Let's set the scene: On a Friday night at Midsummer, locals are enjoying (quite a few) beer in an open-air café while I walk into a smoky speakeasy in Germany. The hostess made me and my friend sit next to the two gentlemen at the bar and we soon learned that they made a living by buying and selling luxury cars.
The conversation turned to watches, and now we're passing watches back and forth with these people. It's no surprise that used car salesmen love big Rolex with diamonds. I was polite and handed them my little dress watch. The louder man fell silent, a confused expression on his face. "This is the Associated Press," I told him, trying to keep the conversation going. He replied disappreciatively, "yes, but who would buy this ......?."
The answer to this question is me. I bought it and I like it very much.
Love is blind.
I admit that I still don't know a lot of details about this watch. It is made of **material, 27 mm wide and 4 mm thick, with a manual movement, most likely made by Audemars Piguet in the 90s of the 20th century. Most of my job is to advise viewers on informed watch buying decisions. However, this is still the most expensive impulse purchase of my life.
This purchase is a terrible example of doing research, but a great example of buying something you like. I've just started my dream job as hosting the Chrono24 YouTube channel, and naturally, I'm in the mood to celebrate with a new watch. I was initially looking for a Cartier tank and thought to myself, "Why not see if other manufacturers have something similar?"”
Thomas initially began looking for a Cartier tank.
It's like sniffing truffles in the forest.
One piece of advice I can proudly give is to look at what others aren't paying attention to. The conventional wisdom is that if you want a dress watch, buy Cartier;If you want an AP, buy Royal Oak. The Cartier watches on my budget are mostly quartz and gold-plated. The Royal Oak Hotel simply doesn't exist in my budget. So, I had to get creative.
I knew I wanted the quality of a watch, the specs I needed, and all the little details that made me fall in love. I know I don't have much to spend, but I also don't want to settle for something ordinary or easy to forget. When my left brain returned to normal, I was free to let my right brain explore.
After browsing thousands of watches on Chrono24, I stumbled upon this little gem from a Belgian dealer. This is the moment when illogical, irrational, all-out "love and hate" takes over. Suddenly, I was convinced that the piece would soon disappear, just as dozens, if not hundreds, of collectors around the world were ready to snatch it from me.
A small gem from a Belgian dealer immediately caught his attention.
That night, my computer mouse spent a lot of time hovering over the "Buy" button. I think it's better to get some sleep before making a decision, because even though I can't wait a full 24 hours, I know I should wait at least 12 hours. Working with distributors was a pleasure, and the notoriously complex U.S. import process was easier (and cheaper) than expected. Within about a week, I was wearing the watch on my hand and wrist.
So what exactly is this thing?
Maybe we need a follow-up article, because so far I still don't know much about this watch. After a lot of searching, I found a few APs with the same shell and unique lugs. There is only one watch that only shows the time, but the dial is not as expressive as it could be. Actually, it's easier to find a perpetual calendar version of this watch – it takes a lot of engineering to compress it to 27mm!@goldberger seems to have one, @isthomson two. Eventually, I will give up the 500 Swiss francs as the cost of their extracts from the file to Audemars Piguet. At the same time, I'm happy with a bit of mystery.
There's still a bit of mystery about his AP, but he's not going to sell it to the world.
This watch has taken me on my travels around the world, to my friends' weddings, to celebratory dinners, and you can often find it peeking out from under my sleeve on Chrono24's youtube**. This timepiece perfectly embodies the lineage of dress watches, and looks chic with more formal outfits, as well as with a white t-shirt and faded jeans.
I will never sell this watch. What started as an impulse purchase has now become a lifelong companion – from love at first sight to happiness ever since. Just like any good marriage, love will only grow over time. So, "Who would buy this?".I do, I do, I do!