blau
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Generally I think the idea of an 'end game' watch....
or, as people seem to favor now, an 'exit watch' is a mistake. There's no such thing as a watch so good it eliminates the desire for watches. It's YOU who has this restless desire; the collecting will end when you get tired of it, or when your restlessness is grabbed by something else, not when you acquire some ultimate watch that quenches your desire forever. This is perhaps why 'holy grail' is an apt term: the holy grail is the thing sought and never found.
Even so, I think you've chosen the most proper possible end game watch. Recall that when we talk about an 'end game' watch we're talking about a watch that makes you say goodbye to the desire for watches, that undoes your desire for them. This Haldimann is a watch that refuses to tell time. It is, thus, a watch that undoes itself, that intentionally ceases to be a watch. It's a watch that actually says goodbye to watches. It is the end game watch.
Re-connection, and end-game watches...
A couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, an ‘old-timer’ Purist got in touch just to ask after a particular watch, almost as if it were an old mutual friend (which, in some ways, it is!). That sparked a couple of weeks of casual email conversation about wat...
What a great read, thank you!
Its always a pleasure to discuss with old timers in the forums. That family feel is something unique to collectors that meet on a mutual love base rather than on an interest base. For me, the end game has to be a watch that I could wear daily, at any circ...
The ultimate watch
Hi my friends. I remember well our meeting in Paris Kevin. It was at the time of the Rugby World Cup. In 2007? It was a pleasure meeting you. I miss these old days. I’m happy to give hope to Art. Although I must admit getting this Omega didn’t stop me fro...
“Pocket watches are my future”…
That is a remarkable statement, Dje; yet it could be so prescient. We cannot ignore the number of mainstream brands, and independents, who are continuing to offer pocket watches or who are actually introducing pocket watches to their portfolio. Until very...
You knew . . .
. . . this was coming. [photo and watch credit: Dje, 2023] And if you keep tabs on our Omega forum, you already know that Dje acquired my grail. Yes, if I were to be as fortunate as Dje and score a blue gold Omega central, my hunting and gathering days wo...
Yes, we knew that was coming!…
We didn’t see Dje coming, though! After a long run of JLC and 2 years of absence, that was a very powerful re-entry. Speaking of old-timers, it was nice to read him again; he was very hospitable in Paris some 10 years ago. With Nico, naturally! Cheers, pp...
Glad I wasn't drinking coffee when his thread popped up on my screen . . .
. . . 'cause I'd be buying my second computer in six months. 🫗
And now we have your attention…
Which watch could see you hang up your wallet??? Cheers, pplater.
I don’t think there is a end game watch tbh because we are all trapped in this crazy hobby but if I needed to end this hobby for now this would my pick .
A watch that represents everything i look for with my fav complications. ...
That will do it!…
The glimpse of the hammer is sublime. Quite the endorsement for the brand, coming as it does from ‘Mr Indie’! Cheers, pplater.
You have expressed it beautifully…
‘Just the windmill of the ticking time’. That is the whole point: to know only that time is passing, very elegantly, but not to know or care how quickly. If it was necessary to know the time at all, then Haldimann also adds the minute repeater to the tour...
Which brings us very neatly…
…to the Haldimann H9 ‘Reduction’. No hands. No dial. No face. youtu.be Cheers, pplater.
I remember that discussion. Not sure if it was ex mod Valentin Blank who posted about this piece..
As for me, i always aim for a workable set of watches but leave the door open for change
Valentin certainly championed Haldimann…
…and posted some excellent photographs. Echi, surely there must be one that would satisfy the thirst? Cheers, pplater.
No need to be an isolated antepodean! Melbourne isn’t too far away! 😂🤘
Happy to chat wstches any day. Not sure I have an end goal watch, but maybe a Daniels Anniversary would be a good place to stop this madness. 😂
There is a martini…
…in our future, Bounce! Daniels: brilliant choice. Not the ‘pure blood’ Millenium? Cheers, pplater.
There are a few end-game pieces on my list and it's difficult to narrow to one...
But I'll go ahead and pick a Ferdinand Berthoud "dark side of the moon"! ...
That was quick!…
There is probably no reason why ‘there can be only one!’ It begs the question, though: what are the others? Cheers, pplater.
Some other choices...
JDN violin-case tourbillon Krayon Anywhere/Everywhere Christophe Claret X-trem 1 If I had the money for anything though, my first choice might actually be going to OnlyWatch later this year and trying to win the Barbier Mueller
Generally I think the idea of an 'end game' watch....
or, as people seem to favor now, an 'exit watch' is a mistake. There's no such thing as a watch so good it eliminates the desire for watches. It's YOU who has this restless desire; the collecting will end when you get tired of it, or when your restlessnes...
That is, respectfully, a remarkably…
…intelligent and insightful analysis. It is thought-provoking and difficult to argue with. Is there room for a small finesse? Is it possible that an end-game watch does not undo the desire for them but, rather, satiate that desire entirely? Fulfil, not ex...
There is room for that for some people, but not for us.
Did you ever see the film 'Shame', where Michael Fassbender plays a sex addict? The idea that a man whose sexual psychology works like his could have his desire fulfilled by finally finding the right woman is clearly misguided, and could only function to ...
Compelling: but…
…did you ever see the movie ‘Damage’ with Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche? The [anti] hero forsakes his wife, his son, his career and all the trappings of modern existence in his obsession for the object of his desire - his son’s fiancée. The final scen...
'Damage' is going on the watch list!
I admit that there are considerable matters of degree at work here, though.
Hmm, I have some framed pictures of a watch in my bathroom,
maybe for a few minutes each day, I'm Jeremey Irons' character?!
It takes commitment, Spangles…
Impressive as it is that watch photos may be found in your bathroom, to go ‘the full Jeremy’ they would need to be big photos, and you’d need to spend hours in your bathroom daily. Just how committed are you? 😃 Cheers, pplater. ...
Hmm, depends on what I've eaten the previous day!
What if you get your end gsme watch and then order another of the same one in a different metel/dial variation?
The Gordon Gecko solution…
“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good” 😃 Cheers, pplater. ...
Great post...
...as always, from pplater You know, my end-game watch at the moment, if I am only to choose one and only if it would be possible, is your Klings Open Version. Then from a broader perspective, the watches that I'd love to acquire, so to fill the obvious o...
So good to see you reading, Song!…
Thank you very much for your contribution - then and now. For the benefit of the reference-phobic, can you be persuaded to post photos? Cheers, pplater.
Sure, photos...
Christian Klings Open Version: Photos credit: pplater Rolex 6265 PN: Photo credit: Phillips Patek 3939: Photo credit: Patek Philippe (note the photo is actually of Only Watch 3939A, not 3939G, though the appearance may look similar) Rolex 5514: Back on Ha...
Patek's entry for Only Watch 2011 . . .
. . . seen here draped over my wrist . . . . . . would be a personal grail, too, if it weren't totally out of reach. Dje's landing a blue gold Omega central gives me hope it can still be done; I rather doubt the current owner of Patek's sublime piece uniq...
Good to hear from you friend!
Personally, I think I’ve been collecting for so long that I have accepted there is no end game watch simply those you desire more than others. I wax and wane through the years when it comes to collecting, where I’ve been cold and then red hot when it come...
Good to hear from you also, Jorge…
…and not a rant so much as speaking what many are starting to feel. You’re still here, though! Cheers, pplater.
I’m a little bit of everywhere my friend😉
Didn’t take it as a rant either but an observation. Looking to one day make it down to you to finally meet. Maybe when the kids can handle such a long flight.
My dream watch would be a piece unique Crash.
It's impossible, but I would want a tantalum crash with a blue fumé dial and lumed indices (pretty much the same as Wei Koh's version, but with tantalum instead of white gold). Any Crash would do it though. ...
Nothing is impossible, A...
...at the right price! It is fascinating to see just how much attention the Crash has been receiving in the last couple of years; there was a time when interest was almost minimal. Times change, and we change with them. The version you dream of would inde...
The problem is exactly that... the right price 🤣
I think it's starting to attract more and more attention because of how artistic it is. It manages to blend its vintage charm with modern taste so well.
Great to see you here
I am not stopping by as often as I used to so I am a bit late but a pleasure to read your post. I still enjoy my H1 but it hasn't turned out to be an endgame watch. I have made fun of the H8 - H9 before but I now agree it is probably a more enlightened ch...
Hello, Andreas; lovely to see you drop by!...
You were not the only one at the time to wonder whether the H8/H9 were secretly designed by Yvan Arpa in a more cynical moment. As we enter our twilight years, though, what does the actual GMT/UTC-tethered time matter? Damjan, were he still here, would be...
great point
we indeed need this precision only very rarely now. The quirks of the H1 (at least my H1, an early piece) relate to the complex dial train that is necessary because the tourbillon occupies the centre. For one, it is relatively finicky to set: the minute i...
Or ‘CDO’, as we like to say…
…to keep things in their correct order. ;-) Cheers, pplater.
You understand me well
Next point of discussion: are the Resonance second hands truly aligned? Best Andreas
What a great read. Specially now that my dream watch will be delivered next weeek
After almost 8 years of lusting and pondering, I finally decided to get my last watch, an Ochs und Junior customizardes perpetual calendar. OuJ is a brand I have always admired because Dr. Oeschlin genius and minimalistic approach. Additionally, perpetual...
Next week?…
Congratulations - very exciting. The QP was not an option a few years ago, but the annual calendar was a very satisfying consolation prize. Isn’t it interesting that an ‘end game’ watch can be one that is reduced to the bare necessary minimum, as is the c...
The annual calendar is awesome. But QP is my end game
I debated a lot about going the annual or QP route, and my wise wife told me to get a the QP to put an end to this “watch madness of yours” . I agree with you. OuJ is indeed sublime as an end game watch given its uttermost simplicity. Hopefully I will get...
And the QP has arrived!
I am speechless. It is gorgeous and feels amazing on the wrist. The pictures and my (lack of) watch photography skills don’t do it justice . Will try a better ones once I get home o Saturday. ...
You're at the top of the class, Carlos! . . .
. . . not many of us get to actually own their grail ;-) . . .
Thanks. I feel very fortunate.
This watch was a present I have given myself after achieving a very important milestone in my cancer remission phase. Now I can confidently say I will wear it good health!
Beautifully understated…
A masterpiece of post-modern minimalism. Looking forward to first impressions and more photos. Congratulations! Cheers, pplater.
Thank you very much!
This is my 2nd day with the watch, so it is too soon to share any overall impressions other than it looks and feels great. I love the contrasting dial and hands finishes. Depending on the angle and light incidence, I have a completely different watch. Her...
Most definitely it was my first option
however, as it was explained to me by OuJ, there are specific regulations that make getting the sturgeon strap out of Switzerland not only costlier, but way more bureaucratic with a lengthy delivery time. So for now, no sturgeon for me. Nonetheless, this ...
A Cartier tank watch may just do it for me.
I have plenty of watches and will never lose interest in them. I want a Cartier tank watch and that could possibly be my last watch purchase. I don't "need" anymore watches and will just sit back and enjoy the ones I have, both modern and vintage and be c...
Very lovely, especially…
…on that bracelet. But! If you already have it, is it ‘the end to collecting’? 😉 Cheers, pplater.