The Plan
Smitten with a particular GP Vintage 1945, the plan was to go handle one at a local dealer to see if I liked it as much as I thought. If I did, it would be my next target… and being quite a bit out of my price range it would make a particularly good target as the long wait to find one would give me ample time to gather my finances.
The Friend
Knowing I was hooked and eager to help, a friend scoured the net for the watch I was looking for one and found the best darned deal imaginable on a LNIB example that had just been traded in to a reputable dealer. Great. Just great! I hadn’t even made up my mind yet and he had already found a better deal than I thought would be possible. Now what was I supposed to do?
The Dilemma
Being a small business owner myself, I was not comfortable with the idea of going to see the GP locally and then buying it elsewhere. Even if I did not consume the shops time and only looked at it through the glass case, I just would not feel right. But, this was more money than I had ever considered spending on a watch before. My wallet and my conscience had conflicting opinions on the matter.
The Other Friend
Another friend had dealt with the Internet dealer before, so I explained the entire situation to him and asked him who I should talk to there. Thankfully, he thought things through more thoroughly than had I. Suppose I went to the shop, he said, fell in love with the GP, decided I couldn’t live without it and in the meantime the one that Dick found disappeared? What then? He suggested I skip going to see the watch and just buy the one my friend had found. Given the three-day return privilege there was no risk… there was nothing to lose.
The Solution
Without even knowing of the dilemma my friend solved it.
The Deal
When I called the dealer to inquire about the watch all the news was good. The case was rose gold, just as I wanted it. The watch was rarely worn, was LNIB, came with the inner and the outer boxes, all of the papers were included and it had originated from an authorized dealer in CA. Done deal!
The Payment
The morning I was finally able to send payment I was a nervous wreck… for a few reasons. I had a very full schedule that day with several important meetings… plus I was making out money orders that totaled up to an amount larger than I’d ever spent on a watch before. When I addressed the envelope I made it out incorrectly and needed to do it again… so I ripped it in half to start over. Thinking back on that, I probably should have taken the money orders out of the envelope first! The money orders came within a quarter inch of being torn in half. Have you ever done something so stupid that it stopped you in your tracks… you couldn’t even breathe? After my color came back and my blood pressure dropped I taped the money orders up and sent them off… and since I am wearing the watch as I type this I guess it was not an issue.
The Watch
The watch is everything I had hoped for and even more elegant than I had imagined. The 28mm by 29mm case dimensions had me worried… but for naught. From corner to corner (not including the lugs) the watch measures a healthy 40mm. So, even though the dial wears like a 36mm watch, the case wears much larger. The profile of the watch is simply exquisite… the combination of its curvature and architecture are magnificent. I love how the sub-dial cuts deeply into the dial on its right side. It’s just an exquisite package.
The Thanks
I would like to thank Peter for posting the wonderfully helpful pictures during my decision making process. Tom for including the great pictures of his Vintage 1945 in the GP Photo gallery… and John, for writing his thought provoking review on the Big Date, which piqued my interest in the 1945 series. Thanks guys!
Dean.
