Horological Meandering

WHL
[VC Moderator]
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When in the company of my fellow collectors or at a retailer...

I've seen many great watches, but for the finest watch I ever saw at random in the wild, read this repost of something I wrote over two years ago:

So I'm sitting at Starbucks in Framingham, Massachusetts, twenty miles west of Boston, with my 3-3/4 year old son to get a snack. He hasn't napped so he's just hanging on to serenity by a thread. Sitting next to me is a gentleman, casually dressed in very fine clothing, sporting an asymmetric watch in a white metal. Hmmmm. I can't help but stare. You know what question I'd like to ask, but the man is talking with a female companion and I don't want to be rude, so I bite my tounge.

Ah, serendipity....they make like they are going to arm wrestle and the woman asks me to count to three. I oblige. The woman tries to  win and the man makes like he's in casual conversation with me, showing he is not feeling any exertion. I play along, "Please tell me about your watch," I say.

"It is a Patek Philippe." He takes it off and allows me to handle it. It is gorgeous. I reciprocate and hand him my VC Jubile 1755. It is not a fair trade, but the least I could do. He tells me that I'm only the second person to take notice of his watch. It's hard having a proper conversation with him, since my son keeps interrupting. I hand the watch back to him with thanks. Preventing the thread of serenity from being cut in a public space trumps WISdom.

Folks, it was a 3424 in platinum. They don't make them like they used to and they hardly made them then. This is the best picture I could find on the net, though it is of a white gold model (from Antiquorum).

He had a small frame, was very fit, and this watch suited him perfectly. He told me it speaks to him as a work of art.

I wish that I had had the chance to talk with him further, but my son said the magic words, "I have to pee," and off we went.

While I was there I felt like my Jubile was completely outclassed, which rationally makes no sense since it is wonderfully executed in every detail: the case with its serrations and sculpted lugs; the very finely finished and historical caliber, with it being VC's first in-house automatic movement; the original guillochage and whimsical layout of the dial.  On reflection I think I was doing the math on the value of his watch, as well as being impressed by its extreme rarity. My Jubile is perfect on me, and his 3424 is perfect on him.

Bill