Watches/Cars - Day 1

My wife and I took Friday off to head to Toronto for a 2-day trip to do some things. The real purpose for the trip was to go to the Auto Show, but it's not really possible to do this without seeing some watches, right? At least, that's what I told the wife.......

So, we arrived in Toronto in time for lunch. We stayed at The Royal York Hotel. It's been a few years since I stayed there, and I do like the feel of this place. It's a grand old hotel right down on Front Street in Toronto. It's where the Queen, Royal family, and various heads of state have stayed on their visits to Toronto.

The first order of business was food. We had plans for a big dinner, so I didn't want too much for lunch. So, off to the deli for a warm Montreal smoked meat sandwich......complete with fries, slaw, and a pickle, of course.



After a very good lunch, we walked a very short distance down the street to the shop where I bought my GO Panoreserve.



When I bought this watch last fall, it ran a bit too fast for my tastes, and even after several months it settled in at about 9 seconds fast per day. Time for regulation!

This is the watchmaker who did the work - he's 69 years old, and repairs everything up to and including tourbillons, chronos, etc. Of course I had to watch the man at work......



First, off came the back of my watch:



I have to say, although I have taken a few movements completely apart myself, and have not made too many big mistakes, even with this talented watchmaker working on my watch, I felt a bit anxious.......

On to the timing machine to see how bad it was:




Some tools of the trade.......I found it reassuring to see I had many of these tools myself (not all however).



After it was all done, things looked much better!



I have not yet checked the timing, but will report back when I have the data. I wanted him to make it slightly fast rather than slow, so we'll see how it works out.

So, while I had the chance, I looked at options for my next watch. One of the contenders has been the UN 1846 Marine Chronometer in stainless, so I had a very close look at this watch:



I like the version with romans on the dial better, but this was nice. It also seems to be the right size for me at 38mm......



I checked out many other brands and options at this store, but that one was the only one that seemed to fit the bill for my next watch. However, that did not stop me from looking at some items that I was not going to buy, but found very interesting.......

First was the GO Senator Cal. 100 perpetual in platinum.....this is their new movement.......and this is one stunning watch. I think this retails for somewhere in the area or $49K Canadian..........ouch! I have to apologize for some of these pictures, as I found it very hard with the lighting in the store, especially on this black dial...



That dial has a lot going on......it really is beautiful in person.....



As with all the GO's, the movement is very well finished......



Some closer views.......






The next watch is one that has sparked some controversy with it's dial design. Certainly this has drawbacks, but despite that it is a masterful work of art.....retail on this is $64k Canadian.



The chrono hand runs on a sub-dial that is elevated above the main dial. It is unusual for sure, but the look definitely works, although it might not be too practical (but who cares, really.....I don't!).

This shot shows the elevated dial:



Another of the sub dial for the time of day:




Here is a shot of the back - amazing......




And of course, a wrist shot......




So after drooling over some others, including a JLC Amvox1, we left the store with my watch regulated, but with nothing new other than some nice pictures......

It was still early enough in the afternoon to head to other watch stores, but unfortunately I did not feel comfortable pulling out my camera in those other places, so no pictures. However, in addition to the UN, I did try on 2 BlancPain watches that were very nice. One was an AquaLung with a 100 hour movement, and the other was a Leman with a GMT function complete with day/night indicator. Both were black dialed, and both were a LOT more than the UN.......

I also took the opportunity to try on a platinum Day Date with the Glacier blue dial at one store. Quite impressive weight on that watch! The sales lady told me that prices here have come down because the excise tax has been removed as of Feb. 1 - not sure if that is true, but if so it helps the poor Canadian WIS out a little bit as we get hit pretty hard up here.......

I took a few shots of various things in Toronto just for those who haven't been here. Here is a shot of our most famous landmark - the CN Tower. It is the tallest free-standing structure on earth. You can take a brisk elevator ride to the main area, and then an additional trip up to the observation deck. I haven't been up there for a few years, but if you haven't ever been, I would recommend it.



So the big question of the day was - what to do for dinner? My wife stated quite clearly that she wanted a good steak, so I took advantage of that statement by booking us in at the local Ruth's Chris Steak House (my wife does not want a big steak very often, as she woud rather pick away at a salad...... ).

So, off we went to have dinner - I did really plan on taking pictures (I didn't want to leave the camera in the hotel room), but the waitress saw the camera and offered, so here it is:



The red was a nice Australian Chiraz for those who are interested......

Then out came the steaks. I chose a nice filet, medium rare, with potatoes au gratin, and some rather large sauteed mushrooms.......drool.......



My wife had the smaller version, so she was all set!

It was fantastic, cooked at 1800 degrees F, and then served on a 500 degree plate with clarified butter.......oh my was that tasty.......

So, we went back to the hotel for a drink and a good night's sleep. Day 2 was busy......I'll post that sometime soon!

Thanks, for reading.