Horological Meandering

Dear PuristS, Today (May 30) marks the 11th Anniversary of ThePuristS and, not coincidentally, it is one year since our 10th birthday bash - the International Gathering of the Tribe - in Las Vegas. There were professional photographers on hand to record t... 

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great to meet you yesterday Imran I'm looking forward to the pics. Andy.

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PuristS from all corners of the globe congregated at the Encore Hotel for IGOTT2. Many had arrived the day before, but the focus of the first day's celebrations was the Gala Dinner on the Monday evening. We filled every table in the swanky Restaurant Alex...  

... from the Gala Event ... Click Here ... And feel free to share any more you might have hidden away. Andrew...  

Nt

It was fun to chat in person! Cheers, Daos

And finding out you're a girl, gasp! _john

I think lots of folks were surprised on that count! Hehehehe! *hugs* Daos

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Really opened my eyes, john... Even more amazing is to think back to what I went through the 32 days before... Great job, Andrew.

It only makes us stronger. _john

the counterparty, too!

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. . . indubitably! With a nod and a wink, Art

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MTF

... although I knew what to expect through your PuristS writings. I certainly wasn't disappointed! Regards Andrew

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Happy to see so many familiar faces again in one spot. Also, I feel quite chuffed to have my beloved L&H Johann featured as the solo wristwatch shot in that retrospective! Cheers, Tim

... that professional photographers make lousy watch photographers! At least that's what I noticed reviewing all the images. There were occasional photos of watches, but most of them were blurred or had flares on the crystals from flash or poorly place li... 

Tim, It's a great shot of the watch! Cheers, Daos

Chuffed - You would be chuffed to bits if you were really pleased about something. Daos, Hope this helps. Sorry, every now and then one forgets their local home slang is not universally understood! I'm afraid I have no idea of the origin. Cheers, Tim

AndrewD has all sorts of Aussie-isms that led to some amusement during his visit too! It's amazing that we share a common language...sort of. Cheers, Daos

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It was very confusing, Andrew! I miss you, and your Tim Tams! xoxoxo! Daos

So I need to visit again. Honeycomb, Turkish Delight, Rum & Raisin, Double Choc Caramel, Mint ... A

Please come visit soon!!!!! Ixnay on the Rum Raisin though (raisins are gross!)! Daos

. . . a "torch", no doubt.

We not only expand our horological knowledge, but gain an appreciation for so many other cultures and ways of being. That to me is one of the great aspects of this site, joined by a common bond of watches, but in reality sharing so many other enjoyable pu... 

This is a wonderful place, and without it I'd never have met you! That would certainly have been my loss! HAGWE! Daos

Chuff was 16th century for something puffed out or fat. From the Old English chuffe. Perhaps from an earlier term for a cheek or jowl. My etymology books get vague at this point The opposite is miffed or dischuffed. If you'd been in the British armed forc... 

. . . our lexicon, but "chuffed" remained rooted in the Old World . . .

Showing where a word comes from and the derivation is allways extremely helpful to gaining an understanding of what definition one is using. I just learned the derivation of one of my fav expressions. Describing something one likes as "that's the dog boll... 

Now I have to google "naafi." Oh, brother! *giggle* Daos

It was really representative of everything to the aspiring Purists. It was a joy to be among so many friends from far and near. Onwards and upwards IGOTT3. Bill

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We really did end with a bang. But I think a lot of new bonds have been forged. HAGWE Bill

Let me dig into my HD, I arrive! Best, my friend, and thanks for te superb reminder. Nicolas....  

On the morning of Day 2, those of us who had recovered from the Gala dinner headed out to a racetrack with Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and the Chopard team to enjoy a morning of racing. Some of us got to arrive in the Lamborghini, and the rest of us climbed ...  

MTF looks quite serious after putting on his racing gear . Anyone willing to put someone into the wall for a victory? On a serious note the pictures are great. They rekindle my jealousy that I was not able to attend. I look forward to the chance to attend... 

I went to the thesaurus and there aren't even synonyms of "competitiveness" that come close to describing PuristS. ;-) The only thing that saved the day was that there were two watchmakers on the podium. PuristS can't argue with that. As it happens IGOTT2... 

You guys never would have kept up with this little Italian!!

... you went shopping for watches. ;-) A

After returning from the morning's Go Kart racing, showering to get the bits of rubber and black dust out of all our crevices, we reconvened in the meeting room for an afternoon of Chopard high horology with a moving presentation from Karl-Friedrich Scheu...  

On Tuesday evening after a long but exhilarating day we spruced ourselves up again for a wonderful dinner at the local Penske-Wynn Ferrari dealership. Cocktails amongst the modern Ferrari's and then downstairs into the workshops for dinner amongst the car...  

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Day 3 of IGOTT2 was “Independents Day” and it was very memorable. All exhausted, but full of stories to share, we descended on the Tao Nightclub at the Venetian Resort Hotel. The food was Asian-inspired and the highlight of the evening was the traditional...  

and it seems impossible that was one year ago!! It was a blast. Best to all, Tim

I'm currently at the Wynn/Encore (I'm one of the jurors for the Couture Time Awards taking place right now) so I'm reminiscencing IGOTT2 last year while walking back and forth through Encore & Wynn. Weird isn't it? Cheers, Anthony

People keep asking me what Las Vegas was like, and I have to admit that I didn't see much of it ... but the watches were great! Hope you are having a fun time with the awards show and bring back some watch stories for us. Andrew

and all photographed so well

Well at least Daos and Ping looked gorgeous and the rest of the Mods tried hard. But seriously the dinners and particularly the anniversary Gala were great excuses to get dressed up. I seem to remember a snappy photo of you at the Gala - you're lucky I am... 

You were quite dashing! It was a great time!...  

The whole experience was unbelievable. It gave us a feeling of family. We enjoy not only the company, but the sessions were much more interesting than we imagined. The whole thing was beautifully planned and executed. Steve S

Wow! It's been a while! Still remember it in great detail. What a great time with such a great group of people!

Sad but true... when I think of IGOTT2 I think of Tito and I sitting on the back patio and him asking me if it was too late for us to go. He was recovering from surgery and preparing to start Chemo. What a trooper. Meeting Andrew made the biggest differen... 

... and you were with us in spirit. I am very pleased that he developed such a positive view of our strange little group. I have spoken to many in Tito's situation and the overriding concern they have is that their loved ones will be in safe hands ... whi... 

You had a great time indeed Best Hans

In my view, when you 'hold' threads such as this one at the top of the page, you should collapse them. Otherwise, one must always scroll through them to get to the more recent posts. Regards, Tony C.

For all the wonderful Purists I met and the wonderful time I had, Thank You Darvocet, for killing the pain of walking. I was so very pleased to meet all and the Friends I made. You will always be in my heart and never forgotten. Andrew, I thank you for th... 

There were a few who made an extra effort to be there, and it was much appreciated. Warm regards, Andrew

Look forward to attending IGOTT3 wherever it may be. Just want to make sure I bring a better camera to IGOTT3. Best, JerryW

Looks like a fun and informative gathering. Maybe another time... tempusfugit

That was a good time.....

It was a pleasure to have met you and your spouse!

... that we were only able to 'connect' at the Tao dinner on the last night. There were so many people to get around. But you opened my eyes to Sarpaneva for which I am grateful. With all the introductory stuff out of the way, IGOTT3 should be a blast! Wa... 

I think about it often, Andrew. Thanks for posting these images! Best, CaliforniaJed

A good time was had by all!