Watch Shopping on Saturday (Long)

My wife and I drove to Toronto to do some shopping on Saturday, and I thought I would share our day with all of you! Since my wife was not really too interested in spending hours in watch stores (again!), I picked up a friend of mine and his girlfriend - the women went shopping for clothes, and us guys went shopping for watches. He is a budding WIS, but really has no money as he is saving for an engagement ring (his only mechanical is a Seiko that I bought for him). Anyway, he was quite eager to hit the stores with me.

Our first stop was Van Rijks, who sell a ton of vintage (used) watches, but nothing new. We spent a while in there, and I saw a nice 3919 Patek that I really like, but quickly forgot about that when I saw the Lange 1 in the display case. I have never seen one in the metal, but have admired them for a long time. It was in white gold (not my choice) with a blue dial and blue leather strap. Even in my last choice of metals, it was stunning. One day I will own one of these. The quality of the dial, case, movement - it was all probably the best I have ever seen. The price was $22K, and they had noted that "list" was $32K (Canadian dollars, of course). Since the only dealer in Canada is in Montreal, I may make a trip to Montreal some time in the future.......I felt quite lucky to find one in Toronto.

We had parked the car, so we took the subway around town to the other stores. The next stop was Birks - this is where I bought my JLC, and had recently ordered a new strap, so we popped in to see what they had. I once again tried on a Reverso and was disappointed with the look on my wrist. It simply reinforces my thought that I need to see a watch on me to know it's right (like the Lange....sorry, I'm obsessed with that watch now). My new strap wasn't in yet, so we moved on.

The next stop was Royal De Versailles - without a doubt the biggest selection in Toronto. They have Breguet, Blancpain, Rolex, Chopard, UN, Hublot, Panerai, Tag, Ebel, GP, UN, AP, VC, and on and on...... For the first time I looked at a Panerai. Sorry guys, not something I could wear with my wrist size, and not sure I'd want to.... We found a salesman who knew his stuff, and was quite willing to show us basically anything we wanted even though it was clear we weren't going to buy anything. I tried on a nice Blancpain ultra-slim model in platinum that was very nice. I tried the "small" Panerai that was still huge. Actually I was surprised that they were quite reasonable in price - I think the "entry" level was $5,100 Canadian. I tried on a bunch of others, but then asked if the sales guy would indulge me a bit. They keep the really expensive stuff in the wall display cases behind the counters. I asked to see a Blancpain tourbillon (actually a chronograph and perpetual calendar as well as a tourbillon). It was incredible done in rose gold. I could not help but stare at that magical cage rotating around......I think if I owned one it would be too captivating to watch - I'd just stare at it all the time. Of course, at a retail of $132,000, it's not likely I will ever own one. I have attached a picture for your reference, so enjoy!



After spending an hour in there, we went to Tiffany's just down the street. They carry Patek, and once again I saw a 3919, this time a new one. The used one was $10K, and new they are $15K. I also tried on a 5117, which is another that I have admired for a long time (I like the hobnail as you can tell from my choices). It was nice, but after having it on my wrist, I've crossed it off my list.

We then hopped on the subway again to go down to the next store - Solaris. I'd never been there before, and thanks to John this was the place! They had UN, JLC, and some others, but I saw what is probably my next watch there. Glashutte Original was what I went there to see, and I'm hooked! In particular, I really like the PanoReserve. In stainless, it's quite reasonable at $10,200. Incredible finishing abounds - very nice 3/4 plate, double swan-neck regulation, screwed chatons - top notch all around from what I saw. My wife (who had joined us at this point) really liked it as well, so looks like I have a chance at this one.......might need to sell the Rolex to do it, though. Here is a shot of it:



We then walked up to The Eaton's Centre, which is a huge mall in Toronto. We went to one last store - La Swiss. They sell some lower priced brands, but also have a limited selection of JLC, UN, and Zenith (seems they are not AD's for Rolex any longer). My friend spent quite a lot of time going through their Oris selection, as well as some Tags. I think he is really focused on the Oris, and they actually have some very nice models. They had a nice Vacheron there that was in white gold - simple dress watch with a very nice pattern on the white dial - probably the nicest VC I've seen (for me at least). It was quite a good deal (on consignment) at just over $10K I thought, but I'm not that familiar with pricing for this brand. I tried on my last watch of the day there, a UN Sonata. It was quite a stunning watch - very unusual design. It's not something that would normally attract me, but for some reason this one did. It's an alarm watch, and quite expensive at just over $69K, but it had an elegance that made it stunning. My friend said it was the kind of thing you would see in a modern art gallery, and that sums it up quite well I think. I have always wanted to like UN, but can't seem to find a model that has all the elements for me. Each seems to have bits here and there that I like very much, but not one with enough to light the fire. Here is the Sonata I had on:



Anyway, we had dinner and then drove 2 hours home. It was a great day - long, tiring, and full of dreams.

Thanks for reading!

Al