FabR
[Senior Patek Moderator]
26166
Definitely, I find ALL Italian fashion WAY overpriced in the US -- unlike watches and some of the jewelry, with good clothing we are easily speaking of a factor of 2 or 3 to purchase the exact same product in the US rather than Italy! :-)
But the funniest "buying" (or looking, I should say) experience for me in the US are the department stores, where along with *actual* brands that exist also in Italy, you'll often find unknown (and nearly as expensive) Italian-sounding names, which seem to be created just to convince the local customer that he's buying Italian clothing! ;-)))
I believe I *never* bought any of my clothes in the US. And I'm almost sorry for those folks who consistently buy Italian abroad, rather than just renewing their wardrobe once or twice a year in Italy --- AND enjoying a fancy vacation for the same total price! 
Cheers.
Tokyo GTG Follow Up Report
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Oh! I didn't know you were in Berlin!
I was in Berlin last year! Had to visit some artists! I hadn't visited Berlin for several years before that! Wow! Berlin has gotten so incredibly wealthy in just 7-8 years! The Ku-Dam was always a nice street, but now it's filled with Bentleys and Lamborg...
Hahah, correct!
Well I am fairly new. About 4 years now - but even then, the change is obvious. As most things, comes with both!
Very True!
Nice to know you're there now! Hope to see you someday! We'll have to do something very much Berlin together!
Just jumping into your guys' chat I was born & raised in Berlin
and will be visiting my parents later this year probably October / Nov - always happy to talk watches if there is interest.
A very cool place indeed!
I wonder what it was like to grow up there! Hope to meet you sometime. Where in USA are you based? I'm in California.
And likewise, Patrick!
One thing that many of my Berlin born & raised friends got bored of I think is my endless questions on how it was back then ) Dear Dauster, please let me know when you are in Berlin. Happy to meet up!
Hi, yes Im based in the San Francisco Bay Area now, so also in CA - maybe we get to meet sometime. I enjoyed growing up in Berlin
but ultimately always wanted to leave since I didn't like the German hiking style middle aged people (Jack Wolfskin lol) and hipster movement in East Berlin. I grew up in Schoeneberg and I guess the best way to describe is a mix of Berkeley, CA and Willia...
Ahh. Good to know! We can meet up sometime Dauster!
My German friends and one Italian friend say that "Carhartt" is now the cool brand for rugged city clothes in Europe. Which surprises me. Especially my Italian friend - Carhartt??? And apparently Carhartt is American. I first thought it was German.
Yes Carhartt has been a hipster favourite for a minute. There is a meme that goes like " Everyone loves Carhartt, until there is Carhartt Work to do"
Given that they are a rugged brand for construction workers and lumber jacks.
I'm surprised Europeans like it...
None of these fellas are "rugged" people neither. To my knowledge.
The second photo...
The second photo of the man with the chainsaw, looks very good to me. In my eyes, it looks like a very rugged and durable (AND MACHINE WASHABLE) version of Cucinelli. Of course, Cucinelli has a much much much more refined look. But the Carhartt looks pret...
Yes. I've never handled a chainsaw.
I do have a small electric saw somewhere for small branches in the garden. It's battery powered! And it's actually quite good! I was skeptical, but now I've realized these battery powered tools are pretty darn good!
I'm sure I have that too somewhere in our US home, but given that my manual abilities are comparable to those of a 3 year old (drunk), I admittedly stay as far away as possible from any of those tools... ;-))
But to compensate, I'm always surrounded by folks who are great at manual tasks (including my PhD-toting statistician girlfriend, who can fix ANYTHING that I break in the house! ;-)))
Wow! She's very handy!
I'm not handy at all. Part of it is because I'm just bad with being handy. The other part is that I have fairly high aesthetic standards, and I know I won't likely be able to attain it. And lastly, materials are really expensive these days, and I abhor wa...
You're welcome Keks.
Wished you could've been there. I remember our awesome time in NYC back in 2017!
I seriously don't even know how to start this....Patrick, you are really something A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! :-) In Italian we have a saying that more or less translates as, "If he didn't exist, they would need to invent him"... :-))
...just to give Everyone a sense of my enormous gratitude for all that Patrick has done for our Patek forum recently --- both publicly and behind the scenes! One final thank-you, my friend, for making our (double!) WatchProSite GTG such a remarkably succe...
You're so very kind FabR!
Thank you FabR! Very kind of you! And I thank you as well for all that you have done for WatchProSite as well! Especially behind the scenes! I too am proud to be able to rely on you for all your assistance! This event could not have been done without your...
It will be much more successful than our colorful pants forum!
I think that forum was mostly crickets. Joking aside, we did have a good time coordinating this event didn't we! Bouncing ideas off each other and making sure the event would be as safe as possible (Covid et. al.) for our members and considering all the d...
looks amazing and what a nice write-up.
Wish I could have come to tokyo especially since Anita Porchet is at the exhibition.
Indeed!
She's definitely a highlight! But after speaking with many other individuals, they were also equally if not more impressed with the other artists. Seeing the other artists at work can be rewarding. Sure, we always want to meet our heroes, and Miss Porchet...
for sure, indeed the problem I don't know the other current artist.
Where can I find more info on them?
Lots of details scattered about WatchProSite.
This post is from 6 years ago. Which you already read - is a good resource. It might show you a bit about what the other artists are doing but it doesn't mention the other artists by name. The wood marquetry fella is named by our Senior Patek Philippe Mod...
Thank you Anaroku!
Thank you for your kind words and it was a great pleasure to meet you twice!
Great GTG and thank you for the report!
Just flying out today to see the Exhibition tomorrow. This timepiece will accompany me to the event. 😊 Next time! ...
Very happy for you!
GTG are magic times! I was very happy to meet you and several other Purists in Switzerland last year, what a great time! Thanks for sharing and take care! Best, E.
It was a great pleasure...
It was a great pleasure to attend all of our officially announced GTGs since the start of the pandemic! They are the stuff of magic! And it was a true pleasure to have met you and to tour the JLC facility with you!
Dear Patrick and Fabrizio, thank you so much for making this GTG possible!
it was indeed a great pleasure meeting Patrick and everyone else at the GTG. just want to share a similar photo taken from my angle and without the light reflections. ...
That is a much better photo!
Thank you so much for attending and it was great to have you! So glad you could make it. I really enjoyed meeting you very very much!
Thank you! Very generous!
I'm a big eater! Joking mostly. I'm really not, as you evidently saw. If you ever find yourself in California, please let me know as well!
Yes! Come soon!
Sadly, California has gotten a little messy from a crime perspective. So maybe don't wear any obviously expensive watches. Something low key (not gold) and unrecognizable (like a less famous brand a la Lange or Ferrier) is probably safer!
PS: I seriously thought the next date and location of the Grand Exhibit was public info, but I understand today that it's not....as usual, our forum happened to be the first to break a big Patek announcement for our collectors worldwide! ;-))
I'll let this stay since I learnt it directly from Patek via casual conversations, but will be happy to remove it if they ask me (they have not). For now, I won't mention the city, though it wouldn't be difficult to guess. Cheers my friend
I didn't know!
I spoke with Jasmina, and she gave me some clues; political stability, the ability to import/export the watches from the museum without issue and too much paperwork, and that it wouldn't be the same cities as before... I personally ruled out HK as the nex...
Yep, I can officially announce that the next Grand Exhibition will be in Milano, Sept. 2025 👍
The bit on political stability was on a clear effort to mislead you! ;-)))) [I'm obviously joking, even if you might have heard that Italy's situation changed dramatically....on the exact same day you flew out of Tokyo! ;-)] I need to keep this pithy as I...
I was just at La Scala in Milano in March 2023...
Have a wonderful time attending you performance! I hope you get a nice box with nice FRONT seats in the box. Oh no! You must make it to the Patek Philippe event in 2025. It won't be the same without you!
Have fun!
Swanky digs! I stayed near the Milano Centrale train station in Milano last time I was there. It was a nice 15-20 minute hike to the center of the old town where you are located. I'm already imagining my visit to Italy in 2025... Venezia, Firenze, Milano....
....and Boccadasse!! :-))) Sorry for the belated reply but it was a "hectic" few days! Enjoyed to the fullest, a TRULY fantastic time was had by my girlfriend and self! :-) Here's a couple more pics... Have a great day Everyone! :-)
Thanks to Rolex for the amazing time! This is always one of my favorite parts of any event... ...and this is the other My girlfriend always loves to take my ugly pictures by surprise (during the museum visit, right before the concert! ) Cheers. ...
Yep, Rolex was essentially hosting an event for a few ADs and clients, I also saw folks from other parts of Italy....we had a cocktail and tour before they opened to the public and then attended the concert (on the 20th, with Philippe Jordan).
They hosted us at the Portrait hotel, a new one right in the Quadrilatero. It was a TRULY lovely time, but unfortunately I wasn't done with everything before the day after....back to Genova on Wed evening Our position at the theater The tickets (of course...
photo from my seat on the very same timing !
This is an incredible near miss! ”Was Patrick there too?" ...
I unfortunately was not there that evening. I was in Milano back in March...
I was not present for the Rolex event. But I did see the Teatro in Milano in March. An enchanting space.
Really close indeed! ;-)) I can't see myself but chances are I was in somewhere in your second picture!! :-)
PS: My co-Moderator Patrick is ALWAYS with me, either physically or spiritually! Ha! ;-)))))))
Cheers to my co-Moderator FabR!
Oh! I just realized. Anaroku, FabR, and Patrick_y are all fans of Patek Philippe and The Macallan! Too bad, the third Musketeer wasn't at this Rolex event in Milano! ...
Maybe we should meet in Japan?
Japan is beautiful, and the exchange rate is very good! Or shall we meet in USA? For sure we'll meet in Italy in two years in Milano for the Patek Philippe Exhibition?
In the US that's a given, and I should be back to Asia during my sabbatical in Spring 2024 (so far I'm planning to see Korea with my girlfriend and speak at a few places there, but Japan is always a great destination too!)...
As for Italy, if Patek agrees to move the Exhibition from Sept. 2025 back to May or June, I'll be there for the entire time!! ;-)) (And I think I've been the only one to publicly announce the next Exhibition location and dates so far, so I should have pro...
Thank-you, this is linen and silk by Lardini, great for summer (the silk part being critical for it to be in great shape after more than 5 years! ;-) Cheers.
Most likely Montecarlo, a few years ago ...
Ahh. I have a jacket from Lardini.
Haven't worn it in a long time. I wonder where it is.
I love my Loro Piana Denim shirts as well (XXL Andre style)
May I ask what brand the colorful ones are that you wear in the pic ?
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