Once upon a time, there was a watch enthusiast (GaryG) who admired the work of Max Büsser and his watchmaking enterprise MB&F and who dearly wanted to own one of his watches. But which one? Well, it took years, but Gary eventually decided on the eye-catching 2021 LM101 in white gold and here he explains why.
One of the inconveniences associated with COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings was that GaryG’s local watch gang hadn’t been meeting in person so he wasn’t able to borrow interesting watches to shoot. However, just prior to the lockdown in California he did pick up an intriguing piece from a pal: the Anniversary by Vianney Halter.
From the torrent of really well done watch photos appearing on Instagram and other media these days, it appears as though lots of watch enthusiasts have been spending at least some of their time in COVID-19-induced shutdowns polishing their macro photography and wrist shooting. And GaryG is among them. Here he shares a few of the thousands of photos he has taken recently using a new-to-him flash style.
The new UR-100V P.02 brings together three parties: in addition to Urwerk and Collective, the project will benefit New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. And for GaryG it’s an example of combining concepts that at first glance seem contradictory: collaboration and exclusivity. In space.
You can like everything, but you can’t buy – or keep – everything! Inevitably, the choices involved lead at times to regrets; for GaryG, along with many of his pals, the sadness is much more often about pieces they sold too soon or failed to buy rather than pieces they were sorry about buying in the first place. Here’s a story of shoulda, woulda, coulda.
GaryG’s charming wife MrsG is perhaps most enthusiastic about her collection of Southwestern Native American arts and jewelry, but let’s take a look at her interesting watches, which include excellent examples from Jaeger-LeCoultre, Blancpain, Alain Silberstein, Audemars Piguet, and more.
In late February 2010, an informal group of Northern California watch collectors, all owners of at least one Kari Voutilainen watch, met for lunch. One of the members of the group nonchalantly mentioned, “I’ve been talking with Kari about something . . .” It was a set of bespoke Kari Voutilainen Masterpiece Chronograph II models. GaryG’s response two seconds later: “I’m in!” So how did it go after that?
GaryG was sitting at his breakfast table on the morning of January 18, 2013 when during his morning scan of news he saw a photo of something breathtaking. It was Logical One by Romain Gauthier – a watch he immediately knew that he would own someday. He was captivated by the white gold version with frosted gold movement: this was “the one” for him.
There are some watches you fall for the moment you see them. Sometimes that initial infatuation passes and you move on to the next temporary obsession, but then there are those instances in which the more you see, talk about, and learn about a piece and its origins the more you resolve to save up to buy one. For GaryG, the Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire was one of the latter.
GaryG recently enjoyed the opportunity to check out three of his friends’ rare Patek Philippe pieces, all with salmon dials: Reference 5059G-018 and Reference 3940G-029 perpetual calendars from Patek Philippe’s Vintage Collection and a unique piece Reference 5270G. And he shares his thoughts and stunning photos with us here.