Just some musings about my experience with this purchase. It was definitely the most confident watch purchase I have made, and I think that confidence came from multiple factors. I felt like I identified a reference(s) that first and foremost I felt was interesting and beautiful in design, which was also in my price point (no point in going after vintage Patek where I could only afford the absolute lowest of quality); I felt coming to this forum I had access to the necessary information in regards to images, and technical info which made me more confident to evaluate the quality of said reference. I had access to individuals who had more experience and knowledge than I did, who had obviously been on a journey of tracking down pieces themselves and have seen the traps one can fall into. I was able to bounce questions off of them which was very helpful, but I liked that no one "spoon fed" me opinions or advice. I think ultimately I think the biggest revelation I came to while seeing other peoples collections on this forum, is that the more experienced individuals found THE BEST example of the reference they possible could in THE BEST condition; there was minimal settling for a "nice case, but medium quality dial" or vice versa. That really spoke to me, and in collecting I think finding the best example possible, even if it takes some time and effort (and some headaches), will ultimately be worth it; I know that if I settled on a moderate quality piece I would have regrets, and therefore I should have just saved my money and not bothered. Cheers everyone
