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How does one put together a GTG? (NOVA/Richmond)

Watchguy31-us
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I'd love to go to a GTG, as all of the pictures and stories I see from them look really fun.

How do these occur? Most of them appear to occur at AD's.

I'm assuming the steps are as follows:

1). Rally some OF and other watch lovers up.
2). Work with aforementioned group and come up with a few dates
3). Reach out to an AD and see if they'll host

Is this typically what a person does? Or, are the steps more like:

1). Google VA area GTG's and go as time permits.


I'm just not sure how much goes into setting one up, but I'd love to gauge the interest for one in Richmond vs NOVA.
 
U
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It's easy. Just say "ALCOHOL AND FOOD!" along with the location, and any watch nut nearby usually shows up.
 
Stewart H
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Best to collect names and then sort everything through pm or email. You don't want to advertise to the whole world that a group of people are heading to a certain place, at a certain time, all carrying valuable watches.
 
Archer
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Stewart H Stewart H
Best to collect names and then sort everything through pm or email. You don't want to advertise to the whole world that a group of people are heading to a certain place, at a certain time, all carrying valuable watches.

And to go further, I will not attend a GTG that has the venue and date/time posted all over the internet.

The vast majority of watch collector GTG's I have attended have not been AD's, or had anything to do with a specific brand. It was just enthusiasts getting together to share their collections and talk watches.

In some cases they were organized by a forum, and if that forum had a particular brand focus (like this one) then yes that was the dominant brand. Usually though other brands do creep in in fairly large numbers. Probably the only GTG's I have attended where nearly all the watches brought by people were just one brand were Panerai focused.

Cheers, Al
 
TLIGuy
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Archer Archer
And to go further, I will not attend a GTG that has the venue and date/time posted all over the internet.

The vast majority of watch collector GTG's I have attended have not been AD's, or had anything to do with a specific brand. It was just enthusiasts getting together to share their collections and talk watches.

In some cases they were organized by a forum, and if that forum had a particular brand focus (like this one) then yes that was the dominant brand. Usually though other brands do creep in in fairly large numbers. Probably the only GTG's I have attended where nearly all the watches brought by people were just one brand were Panerai focused.

Cheers, Al

Surely you jest. What is this Panerai GTG you speak of. You can walk into any restaurant, anytime, in DC/NOVA and there is a group of Paneristi having a GTG. Those guys know how to celebrate a brand.
Edited:
 
Watchguy31-us
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TLIGuy TLIGuy
Surely you jest. What is this Panerai GTG you speak of. You can walk into any restaurant, anytime, in DC/NOVA and there is a group of Paneristi having a GTG. Those guys know how to celebrate a brand.
I finally "get" the Panerai love. I saw the white 42mm in the wild the other day. While not my thing...I get it.
 
Watchguy31-us
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Archer Archer
And to go further, I will not attend a GTG that has the venue and date/time posted all over the internet.

The vast majority of watch collector GTG's I have attended have not been AD's, or had anything to do with a specific brand. It was just enthusiasts getting together to share their collections and talk watches.

In some cases they were organized by a forum, and if that forum had a particular brand focus (like this one) then yes that was the dominant brand. Usually though other brands do creep in in fairly large numbers. Probably the only GTG's I have attended where nearly all the watches brought by people were just one brand were Panerai focused.

Cheers, Al
Al, that makes sense. Advertising where a high volume of watches will be, and when, seems rather silly.

That being said, what keeps a thief from just getting on the RSVP list?

I'm starting to sour on the whole idea.
 
Archer
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TLIGuy TLIGuy
Surely you jest. What is this Panerai GTG you speak of. You can walk into any restaurant, anytime, in DC/NOVA and there is a group of Paneristi having a GTG. Those guys know how to celebrate a brand.

They have "formal" GTG's all the time - there is a sub-forum dedicated to them on the primary Panerai enthusiast site:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/597352/

There is a large GTG in Montreal each year (used to be at the time of the Grand Prix race, but due to hotel difficulties they moved to coincide with the "Just for Laughs" comedy festival), and of course P-Day each year in some part of the world. and that is widely attended. It is something I have never been to personally but people have flown 1/2 way around the world to attend these, like the year it was held on Hamilton Island in Australia...

I have been to some smaller GTG's that were Panerai focused, and one larger one when they moved the Montreal one to Toronto to coincide with the Molson Indy that year. It was a multi-day event, so I'm not referring to a bunch of guys eating lunch together if that is what you are getting at...to be honest I'm not quite sure what your point was...

But one thing I can agree on without reservation, is that Panerai is the brand that has probably the most passionate enthusiasts.

Cheers, Al
 
TLIGuy
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Archer Archer
They have "formal" GTG's all the time - there is a sub-forum dedicated to them on the primary Panerai enthusiast site:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/597352/

There is a large GTG in Montreal each year (used to be at the time of the Grand Prix race, but due to hotel difficulties they moved to coincide with the "Just for Laughs" comedy festival), and of course P-Day each year in some part of the world. and that is widely attended. It is something I have never been to personally but people have flown 1/2 way around the world to attend these, like the year it was held on Hamilton Island in Australia...

I have been to some smaller GTG's that were Panerai focused, and one larger one when they moved the Montreal one to Toronto to coincide with the Molson Indy that year. It was a multi-day event, so I'm not referring to a bunch of guys eating lunch together if that is what you are getting at...to be honest I'm not quite sure what your point was...

But one thing I can agree on without reservation, is that Panerai is the brand that has probably the most passionate enthusiasts.

Cheers, Al

It was just a bit of sarcasm. I have attended more that my fair share of Panerai GTG in NOVA. The Paneristi guys are a passionate bunch and it's always a great time with many great watches to share with other enthusiasts.
 
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