Watches are Meant to be Worn
by Marco Gagliano on August 11, 2009
tagged as: preowned alps switzerland anonimo used cronoscopio
It may sound pretty obvious, but I sometimes have to tell this to my customers. A luxury watch purchased at Matt Baily is of extremely high quality, but because of the price of the purchase, people are sometimes hesitant to wear their timepiece on a daily basis or in rugged situations. This is not the case for those who think like me, that a watch should be used for the purposes it was designed for.
My Anonimo Cronoscopio is built to withstand certain professional stresses such as impact shock and exposure to water. I therefore have no qualms about taking it into the water or up a mountain. The side effect of this style of usage is what stops many people from getting the most out of their timepieces. Scratches on the case of my watch are numerous.
Last weekend, in the Alpine St-Bernard Region of Switzerland, I took my Cronoscopio a ways up the Mont Dolent. Although we only went about one quarter of the way up to the highest peak, we still encountered a few treacherous alpine moments (treacherous for a first-time climber). My watch now has several new scratches and dings, but it also slightly increased in sentimental value.
As can be seen in our pre-owned watch collection, all these signs of wear can be remedied when it comes time to service your watch. Polishing your watch can make it look as it did when it was new. Although I am looking forward to having my watch restored to its original state eventually, I will somewhat miss all the marks that I have accumulated and come to know like mini constellations.
Scraping against the sides of this rocky clearing is where my Anonimo received the most abuse
2,200 meters. Highest point on Mont Dolent is 3,800m. Maybe next time!
Image at the top to the right: An other side effect of wearing a watch all the time is a watch tan line.
Marco is in Switzerland
by Marco Gagliano on July 20, 2009
tagged as: watches graff omega rolex patek geneva switzerland
My First visit to Geneva
Geneva is not a a very big city, but is packed with things to see. If you are a watch enthusiast, then the points of interest are endless. Since I am neither a good organizer nor an early riser, I did not plan any specific route. We parked the car and walked around for the entire day stopping in a few places for lunch, coffee, and drinks.
The first thing that struck me when entering the centre of Geneva was the famous view. Many important brand names have signs over the buildings that border the Lac Genève (as people from Geneva call it) or Lac Léman (as everyone else calls it). I always thought that these signs were fitted atop the manufacturers' offices or stores, but I found out that this is not necessarily true. Only a few buildings are used by the brands whose names adorn them. Most signs are just fixed atop residential buildings while the actual factories and offices of the brands reside elsewhere in the canton.
The shops in Geneva are numerous. High-profile stores such as Les Ambassadeurs carry all the brands, while the single brand stores try to wow you with exquisite architecture, interior design and impressive collections. Two stores impressed me the most. The Graff London store as always offers a glimpse at some magnificent - and giant - diamonds and emeralds. The second is the Patek Philippe Salon. It is situated in a 19th century historic building on rue du rhône. Once inside, the salon area is where all the collections are displayed in museum style. It is decorated with marble and a beautiful chandelier. Behind this room, the sales room is an impeccably restored showroom where you will be attended to at a private desk by a personal sales representative. The Patek site offers a presentation about their salon, which which will give you a better image then my description. Click here to see it.
Patek Philippe also has their watch museum that I will have to visit on an other day. I am sure that there will be some impressive pieces in there. Not to be outdone, the Swatch Group also opened their own attraction called the Cité du Temps. It offers special expositions pertaining to their watch brands in a historic building built on the water.
