A day out on New Bond Street

[wigdog63]

I posted this on another forum and people seemed to find it interesting so here goes!
I spent the day on New Bond Street in London last week with my trusty friend Paul who is on the look out for a special 60th birthday watch.
The trainline north from Brighton is closed so we had a somewhat circuitous journey but found ourselves sitting in the Lange boutique by 1pm trying on his number one choice, the Richard Lange in white gold. The assistant was knowledgeable and informative, and the watch is stunning-my picture is hopeless but I think this just confirmed to Paul that he was on the right track.


We then proceeded to amble along the street taking in some glorious watches on the way-with a few unexpected surprises, and disappointments.
I was wearing my trusty Breguet marine so we headed to Breguet boutique to look at their new marine collection-it just doesn't quite do it for me and will not be letting mine go! (photo not from yesterday)


Paul was wearing his 10 year old Daytona and we popped in to the Rolex boutique to enquire about servicing. They had pretty much every watch on display, but literally nothing for sale-they told us everything is allocated before it arrives at the store. Must be a pretty miserable way to work.
The first surprise of the day was in the JLC boutique-I wanted to look at the Polaris Mariner date but didn't expect great things. Wow-this watch is beautiful-the dial is a rich deep blue that changes in the light and it wears very comfortably. Small micro adjustment on a lovely bracelet, 300 metres WR, 8 year warranty-it offers a lot but also comes with a price tag. Again my pictures aren't great but you can get a feel:


Should I consider trading this for it?? Decisions, decisions.....



Next up was Piaget-another surprise. We skirted past the Piaget Polo skeleton in the window but when the assistant insisted we had a closer look, it is actually a spectacular piece (with a spectacular 25K price tag). Not for everyone, but nice to see it.


Next up was Chopard-I was keen to try the Alpine Eagle and also the chrono version. The chrono at 44mm is much too big for me but the 40mm date version fits like a glove. Amazing dial and a really nice watch-the date is not for everyone but the dial is spectacular. No micro adjust is a bit annoying for an £11.5K watch but not unusual. A great watch-expensive at retail, but maybe obtainable and an alternative to my Bulgari again....



The next surprise was a disappointment. Vacheron boutique not taking any walk in customers, but Wempe fortunately had what we were looking for-the Historique triple calendar and this is the stock web photo:


I think it looks lovely in the photo, but somehow in the flesh and on the wrist-meh. Looked a bit washed out and not at all exciting so we crossed that off the list!

Last up was WoS Regent's Street and a quick look at some Grand Seiko. The white birch is a lovely watch, textured dial, wonderful hi beat movement with nice decoration and wore beautifully on the wrist. I'm just not sure how it would fit in to my collection, and at over £8K it's a significant outlay-lovely to try it on though:


That was it for the watches-last stop The Ivy for a hard earned meal:


Hope you enjoyed my trip as much as I did. I think Paul will be getting the Richard Lange once funds are sorted. I'm not in a position to buy anything new, but considering a change of scenery from the Bulgari towards the JLC or maybe the Alpine Eagle.
All the best,
Richard.

[speedbird]

Sounds like a brilliant day out, thanks for the pictures too !

[enjoythemusic]

Wow, niiice. All good, though have a soft spot for the Bvlgari Octo.

[OmegaJJH]

I enjoyed that.

Thanks for sharing.


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[RHJ]

Very nice story, pleasure to read

[ts3]

Sounds like an enjoyable day - thanks for posting!

[GreenRust]

Sounds like a dream day...friends, watches and good food. Thanks for sharing your thoughts

[scottwmitch]

Great post! Thank you so much for the pictures and the narrative. I've been seriously considering that White Birch Grand Seiko. All the watches you tried on are amazing. Cheers!

[GolfJunkie]

Great story and sounds like you had a wonderful day.

And yes, I would definitely trade that Blvgari for the JLC. They're both great watches but the JLC is much more visually appealing to my eyes.

[wigdog63]

Originally Posted by GolfJunkie

And yes, I would definitely trade that Blvgari for the JLC. :

Ooh- you're the first person to suggest ditching the Bvlgari...


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[mongrelnomoad]

I do that same walk nearly daily, but tend to focus on Burlington Arcade (though it’s not what it once was).

Gs is the standout for me.

[Dan Pierce]

Thanks for letting us tag along. Brings back fond memories from 2008.
dP

[JF100]

thanks for taking the effort to post. Enjoyed the read.

[Russell996]

Sounds a great day and some excellent choices - but you went one better than you thought since the Lange Boutique is in ‘Old Bond Street’.

[wigdog63]

Originally Posted by Russell996

Sounds a great day and some excellent choices - but you went one better than you thought since the Lange Boutique is in ‘Old Bond Street’.

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[rootbeer7]

Great images and a great day out. How was the Ivy?

[Oneday333]

Thank you! A great story with images. Would love to see more posts like this.

[wigdog63]

Originally Posted by rootbeer7

Great images and a great day out. How was the Ivy?

Lovely. Informally formal, simple, well cooked food

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[ChetBaker]

That JLC looks like the pick of the bunch to me. Really nice.

[rootbeer7]

Originally Posted by wigdog63

Lovely. Informally formal, simple, well cooked food

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So glad it hasn’t changed.

[Ichiran]

Thanks for sharing. That Richard Lange looks great!

[alllexandru]

Nice read thanks for taking us on this tour!
Lovely photos!

[2001jesper]

That JLC is a ridiculous good looking watch and especially in real life

[1William]

One of the best posts I have seen in awhile. Looks like an amazing day of watch shopping.

[PhilLynott]

Great post. Agree about your marine vs the newer ones the 5817 is just so amazing absolutely love mine.

Really need to see that JLC in person ive been curious for awhile now such a great watch.

[bogdoc]

Very nice post. Thanks for your time and pics��. Enjoy!

[youthagainsttt]

Thanks mate, been 3 years since I've been back home to London so this is a great read

Your Bulgari & Breguet look stunning in those pics & just imo keepers compared to the ones you tried on. I'm a big Piaget fan, got a Polo 45 flyback & have tried on the entire range as well as vintage. Although must admit I'm not a fan of the modern Polo iterations - the price is crazy for the skeleton and I personally wouldn't touch that with a barge pole

[Exiztence]

I feel like Santos Skeleton is lot prettier than Polo Skeleton and new Polo tries too hard to look like Nautilus without looking too much like Nautilus which in my eyes makes it not worth buying, Octo is certainly much cooler.

[Ohiorolex]

That polo skeleton looks pretty amazing. In your photo it has a similar shape to an aquanaut but with a much more interesting dial. What did you think of the watch in person?

[wigdog63]

Originally Posted by Ohiorolex

That polo skeleton looks pretty amazing. In your photo it has a similar shape to an aquanaut but with a much more interesting dial. What did you think of the watch in person?

Well TBH it was stunning. It's not my style, but it is spectacular. My first thought was not that it looked like an aquanaut-it's a beautiful watch to handle and delve in to. It carries quite a price though....