Hello everyone!
This weekend was a very special weekend for me for different reasons. First of all because it was the first IWC GTG that I ever attempted.
Tonny,Ralph, Bill and I met in Brussels and Tonny guided us around the city. He showed us the incredible " Manneke Pis" and explaned us the nice building that are located at the main square in Brussels. After that we had a sandwitch and had a talk about the nice watch Tonny was wearing. Right after that we had a walk to the Royal Palace. It was a really nice walk and we have seen a lot of the nice city Brussels really is. Tonny also showed us the parlement and the court house. Really impressive and nice to see! With a nice walk from the park we went to the car and drove from Brussels to Gent where the rest of the collectors came together.
When we were in the car, A really nice pocketwatch was shown to me. I was really impressed to put it very mildly. That's not just a nice watch , that's a true , true BEAUTY! This is the pocketwatch. The picture was actually taken when we were in the car. The moonphase looks amazing in my opinion. I love those classic looks.
If this did not impressed you, then take a look at the movement of this one. You just got to love this.
I really love this one.
So when we arrived at the hotel in Ghent, we met the other collectors that were there and checked in. It was a very nice hotel. "Europa Hotel" for those who are interested. Thank you big time for arranging it Tonny!
We all had a drink and after that we went to the city centre were there was a guided tour arranged. On a boat! How cool is that? :) We all enjoyed the nice weather with some small bites and Cava. That's a great way to celebrate weekend.
We were shown all nice highlights of Ghent from the boat, which was really cool and nice. Everyone had a great time.
After the boat tour we had a guided tour around Ghent. A lot of nice stories about the city were told and shown. Like the castle that was never conquered before, untill the city counsil dicided to rise the prices of beer and a lot of angry students attacked the castle. Also the graffiti street was shown. Really nice ! A really colourful street that with a lot of street-art. I loved it.
We just had a really nice time in Ghent enjoying the best of the city.
So after our awesome day in Ghent, we went back to the hotel were we had dinner. It was delicious. Within less then 10 minutes we already had a Portuguese tableshot. Stunning
Three of these Portuguese are very early models and very rare. The person who took this with him, also showed me the original box and papers.
Now comes the second reason why the GTG really impressed me.
The GTG was in honour of Kevin Devine. Bill held a presentation and talked about his great friend. Although I never met Kevin , the special thing for me was that I really could see that Kevin was really loved by all of you. From all over the world you guys come together to share a passion and within your passion you meet people you guys have such a good connection with. It really touched me and left a very big impression on me. Bill, your presentation really impressed me.
To be honest I don't really know how to continue this post now. All I can say is that everyone shared their passion for watches afterwards and we had a great time.
The Portofino ref 5241 came across my eyes and I just had to make wristshot. I looks awesome.
But that's not all! Maybe we all can remember the nice Portuguese Regulateur? Well, it was there aswell. Love that watch!
I have made some more pictures but I think I don't want to post to much of them since it would become a little to much.
Guys. Everyone that was there in Ghent,I would like to thank you so freaking much for making me feel really comfortable and welcome. I had the greatest weekend enjoying what I like best, IWC Watches. You guys showed a enormous amount of knowledge and love for the timepieces. The global love for the watches really impressed me.
Hope to see you again all! It was not just " nice" . It was FAN-TAS-TIC!
