The 2nd Annual NYC GTG Of Online Watch Enthusiasts
Day 2 - Friday, May16th 2008
Friday morning John Rigano and I grabbed some breakfast, and dashed outside hoping to get some photos before the forecasted rain began falling. Unfortunately, it rained ALL DAY LONG on Friday, and well into the evening. Fortunately, we made the best of it. But the rain on Friday meant I didn't get any outdoor shots, so it will be a short installment of my trip report for today. :( Our first stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral - I first saw this famous church when I visited my sister Jacci in Manhattan when I was 19 years old:
We then did some shopping on 5th Ave. (Saks, Wempe, etc.) followed by a stop by Rolex USA so I could say hello to my friends there. Here's a shot of me in the elevator - the Rolex logo is engraved in some of the tiles of the all-marble elevator:
By noon John and I split up as I had a lunch meeting scheduled with Seiko USA to discuss a factory tour of their headquarters in Japan, while John headed out to do more sightseeing. I met the Seiko USA representative at an Italian restaurant called Gabriel's which I'm told is something of a celebrity hot spot in the evenings - a place where people go to "be seen."
My lunch with the Seiko representative was quite good and we really hit it off and chatted quite sometime - it was a two hour lunch. By about 3pm, I hooked back up with John Rigano and we then met up with Milos, Kevin, Iveta, and Kevin of Orbita Watch winders at Aaron Farbers Gallery. Aaron Farber has one of the finest collection of vintage watches I've ever seen under one roof - click HERE to learn more about his store. We then headed over to the Audemars Piguet boutique which had a surprisingly small collection of watches on display, and even more surprisingly was how cold and unfriendly their staff were. One might think that if six people came into an otherwise empty store, someone might come over to say hello...
Despite the rain we covered a LOT of ground on Friday, rarely taking any cabs. We eventually found our way back to the hotel - and a pre-GTG spontaneously happened:
Lots of great conversation and showing of
everyone's watches which they brought to the event.
I finally got to meet Micah "Molex" who came wearing his new Panerai and showing the custom straps he makes and sells:
Here's a shot of Steph "Diamondgirl" chatting with the
Manager and part owner of this particular Holiday Inn - Joe. It's worth
going to the Holiday Inn just to meet and experience Joe - great guy: John Rigano got a shot of me chatting it up: At about 7pm, some familiar faces from Germany showed up to
the party - Hannes & Percy of www.R-L-X.de
who flew in from Frankfurt for the weekend: Milos told me that he and Iveta had dinner at an Italian
restaurant around the corner from the hotel that Joe from the hotel had
recommended which sounded like a good prospect for Rigano and I to Hannes, Percy
and their girlfriends to dinner. I asked Joe about the prospects of our
getting a table at 8pm on Friday and he said "ferget aboud it!" in his New York
Italian accent - and he personally walked us over to the restaurant and we were
seated immediately in the crowded restaurant - talk about service!! We had
a nice dinner together and caught up. Hannes and Mandy : Percy and Sabina:
Hannes trying to be sneaky and get a photo of me, but I was
quicker on the draw:
I ordered the beef carpaccio for an appetizer: The chicken parmesan for the main course:
And
a slice of tiramisu
for desert: After a fantastic
dinner with our German friends we said our goodbye's and headed back for our
hotels. It had been a long, wet day but the great food and company made it
quite worthwhile. Rigano and I wanted to get up as early as possible on
Saturday as sunshine was in the weather forecast! So expect more outdoor
pictures in the next installment. :) Please note that the Author
and this site are in no way affiliated with or related to The Rolex Watch
Company Limited. All trademarked names, brands, models and designs mentioned
herein are the sole property of The Rolex Watch Company Limited.
