Mini GTG in Düsseldorf

Today I had the pleasure of finally meeting a well known and respected forum member in person.
Am I dressed well enough for the special occasion?

Driving to pick up the IWC friend at the Hotel:

There he is, our friend Bill:

Unfortunately we could spend only about two hours with each other, chatting IWC over a beer. But it were very pleasant two hours, and being a youngster I learned a lot ... not only about watches and IWC but about life in general.
Here a picture of some of the watches we had with us:

The others in the beer garden were looking quite strange seeing all those watches on the table. But as you can see we had fun:

People who are "double-watched" are also "double-beered":-)

Bill, it was great meeting you. Thanks for the great chat and I am looking forward to meet soon again.

Very cool gtg - 7 IWC's is a great density of fantastic watches. Beer gardens in Germany are not often frequented by such quality....

Thank you for the wonderful report and pictures Giovanni. Seeing that blue PPC makes me smile, it's such a beauty! Bill is a great guy and great company just like you are. I am very happy that you had such a great meeting and would have loved to see the faces of the surprised visitors around your table.

Kind regards,

Clemens

Hey Bill,
Have a great time in Germany. Always good to meet up with Forum members.

Wow, what a spectacular IWC collection, Giovanni. You call yourself a youngster, but your collection is quite sophisticated and well thought through. Having a veterern mentor like Mark L is a head start. Sorry we mised you Mark, but I expect you two will have a grand time in Tabagos sporting your ATs in in deep.

As I noted in another post on this GTG, the Forum is such a great facilitator for sharing our passion, but even more importantly making new friends. Giovanni, thanks for spending some of your time on a Sunday away from your family and a day away from your trip with Mark. I rally enjoyed the afternoon. Seeing your collection was a bonus. I love the blue dial PPC and your PT Regulator. Wow!!!! And Wow again!!!!

As usual, I am wide awake at 2 am when traveling to Europe. Nice time to catch up on the forum, however.

great to see yet another GTG or mini-GTG chalked up. love the beers, watches, clothes - but most importantly the people.

Given that I needed to be this morning very early in Amsterdam airport for my checking to catch my connecting flight to Tobago, it was sadly not possible to join up with Bill & Giovanni yesterday afternoon.

Seeing our friend Bill so relaxed, the great watches on the table and the Beers - I certainly missed something. As Bill writes - the friendships and opportunities to attend these type of GTG's is another great side of this forum

IWC Engineered For Men - bringing men Together!

I live it.

And another GTG. Impressive watches. It's always good to see Bill on this side of the "pond".

Looks like a great time. I can just imagine the other people in the beer garden thinking you two must have been smugglers or watch thieves or something like that. Nobody would dare bother you!

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

Ciao Giovanni, thanks for taking care of Bill during his visit!

It's moments like this when can call ourselves a Family!

LOLOL! You nailed that, Dick! It does my heart good to see Bill's smiling face...and all those great watches!!!!! Thanks for sharing the photos with us, Giovanni!

I just returned from my business trip to Düsseldorf where I had the great pleasure to meet Giovanni for the first time. We had many email discussions over the past few months, but never had a face to face meeting. Giovanni was very kind to take a couple of hours away from his family on a Sunday afternoon to have a mini GTG in a very pleasant beer garden. He was leaving the very next day for a scuba diving adventure in Tobago with our fried Mark L., yet he still took time to visit with me and share his impressive IWC collection.

Here are a couple of iPhone shots from the other side of the table to add to his pictures above.

I am in awe of his Blue Dial PPC.

The gentleman behind our table was quite curious what the hell we were doing. Maybe he thought we were selling Canal street watches?

Thanks Giovanni for your hospitality.