Two further highlights of the Expo beg to be mentioned
imitation Panerai watches
The watch (and pen) press were represented and attendees were treated to both a complimentary copy of the premiere issue of Stylus magazine (a pen magazine by the publisher of this publication) and a one-year subscription to International Wristwatch. Bernard Bieger, assistant director of the New York Watch Department at the venerable auction house Antiquorum distributed copies of the firm’s magazine and catalogs from a few of their recent auctions of important watches. His knowledge and enthusiasm were appreciated by all.
Two further highlights of the Expo beg to be mentioned. The attendees’ personal watch collections were on display. Convergence had contracted for private security to protect the tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of watches present in the Expo hall. Notable among the collections were a Jaquet-Droz Grande Secondes, several watches from A. Lange & Söhne, an F.P. Journe, an Urban Jurgensen Reference 8, several Ulysse Nardins, a Roger Dubuis Sympathie and an impressive array of dive watches and other vintage wrist and pocket watches, many of which are irreplaceable. It is a testament to the watch collecting community that the owners felt comfortable enough with the event and their fellow enthusiasts to extract such treasures from safekeeping and put them on general display at Convergence. The atmosphere was so congenial that, had there been a lapse in security, one felt assured that the event attendees would police themselves.
The final noteworthy highlight of Convergence recalls again a definition of the word. In the context of Convergence as “a representation of common ground,” this event was a tremendous success in bringing together a diverse group. There were attendees from all across the United States, Canada and Europe; owners, watchmakers and distributors from competing watch companies; and representatives from Equation. Various mixtures of background, gender, level of involvement and focus of collecting served to enhance the experience rather than alienate. To paraphrase a point from Kobold’s address during the final evening,“… the point of such a gathering is to strengthen the industry and community.” Convergence seems to have done just that.
The event closed with another example of fellowship and with the most eagerly anticipated part of the program. Attendees were treated to a sumptuous banquet and one last chance to bond with their peers. But a fine meal and good conversation, on top of the previous days’ busy schedule, did nothing to temper the enthusiasm of the crowd for the closing remarks and presentation of door prizes.
Several of the event sponsors had donated items for a give-away spree after which no registered attendee present was left empty-handed. The prizes included time-pieces by the RGM Watch Company, JeanRichard, Epos, Kobold, Fortis, Atlantic and Vollmer; shirts from RGM, EOT & TZ; as well as other items from iW, Helvetia Time, Girard-Perregaux and Antiquorum. Suspense built steadily for the grand prize presentation as names were chosen and the items were distributed. Finally, Robert Allen was selected as the recipient of a one-of-a-kind RGM Ref. 107 with a special red-tipped second hand and dial denoting Convergence 2003 in red type. In what seems to be an odd coincidence, both Allen and last year’s winner of the RGM prize were the last official registrants for each event. The hosts, organizers and sponsors of Convergence hope that this does not lead to an onslaught of registrants waiting until the last minute to secure their spotfor next year’s event!
Processing your request, Please wait....
