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On Anticipation....Taking delivery of my JDN Tourbillon

We all look forward to things. We anticipate, we dream, we desire. When that which is anticipated is realized, we feel joy, satisfaction, pride. When we fall short in mapping the mind on to the world we feel disappointment. But sometimes, and these times are rare, the realization far surpasses our expectations. This brings on euphoria!

We anticipate events all the time. We might try a new recipe, expecting some outcome, and measure the end result to our expectations. Perhaps in a feedback loop, we customize the recipe, adapting it to suit our taste, searching for a result that will satisfy and bring on those positive emotions. On a larger scale we write a business plan and execute it, and in doing so adapt it to unanticipated events. Ideally one succeeds and gets the rush from achieving a dream.

We anticipate in artistic endeavors, both actively and passively. In writing, does an author accurately express in words that which he imagined, whether a description, a feeling, or an idea? Does the reader understand what the author is trying to convey (it is a two way street with writing)? Does a composer capture in notation what his inner ear is hearing? Do the performers realize the structures, gestures, and sonorities that the composer intended? Do the listeners grasp what both what the composer is trying to express and what the players are trying to realize? Can they imagine it being better?

I write this because I have just had an experience that far surpasses my expectations. Many readers here know that I ordered a Jean Daniel Nicolas two-minute tourbillon from master watchmaker Daniel Roth. It is a rare watch, to say the least, and there was a certain leap of faith in my choosing to purchase it: I couldn’t try one on before committing to it. It is also, by far, the most money I have ever, and will ever, spend on a watch, so much so that I had to liquidate a VC collection that I had spend years building, with many pieces that were both rare and valuable, to fund it.

I wired my deposit in May of 2007 and the watch was ready for pick up on March 1, 2010. I flew over to Switzerland this past weekend to pick it up and finally meet Daniel, his wife Nicole, and their son Jean-Daniel. All through the production process I received updates on the progress of my watch, both written and photographic, and I often showed these photos on this forum. This certainly fed my anticipation, seeing just how meticulous Daniel’s work is. But everything up until this weekend showcased the parts, and to finally take delivery of the assembled and regulated watch, to see it in person, to wear it, to meet its maker, is to experience a whole that is so much greater than even the sum of those parts.

The watch is magnificent! The Roth’s are generous, warm, and friendly. This smile you see on my face in the picture below, taken on Sunday, is still there:

Photo taken by Alex Ghotbi

There will be many more photos to come:

Bill

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