So it finally happened! My first GTG with watch enthusiasts. I honestly never expected one in India and always thought it would only be possible somewhere abroad. So I'm really glad when this was planned and actually took place. The GTG was scheduled for the 30th of March in New Delhi at a place called Cafe Delhi Heights. Here is my trip report:
1)
Mumbai to Delhi: I was pretty excited about this meet up so made sure I reached the airport on time and not miss my flight (it's happened before). Since I was a little early, I had sometime to spare and decided to grab a light bite.
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| blurry time check at the airport |
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| waiting for my plane while enjoying a snack |
After a little delay in the boarding, we were finally off to New Delhi!
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| deciding what to order on the flight |
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| arial shot of Mumbai from my window seat |
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| first course |
There was an Indian sportsman/celebrity on the flight and the guy next to me literally jumped from his seat to go and greet him. He then went back to his seat and fell asleep within two minutes.
2)
New Delhi: On reaching the capital, I quickly got out of the airport and tried calling for an Uber. Unfortunately the location on my app was wrong and after 15 mins of trying to find me, the driver gave up, so I had to cancel the ride and go with another cab service.
3)
The GTG: I met my parents for a couple of hours before heading to the meet up place. We agreed to meet up at 7pm, so I left at around 6:15pm, thinking I'll get there on time, but I was wrong. I got caught in the rush hour traffic and finally reached at 7:20pm.
At first there was only one person waiting there Nishant (WUS username:
nishant_ucms_doc), but soon we were joined by the guy who got us together and planned the GTG - Karan (WUS username:
phoenix844884). Next came another WUS member Vandit (WUS username:
vkalia) and soon enough everyone was there. A super quick introduction later (after chatting so much on the group chat, we realised everyone already knnew a lot about each other), the watch boxes were opened, and boy-oh-boy, what an absolute delight it was! Other WUS members present were Rohan (
beeman101), Eesh (
eeshdewan) and Aman (amankathuria).
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| the early birds, from left to right: Rohan, Gaurav and Karan |
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| from left to right: Gaurav, Vandit, Eesh, Rohan, Karan and Nishant |
Now, I have to admit that I was the only one who came without a watch box. I came with just two watches - the Submariner and the Laco Pilot, whereas everyone else came with their entire collection (or almost the entire collection).
You know how it is when you go to a watch showroom and want to try everything on display there, but hesitate to? Well, this was like a dream come true - it was like an all access pass to the whole watch store. I don't have an exact count, but there were easily over 50 watches, maybe over 60! Each one better than the next and of all various styles.
We had Rolex, IWC, Seiko, Panera, Omega, Sinn, Tudor, Breitling, Ball, Casio, Citizen, Orient, HMT...you name it, it was there - all in front of us to try on!
It was so amazing to finally talk to people about watches in detail. We spoke about brands, styles, straps, Basel World, movements and everything one could think of.
4)
Wrist shots and pictures: Apologies for the mediocre picture quality as my phone camera isn't too good and my other camera has been borrowed by a friend. The wristwatches are in the order I tried them.
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| Karan's American + Swiss collection |
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| my favourite Hamilton - the Khaki X-Wind (Karan's collection) |
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| Rohan's Speedy Chrono |
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| Nishant's Victorinox - surprised me with the build quality |
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| some Monster love |
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| Nishant's Seiko (almost bought this model once) |
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| Nishant's Orient Star - the picture really isn't doing justice to the beauty |
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| Karan's Seiko - never seen it before. Loved it! |
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| another amazing Seiko by Karan |
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| this one can make for an elegant dress watch |
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| the first Sinn I've tried - drool worthy! (Vandit's colelction) |
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| Vandit's gorgeous Panerai Submersible |
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| this Glycine (Rohan's collection) was another first for me and totally blew me away! |
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| I now have a new fav G-Shock (Karan's collection) |
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| Gaurav's rare Casio |
That pizza in the background was lying uneaten because everyone was so engrossed in the watches that they forgot it was there. It had to be reheated and even after that was left alone for a while.
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| Mohanish's GMT II next to my Sub |
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| Mohanish trying to take a pic of the family (GMT II, Tudor Black Bay and the Sub) |
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| the ever glowing tritium in the Ball (Eesh's collection) |
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| finally managed to get some wrist time with the Tudor Black Bay - absolutely stunning! (Vandit's collection) |
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| Beauty and The Beast - The Hulk! (Aman's collection) |
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| class apart - the PAM 512 (Mohanish's collection) |
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| HMT Chirag on a bund strap |
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| my favourite Breitling - the Super Ocean Heritage |
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| Seven Friday M2/01 |
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| loved the smooth sweep of the Omega |
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| another sweet vintage Omega |
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| the rarest of the bunch - the Anglo Swiss Watch Co. (Eesh's Collection) |
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| with the outer case/cover open |
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| another Super Ocean (Rohan's collection) |
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| no words to describe this picture |
As you can see, this would be any watch enthusiast's dream come true. It was a great night with great company and lots of amazing time pieces. Once again, Kudos to Karan and everyone who was a part of this get-together, looking forward to the next one!
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| mandatory group wrist shot! |
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| group shot, from left to right: Aman, Vandit (light tee), Gaurav (dark tee), Rohan, Eesh, Nishant, Karan, Me and Mohanish |
