What are the elements of a successful watch meet up?

[FrequentTrain]

Hello,

I live in a Midwest city where other major smaller or similar sized cities have established Redbar groups (each over 2 hours away). I would like to initiate a new group here where I think there would be a lot of interest but have not been to a watch meetup myself. Can anyone provide tips of what works and what doesn’t?

It seems that one aspect is to not generally allow the public to know where the meetup will occur (for obvious reasons) so how do other groups facilitate that aspect?

What kinda of locations work well and what do not?

Are there any formal aspects that people would recommend?

Thanks in advance!

[Dr. Robert]

Hi, we go to a neighborhood bbq joint, very mellow. We communicate directly through text.
Safe, never had any problems, been doing this for a while.

[FrequentTrain]

Has anyone been to redbar meet ups? Is there anything special about those more generally or just branding?

[Dan Pierce]

Never heard of redbar.

I've had the pleasure of participating in TRF GTGs in London, Boca, Lexington, Louisville, Columbus, as well as a vintage watch GTG I organized w/ my local watchmaker. These were great fun and it formed many friendships from people of all walks of life. My wife attended a couple and really enjoyed them too.

However, due to the stratospheric values of many of these watches, security concerns make these gathers problematic. My watchmaker provided an armed guard, and that was back in 2009. An AD SA had his car broken into while at a restaurant after a meet up in Columbus. Coincidence? Who knows. The after event was posted on social media.

The only GTG I would attend now would be a non advertised event w/ people I already know & trust. It's a sad commentary on today's environment.
dP

[garagedoor]

nice thanks for sharing