Independents

Greetings to all! First of all, thanks to all of you here who make the PuristS community so great -- it has been a tremendous pleasure to read your posts, interact online, and meet many of the members of this forum over the past several years. Thanks also...  

I had to stop working when I saw your post go up. Not only have you taken gorgeous photos, but you all must be very proud of these fantastic pieces of art and mechanics. Many thanks and ENJOY!!, Best, Joe

I'm pleased that you took a quick break from work to take a look! Thanks for your post. Best, Gary

The movements, the dials, it moved me emotionally, thank you Gary for sharing these amazing watches with us and a Big Hearty Congrats to You on your Simplicity. S

These watches do have the power to move us emotionally! Beautiful, and reflective of deep passion and dedication on the part of their creator... Best, Gary

Thanks for your beautiful photos of this exceptionnal watch! Also it look like common on your post cheers Francois

...to meet up with these guys, and also to "meet" you here, Francois -- thanks for your note! Best, Gary

Order a burger May your Simplicity time only happy moments and that is one hell of a post!!!!!!!!!!

As you are a man of indisputably excellent tastes, your burger praise hit the spot Thanks for your note -- as always, great to hear from you. Best, Gary G

And... as I anticipated, your pictures, are TERRIFIC! Thanks for taking the time to post these wonderful images!! I'm glad you finally have the beast on your wrist and look forward to enjoying these images! S

I'm pleased that the result lived up to the anticipation! Now I can go back to this piece from time to time and take more photos Best, Gary

reading your post and knowing that the watch has gone to a great home and will give you great cheer. Of course, I also appreciated the burger shot, but a small part of me is disappointed there wasn't any caviar! Gary H

I look forward to sharing this piece with you in person when next we meet! Great guys like you are the best thing about this passion, and it has been my pleasure to get to know you over the past few years. I'll have to get back to work on that caviar... B... 

Congrats to the 2K post and to your stunning watch! Not sure what I like the most - the clean classic dial or the beautiful crafted movement! Stunning! All the best Blomman

Well, I do like the dial, but for me it's the movement that makes this watch! Thanks very much for your post. Best, Gary

I don't think it ever happened at this scale anywhere before haha! Amazing, Gary! Your photos are obviously of the usual stunning quality and with so many Dufours in one place, it really is hard to beat! Now I figured another very special meaning of the S... 

There is one member of the Gang of 6 who is still PD-less (one member owns both a Simplicity and Duality -- not too shabby!), but otherwise you are correct -- our involvement with Philippe is another strong tie among the members of our group. The largest ... 

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Then again, it was delicious! Best, Gary

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.... in the restaurant, it is normal to drool, right? I wish to be there! Ken

We'll hope to see you some time soon. Best, Gary

And you have surpassed my expectations with your 2000th. Stunning watch(es) and pictures. Amazing Norcal group. Thank you for all your contributions and photography Gary. Very much looking forward to what is to come in the future. Regards, Richard.

It has been a real pleasure corresponding with you and reading your posts, and I hope that we can meet at some point soon. Best, Gary

I love so many great independent watchmakers these days. Dufour Kari Ferrier Roger Smith These and other great watchmakers have an essence that is palpable even in photos. But can there be any doubt whose movement is most lushly finished? It's like he tur... 

He really "made" modern independent watchmaking, and exhibited great bravery to do so. And, as you say, his finishing is unmistakable. His striping technique is unique as far as I know, both in terms of the width of the stripes and relative shallowness of... 

Oh yea, and some of the most amazing timepieces of the past century. Not a weak link amongst that group - must have been fun to bring them all together. Thanks for the scans, and enjoy your masterpiece. Darren

In fairness, some members of the group stuck to salads and fish. At least the steak/burger was not served on a deep fried donut! There were also some other watches at the lunch -- when time permits I'll post a few photos of those as well... Best, Gary

I did not know ther were that many Dufours in existence, and you got all of these at one table! Seriously, that is one amazing GTG, and more importantly, that is one beautiful watch you now have n your wrist. Thank you for sharing the arrival with us. And... 

Let's just say that I'm not going to get into an arms race with my NorCal pals -- they are some pretty serious collectors! Just a treat for me to have a few pieces and share their fellowship (and, from time to time, to photograph their astonishing watches... 

I have never seen so many Dufours together... must have been quite the lunch. A big congrats to you, thanks for sharing. Chris

Must have dropped my fork about 5 times! Just overwhelming to take delivery of my Simplicity, be with my friends, see their great pieces -- 2.5 hours flew by... Best, Gary

No one deserves a new Simplicity more than you. Your posts keep raising the bar. Inspiring photos of perhaps the most inspiring watch. Does one need much else once he owns a Simplicity? OK, maybe also an Antiqua! Enjoy this one! And thanks for all the wor... 

STUNNING BEAUTIFUL GORGEOUS MAGNIFICENT AWESOME COOL What ever it is, they are all true. I don't believe that I have ever seen such a fine collection, of Mr Dufour's creations in one place.............ever. Oh, how I wish that I had been there. Gary, once... 

Thanks so much for the warm message and kind remarks -- I do appreciate it! Best, Gary

You and the guys are the big motivation behind this hobby for me! Now if only some members of the group would stop buying hard-to-photograph watches like that grey-dialed Simplicity life would be even better All the best, Gary

first of all congrats on 2000th post and thank you or better thank you for nothing for this Dufour galore. I'm very happy that your hunt for PD had such amazing end ...you deserved it absolutely Still bedazzled Damjan P.S. 6 Dufour went to restaurant I th... 

Indeed! I've made it a bit of a tradition to start my GTG reports by saying "so 5 (or 6 or 7) guys go into a restaurant..." but the pplater treatment would be hilarious, I'm sure. Thanks for your very kind note! Best, Gary

eyes opener post and Congrat on your 2000th

Thanks for taking the time to post a note -- I appreciate it! Best, Gary

those lovely Roman indices, and so many of them in one go as well... Gary, you are such a lucky (and I bet, happy) man. Great photos by the way. Always enjoy your posts. Best Sam

Great watches, great friends -- including you and my other great Purist friends! Thanks, Gary

I imagine your excitement, during a long period waiting to possess it finally. Congratz for this extraordinary purchase Gary ! Best, Mark

Sometimes the wait is the best part -- easy to say now that I have the watch in hand! Thanks for your note. Best, Gary

Great photos Gary, thanks. - SJX

But with a lunch like that, I had to share! Thanks for writing, SJX Best, Gary

It's great to have you here, Gary, if only to keep us grounded and 'real'. Besides, you're such a good sport when teased! Please accept felicitations of gargantuan proportion, for BOTH of your achievements marked by this post. Cheers, pplater.

Just another routine luncheon with friends -- a shame that everyone seems to have worn the same watch! Oh well -- maybe something more interesting next time Best, Gary

Heartfelt congratulations and thanks for the photos of this incredible event. That last picture of the multiple Dufours is my new desktop. Wonderful! Thanks Andreas

I had fun taking that last shot, although as you can imagine it was a bit nerve-wracking! One has to be veeeerrry careful when handling that much great hardware that doesn't actually belong to you... Best, Gary

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Your name did come up at lunch! Something about Basel, lunch, and a calendar Best, Gary

thanks for sharing the excitement of the meeting. What a collection. Congratulations! Don

My head was buzzing the entire time -- hope the other guys enjoyed themselves too! Best, Gary

the watches are sensory overload enough already, but the burger too? Congratulations

...but in keeping with medical ethics did not comment on the likely effect of the burger on my arteries. True friendship! Best, Gary

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It would be interesting if you put 3 hands watch of Dufour, Kari and Laurent together. Regards Ling

pplater did a fantastic side by side review of the Observatoire and Simplicity a little while ago -- and he, I, and several other NorCal folks are in the position of doing exactly what you suggest if we can only find someone who has the new Ferrier piece.... 

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...that's the Gallet Tourb, not the 3-hand watch But then again, who cares! Excellent photo -- you did a great job catching the striping on all three movements in good light (which I know is not simple), and all three watches look great. In this photo the... 

With all due respect to other independent watchmakers, Can I say that these 3 represent the widely accepted highest quality in current watchmaking? Regards Ling

...and I'm sure that there will be other nominees as well! I can tell you from personal experience that the Antiqua is one of the most gorgeously made watches you will ever see -- tremendous attention to detail, and beautiful proportions. Still waiting fo... 

But I will put him in a totally different category. Regards Ling

What an inspiration. You are killing me. Your pic added to gary's post??? I'm going to have a hangover! M This message has been edited by Mostel on 2012-03-21 16:22:44

Enjoy Gary...she's a beauty.

As you know, I am addiicted to the independents! Thanks for the part that you play in promoting these great watchmakers. Best, Gary

On a simple and beautiful watch!

I am wearing it today and it looks great! Best, Gary

shot like this is an amazing feat! I have never seen one before and seeing it is like a dream come true for me! You may want to learn a new word "DufourSiao" to complement your "Durfourmania", I think it's apt Have fun Mech.

I don't know of any other Dufour group shots of this magnitude -- it really was mind blowing to see all of these in one place. Thanks for your note! Best, Gary