collection there, and after hitting the Bank vault this week here in Hong Kong, I took photo #2 of the pieces here.  During each trip, 3 or 4 pieces swap places and I noted the 5960P shows up in both photos this time.  Not the easiest situation to deal with, but work influences are living conditions and it is nice getting reacquainted sometimes with certain pieces every few months.

A few pieces early on were bought during holidays.  I can remember buying the Chopard Mille Miglia w/red dial while in San Juan from an AD.  This brings back fond memories.  Others are simply quite special to me like the Sub from my wife, or because they started me down a path with a manufacturer.  The Freak is an example of this.  I had owned an 1846 Marine Chrono earlier, but didn't know much of UN.  After striking up a friendship with a US dealer (still a great relationship) I bought one of the first Freaks in 2001.  It set me down a path with UN that I have truly enjoyed including a visit to the Manufacture in Le Locle back in 2005.

A few pieces get more wrist time than others.  The Sub goes all over the place with me, the UN Perp GMT is a frequent Business travel companion and I like to wear the datograph often as well -- this is perhaps my favorite piece.  Of late, I'm more into the white metals whether steel, WG or platinum perhaps reflecting a more conservative self.

In looking at the photos, my collection may seem rather random, and it is somewhat, but my tastes have shifted over the years and I can recall a pattern for the most part.  I have the most pieces from makers like JLC, Patek and UN...all because of fondness for these brands and also due to the dealers I have dealt with for 20 years.  JLC in particular has an appeal to me, due to the service from the KL Boutique and the wonderful treatment there.  I had an early Duometre that was plagued with issues.  They replaced it fully and have been great to deal with whether buying something new or looking for advice. 

The purchase of a PSM Resilience is a fairly new adventure into the land of independents, and after a client dinner in Malaysia with Peter a few years ago, I finally took the plunge.  I understand why the personal interaction with the watchmaker makes the Independent world so interesting.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the Group!

Dave

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