Horological Meandering

Still thinking back frequently and with pleasure to our recent storming of the Straits!

the prose and images are wonderful.  Thanks for sharing a little bit more about yourself, Gary!  Hope to spend more time with you soon.

Best,

CaliforniaJed

It was great fun hanging with you and the gang in LA -- will hope to see you again soon!

Best,

Gary

looking forward to meeting you one day!

Thank you for sharing your passions and enriching this place!

Will look to find an opportunity for another trip to visit PuristS in your part of the world...

Best,

Gary

. . .  a rock and roll rose, naturally ;-) . . .

But I can guess which one brings you the most joy, Art. 

Thanks for your generosity, Gary, and for letting us see other facets of your life and your personality.

...it is still a great piece that brings lots of enjoyment!  Thanks so much for your note -- I feel quite happy to share openly with you and the rest of the members here.

Best,

Gary

I am lucky to call Gary a good friend, and I have learned more about his varied passions here.  For all of us on PuristSPro, hopefully watches will always be #1!

Many thanks for your very kind words.  We've already had many great watch adventures together, and I'm eagerly anticipating many more!  The FPJ tour was likely close to the top, but our visit to Lange and the one day of the year the famous bierkeller in Dresden was closed is right up there along with all of the visits to independents, watch lunches and dinners, and general good times.  And, you gave me a whole new appreciation for both applied Romans and the term "point of order!"

Hey -- I forgot to mention or include a photo of my tahoeblue-inspired man-bag!  I'll have to leave that for the next Geneva retrospective, I suppose...

All the best, as always,

Gary

This is something that I value as well, but have had a hard time pinning down the exact motivations that drive me.  This was helpful to me in that regard, and as an aspiring collector I really enjoyed hearing about your experiences!

Hope you enjoy the trip!  If you have insomnia some night, you can search on this site for a too-long post I put up a while ago on the topic of "searching for coherence" (or something very much like that).

It's all too rare that we find something where all of the bits seem to fit together naturally -- and in my observation, that "naturalness" is most often the result of a lot of deep thinking about the details that matter!  It's easy to put something together that's not quite right -- much harder to think through every detail and avoid compromise.  In the world of miniature mechanical devices, all the more difficult!

Best,

Gary

... we should (and NoCal Six) should meet again and know each other much more!

Ken

My wife can spend 10 minutes with someone and learn more about them than I have picked up in 30 years of friendship -- I keep saying that it's a "guy thing," but perhaps it would be salutary if we all spent more time learning more about what makes each other who they are!

Will hope to see you in January, if not sooner.

Best,

Gary

seminars and meetings to find this most welcome article. Honest, Interesting and Passionate on a rare plateau. Very thoughtful questions Andrew, well done. You caught Gary in his real light and gave us all a real look at a great guy and world class PuristS.

...to Andrew!  As you say, Tim, the questions were great -- fun to answer, but also provocative enough to take one's thinking down some unexpected avenues.

Very pleased that you enjoyed the result!  Great friends like you are the wonderful thing about this hobby -- just thinking back to lunch at the Lipp, dinner at the Maison, and our group meal at the "safest restaurant in San Mateo" brings a big grin to my face.

Now we need to get you as POTW -- one word: elephants!

Best,

Gary

Now you've piqued my interest!

Very pleased the questions stimulated your thinking, Gary. But it is the subject that is most important. The best interviewers in the world struggle in the face of a dull subject. And you are nothing of the sort!

Thanks for the great answers and being such an excellent POTW.

Andrew

...that you will just have to invite Tim to be POTW at some point if you want the full story -- which I have not witnessed first hand, so cannot provide further testimony

Thanks again for inviting me to participate in this very enjoyable effort, Andrew -- at a minimum I learned something about computer firewalls, and in reality learned something of myself through your questions!

Best,

Gary

I have had the pleasure of getting to know Gary over the past few years, and it is always a pleasure everytime we have any interaction. A generous gentleman, who has excellent taste and is very happy to share, for which we as a group are very much better off for having Gary in our ranks.

Thank you Gary for taking the time to allow us into some of your other pursuits.

Cheers,
Tim

...I am quite sure that I will not be mentioned!  You may be, however, and it should be known that you were the one who introduced me to independent watchmaking and our dear friend Peter Speake-Marin, along with Vianney, the McGonigles, Marco, the Habrings, Thomas Prescher, Romain -- am I forgetting any? 

You certainly lit a spark that has turned into a flame!  And apart from watches you may have an even better eye for gems and vintage jewelry, as you are always quick to identify which of the pieces Lorrie is wearing is really special from an historical craftmanship perspective.

Most recently, the Doppel -- onward!

Best,

Gary

Rather humbled and embarrassed by your kind remarks. As I often say, the reason I do what I do is because of the people involved and the relationships that ensue. I have a tremendous amount of admiration & respect for how you conduct yourself and that is the mark of any man or woman.
Your part is equally important though as a supporter of artisanal Independent Watchmaking, you allow these guys and gals to pursue their dream and passion.
Cheers,
Tim

this is as honest as it gets and i gravitate to that idea as well.

potw... no surprise there, Gary.

i subscribe very much to your "philosophy" and wish that i can ascribe those values from an AHCI perspective... alas, my wallet won't allow it and so i apply it to the "bigger" companies (very hard to do and can't be done across the board. case in point is your "Janek wing"). one of the reasons why my wallet probably easily opens to the likes of JLC and Rolex versus others. they're the closest to having those traits that i value most.

if i had a bit more, probably VianneyH and BeatH for independents. then maybe UN and GP for manufactures.

great interview choice, Andrew.

Gary, you da man

...I am deeply touched by your remarks, and appreciate your forthright comments on your own philosophy and preferences.  It is always a pleasure to see your posts, and I very much appreciate your thoughts here.

All the best,

Gary

Nt

Appreciate the kind words...

Best,

Gary

Thanks Gary and Andrew for this.

It seems that I missed Gary when he was in Singapore.

 

The best part of the interview for me was:

Just because “everyone else” likes a certain piece doesn’t mean that it’s right for you.

Oh – and please write about it here on PuristSPro!

 

Regards,

MTF

 

...we had not one, but two PuristS mods arranging events when pplater and I were in Singapore last month, and still you didn't get the word!  Tsk tsk -- would have been great to spend time with you and many others of the Singapore notables, but I do understand that the Summer is a busy season for these sorts of events and people have other things going on in their lives.

I'll just have to make a point of getting back there sometime soon.  Glad you liked my closing remarks!

All the best,

Gary

Gaz,

 

Methinks you protesteth too much.  Dinna worry; I missed you and not the other way around. Sorry, mate.

Indeed, some 'orgasmic chappie' had given me a heads up a a month earlier but I was indisposed (my aunt had shrugged her mortal coil).

Mayhaps next time....

 

Regards,

Melvyn

 

And I will certainly hope to see you on a future visit! 

Hey -- maybe I should see if I can change my handle here to "Gazza..."

Best,

Gary