5,019 Discussions and CommentsMember since May 29, 2003Sarasota, FL,
United States
My name is Alan and I am a 59 year old addict. I am addicted to watches (especially blue dials), audio/video equipment and cars. These are good but costly addictions. I just moved from Philadelphia to Sarasota, Florida. I am a retired attorney and entrepreneur with time to enjoy these trivial pursuits. I now mostly concentrate on tweaking my audio system and watch collections. After over 30 years of constantly swapping out stereophonic equipment I finally have achieved what I consider audio nirvana and can just enjoy the music. I think I know audio the way MF knows pocket watches. But now I spend much more time immersed in the watch world. This Forum has been a tremendous resource for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the many friends I have made over the past few years. You guys know who you are! I have been married 38 years and have two grown sons who both live in Chicago. I am an avid tennis player and enjoy traveling with my wife. Hope you all have a great holiday season and New Year!
130 Discussions and CommentsMember since Sept. 19, 2012Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates
Greetings to all fellow IWC fans…
I’m Vincent from Malaysia. I’m a lucky owner of an IWC timepiece and glad to be part of the community here and learning from all you fine folks from all around the world. This post is a good idea and I guess I’ll be talking a little bit about myself, where I’m from and what I do.
I’m an architect but I'm currently working as an urban designer in the planning authority in Abu Dhabi, UAE. My wife and I have very similar background. We grew up in a small town in Malaysia, where life is simple, quiet and things are predictable and peaceful. We enjoyed having close family and friends and surrounded by traditions and a multi-cultural background. There’s always a favourite corner street-café or hawker stalls that serves a certain delicacy just the way we like it, or perhaps that particular barber or hairdresser that we keep going back to that gives that distinctive touch and carries that specific scent. Life is modest and simple, and as picturesque as any home can be, surrounded by the natural beauty of tropical rainforest. Everyone can relate this and there’s just nothing like home.
A typical townhomes or ‘shop-house’, the cornerstone of urban architecture in Malaysia….
Higher education and the early career phase brought us to larger cities nearby like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Bustling with activities and constantly trying to progress, these cities are never short of energy and life. However, despite the pressure of development and skyrocketing property prices, there’s still traditions and quirky cultural elements that can somehow find their way nestle within the hidden enclaves of the city and its people, which can never seem to be eroded by the tides of progress.
Rainforest trees in the heart of Kuala Lumpur
Steel and concrete along the shopping boulevard…
Retrofitting…
Marina Bay and public art wall in Singapore
My architectural interest has not only been limited to creation of buildings and homes but also expands to urban-design, master-planning, township planning and more dynamic understanding of cultural issues and creation of sustainable community through its built environment. I’m always keen on learning how a city works (just like trying to learn what makes a watch ticks), identifying the genius loci of a certain area, and creating urban-space to encouraged place-making rather than just space-making. In the Urban Planning Council, we strive to create a sustainable and progressive city. I am fortunate to be part of a team of various backgrounds and be able to learn from different expertise, sharing and working together to introduce innovative ideas that we hope can benefit the city development and its people. It’s a long term plan but we are starting somewhere (and with some positive results beginning to show recently).
Me at work, hardcore selling some ideas...
We love travelling: My wife and I in Geneva, she was on the way to W.H.O. for a meeting…
We love music and concerts too, here in a U2 performance in Athens some time ago…
We have a pet too...
The cat who adopted us. We named her Reef, after our neighborhood. She was a stray…
And here are some pictures in the UAE, our current home…
A souk (marketplace)
Sheikh Zayed Mosque
Ferrari World +F1 track…(I forsee there will be some F1 IWC Ingenuier related event here soon)
Pages from my notebook…
I constantly try to derive inspiration from my surroundings, travels and other sources, interpret them and try to apply these ideas at work. Ideas are all around us, we just need to sit down, look at them and understand how things move around us and more than often the answer to the problem is there already. We just need to unlock these mysteries we see every day. Somehow, I still prefer the old fashion way of recording elements, using sketches and interpret ideas visually and writing down whatever that comes to mind.
And of course, last but not least, a picture of my IWCs…
In such a complicated and fast-paced world, there are certain things in life that I like to keep simple. Hand-made mechanical watches are one of these things. I particularly love hand-wound calibres for the same reason why I like fountain pens (piston-fill only). There’s a sense of satisfaction in winding a watch manually or filling up a pen with ink from a bottle and using these instruments. Instant gratification!
I know it has been said many times before but I think I’ll just echo what others have said that this is one of the best and well managed forum I’ve ever seen. Almost all members are resourceful and knowledgeable in the topics discussed, things are discussed in a civilized manner and some of you folks are just inspirational. The level of enthusiasm and excitement of a brand and product like this is well shared and spread to encourage newbies like me to be part of the community. I’m just glad to be here!
926 Discussions and CommentsMember since Jan. 8, 2011
Greetings All,
My name is Andy and I've been a member since early 2011. As you all know ( because I rammed it down your throats for 5 months ) I waited patiently for my VC-AT which finally arrived a couple of days before my 60th birthday. Needless to say, it was a wonderful birthday surprise.
I retired 12 years ago as a Product Manager from a Fortune 10 U.S. company. Since then I've had a lot of time on my "wrists" to do just about anything my heart desires until recently. More about that in a minute. I was married at the young age of 20 and just celebrated my 40th anniversary. What has made our marriage more exciting over the last couple of years is that we both have become collectors. I like to collect watches. Everytime I aquire one, my wife collects a gun. On my last acquisition, the wife opted for ammo instead. When I ask her if she's having fun..she just smiles, points her finger at me and pretends to pull a trigger. Anyway, she seems real happy about the whole collecting business. I told her about the new South Coast Boutique that just opened and she wanted to know the telephone number in case my cell battery dies and she needs to get ahold of me. Oh, she also wanted to know if the new Smith & Wesson Boutique opened yet.
We live in Southern California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. On clear days we see Catalina Island which is part of what's known as the Channel Islands. Enjoyment for me includes riding my bike on the many dedicated bike trails either on the beach or up and down the Pacific Coast Highway ( PCH ). Power Boating has also become part of retirement and we enjoy cruising the Islands with our friends and their boats. Art is another interest. My wife is a talented painter, and my involvement is hanging the pictures. OK, I admit it..I like art museums. I told my wife that there's this fabulous museum with a number of masterpieces on display in the beautiful small town of Schaffhausen, Switzerland that sounds like a must to visit (that's not considered lying is it?). We are planning a trip hopefully in the near future.
Our family consists of no kids, 3 beta fish, 2 white doves, 1 way to smart Shetland Sheep Dog and a Partridge in a pear tree...sorry for that last one, threw it in for a Christmas bonus !
Finally, my time for bike riding, boating and travel right now is very limited as I have become a full time caregiver for a elderly parent with some serious health issues. While this was rather sudden, I am grateful that I have the time to assist and help make life alittle bit easier for someone who spent most of their years taking care of and watching out for me. My wish for this holiday season is good health to not only my parent but to all of you and your families.
Looking forward to the SIHH unvailing and to another great Forum year.
80 Discussions and CommentsMember since March 25, 2001
Hello fellow IWC fans,
My name is Andrew and I have been a forum member since 2001. I am married and live in Adelaide, Australia and have I have a Finance background.
My lust for watches comes from my father. He likes to remind me when I was a little boy, he used to let me play with his watch, unfortunately I managed to loosen the crown on his Omega, so you can imagine what happened to it the next time he went swimming.
No IWC acquisitions this year, but instead this was special year for us with the birth of my first child, Olivia. For that momentous occasion I wore my grail watch the BP 5002. Here's me getting ready for ready to attend her birth.
1,870 Discussions and CommentsMember since Oct. 28, 2002
Hello Forum, I am Tonny Berteloot, from Belgium. 47 years young and member here from 2002. As some members before did present themselves with their professional live, their hobbies, the active sports they practise and their pets, I will try to do the same by telling a bid about myself... Even from a very young age ( as a baby ) I was into IWC watches... I started to learn about watches, calibers gears etc. And I started to collect IWC watches, not with one theme, but with a more ecclectic approach. I know, I am sometimes difficult to follow in my choices, that is also called, complicated... Some of the forum members have very nice dogs, I know one that wears an IWC on each leg ( the dog, not the forum member ). Myself, I am allergic to dogs and cats ( not amuzing as I like dogs very much ), so I keep it to these ones. Good thing, they can't run far or fast. One of the highlights being member of this great forum is the fact that you get to know lots of interesting people. The meetings are always educative and fun. One can meet the strangest people : this gentlemen pretended to take pictures of watches, but when the film was developped, this was on the picture... One of the people that I met was our Scotsman, Andrew, great fellow collector, great sportsman who made recently a ride with his bike from London to Paris. Here you see him just before going to the antidoping control with some sample... For the rest, happy holidays to all, have a good time and hopefully there will be many IWC watches under the tree.
1,028 Discussions and CommentsMember since May 31, 2005Honolulu, Hawaii,
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Aloha all!
My name is Tracy and I live in Honolulu.
“Kokoro” is a Japanese term that means “from the heart” or “with passion” (but not in a romantic way) which is how I feel about all of my hobbies.
I have a government civil service job and I’m looking forward to retiring in a few years so I have more time to travel.
I’m standing in the front row center between KS Low and Oliver Siegle at SIHH 2012 - Year of the Pilot Watch!
My favorite IWC watch is the Big Pilot.
In addition to all the obvious fun on the Forum, I enjoy going to second-hand stores and thrift shops after work to look for vintage Hawaiian shirts and also inexpensive props so I can take photo-shopped pictures of my favorite IWC watches...
-- Big Pilot 5003 With A Broken Desk Fan --
-- Big Pilot 5003 With A Baking Pan From The Thrift Store --
-– Big Pilot 5003 With Rubik’s Cube --
-- Big Pilot 5004 With Toys From The Thrift Store --
-- Big Pilot 5003 With A Cross-Section Of A Jet Engine --
-- Big Pilot 5004 On Final Approach To The Waikiki IWC Boutique --
-- Big Pilot 5003 With A Manikin Head & Beret From The Thrift Store --
I also enjoy taking photo-shopped pictures of watches that I’d like to see IWC make someday...
–- Ceramic Big Pilot With A Big Pilot 5002 Dial –
-- Left-Handed Big Pilot 5004 For Thorsten (“Perlmutt”)–-
-- Big Pilot 5003 With A Modified Big Pilot 5004 Dial --
I also enjoy running contests on the Forum and I’m always on the lookout for used IWC display or promotional items that I can purchase and use for prizes...
-- October 2011 Contest --
http://www.iwc.com/forum/en/discussion/31695/
-- April 2012 Contest --
http://www.iwc.com/forum/en/discussion/55238/
Finally, my favorite Big Pilot Watch is the Big Pilot 5003...
I had a lot of fun meeting up with Alec (“Jester”) and SC this past July. The hand-made turbine seconds indicator is sand cast and there are noticeable variations between the spacing and the pitch of the turbine blades which make each watch unique so we had a lot of fun comparing watches.
Well, that’s it for now, just another Hawaiian winter for us here in the islands - Mele Kalikimaka from Hawaii!
2,872 Discussions and CommentsMember since March 11, 2008Kavala,
Greece
Tonny B Wrote:Hello Forum, I am Tonny Berteloot, from Belgium. 47 years young and member here from 2002. As some members before did present themselves with their professional live, their hobbies, the active sports they practise and their pets, I will try to do the same by telling a bid about myself... Even from a very young age ( as a baby ) I was into IWC watches... I started to learn about watches, calibers gears etc. And I started to collect IWC watches, not with one theme, but with a more ecclectic approach. I know, I am sometimes difficult to follow in my choices, that is also called, complicated... Some of the forum members have very nice dogs, I know one that wears an IWC on each leg ( the dog, not the forum member ). Myself, I am allergic to dogs and cats ( not amuzing as I like dogs very much ), so I keep it to these ones. Good thing, they can't run far or fast. One of the highlights being member of this great forum is the fact that you get to know lots of interesting people. The meetings are always educative and fun. One can meet the strangest people : this gentlemen pretended to take pictures of watches, but when the film was developped, this was on the picture... One of the people that I met was our Scotsman, Andrew, great fellow collector, great sportsman who made recently a ride with his bike from London to Paris. Here you see him just before going to the antidoping control with some sample... For the rest, happy holidays to all, have a good time and hopefully there will be many IWC watches under the tree.
LOL Tonny I was expecting your post. Although I was sure about something more gangnam style it was a great one once more, just think you picked the wrong guy for the doping control ;)
Omar Khayyám (Persia XI-XII Century) offered that Time should not only be measured in length but also in width due to the intrinsic difference between a minute or other depending on what is happening to the beholder... I wonder how a watch would look like...
I just moved from Philadelphia to Sarasota, Florida. I am a retired attorney and entrepreneur with time to enjoy these trivial pursuits. I now mostly concentrate on tweaking my audio system and watch collections. After over 30 years of constantly swapping out stereophonic equipment I finally have achieved what I consider audio nirvana and can just enjoy the music. I think I know audio the way MF knows pocket watches.
But now I spend much more time immersed in the watch world. This Forum has been a tremendous resource for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the many friends I have made over the past few years. You guys know who you are!
I have been married 38 years and have two grown sons who both live in Chicago. I am an avid tennis player and enjoy traveling with my wife.
Hope you all have a great holiday season and New Year!
I’m Vincent from Malaysia. I’m a lucky owner of an IWC timepiece and glad to be part of the community here and learning from all you fine folks from all around the world. This post is a good idea and I guess I’ll be talking a little bit about myself, where I’m from and what I do.
I’m an architect but I'm currently working as an urban designer in the planning authority in Abu Dhabi, UAE. My wife and I have very similar background. We grew up in a small town in Malaysia, where life is simple, quiet and things are predictable and peaceful. We enjoyed having close family and friends and surrounded by traditions and a multi-cultural background. There’s always a favourite corner street-café or hawker stalls that serves a certain delicacy just the way we like it, or perhaps that particular barber or hairdresser that we keep going back to that gives that distinctive touch and carries that specific scent. Life is modest and simple, and as picturesque as any home can be, surrounded by the natural beauty of tropical rainforest. Everyone can relate this and there’s just nothing like home.
A typical townhomes or ‘shop-house’, the cornerstone of urban architecture in Malaysia….
Higher education and the early career phase brought us to larger cities nearby like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Bustling with activities and constantly trying to progress, these cities are never short of energy and life. However, despite the pressure of development and skyrocketing property prices, there’s still traditions and quirky cultural elements that can somehow find their way nestle within the hidden enclaves of the city and its people, which can never seem to be eroded by the tides of progress.
Rainforest trees in the heart of Kuala Lumpur
Steel and concrete along the shopping boulevard…
Retrofitting…
Marina Bay and public art wall in Singapore
My architectural interest has not only been limited to creation of buildings and homes but also expands to urban-design, master-planning, township planning and more dynamic understanding of cultural issues and creation of sustainable community through its built environment. I’m always keen on learning how a city works (just like trying to learn what makes a watch ticks), identifying the genius loci of a certain area, and creating urban-space to encouraged place-making rather than just space-making. In the Urban Planning Council, we strive to create a sustainable and progressive city. I am fortunate to be part of a team of various backgrounds and be able to learn from different expertise, sharing and working together to introduce innovative ideas that we hope can benefit the city development and its people. It’s a long term plan but we are starting somewhere (and with some positive results beginning to show recently).
Me at work, hardcore selling some ideas...
We love travelling:
My wife and I in Geneva, she was on the way to W.H.O. for a meeting…
We love music and concerts too, here in a U2 performance in Athens some time ago…
We have a pet too...
The cat who adopted us. We named her Reef, after our neighborhood. She was a stray…
And here are some pictures in the UAE, our current home…
A souk (marketplace)
Sheikh Zayed Mosque
Ferrari World +F1 track…(I forsee there will be some F1 IWC Ingenuier related event here soon)
Pages from my notebook…
I constantly try to derive inspiration from my surroundings, travels and other sources, interpret them and try to apply these ideas at work. Ideas are all around us, we just need to sit down, look at them and understand how things move around us and more than often the answer to the problem is there already. We just need to unlock these mysteries we see every day. Somehow, I still prefer the old fashion way of recording elements, using sketches and interpret ideas visually and writing down whatever that comes to mind.
And of course, last but not least, a picture of my IWCs…
In such a complicated and fast-paced world, there are certain things in life that I like to keep simple. Hand-made mechanical watches are one of these things. I particularly love hand-wound calibres for the same reason why I like fountain pens (piston-fill only). There’s a sense of satisfaction in winding a watch manually or filling up a pen with ink from a bottle and using these instruments. Instant gratification!
I know it has been said many times before but I think I’ll just echo what others have said that this is one of the best and well managed forum I’ve ever seen. Almost all members are resourceful and knowledgeable in the topics discussed, things are discussed in a civilized manner and some of you folks are just inspirational. The level of enthusiasm and excitement of a brand and product like this is well shared and spread to encourage newbies like me to be part of the community. I’m just glad to be here!
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone!
Vincent Fong
Last edited: 17 January, 2013 - 10:02
My name is Thomas, 37 years old new IWC fan/owner.
I've been married for close to 10 years, no kids, just a black lab mix. My wife and I work and live in San Francisco Bay Area / Silicon Valley.
I'm a software engineer at this company.
Cheers to everyone,
Thomas
My name is Andy and I've been a member since early 2011. As you all know ( because I rammed it down your throats for 5 months ) I waited patiently for my VC-AT which finally arrived a couple of days before my 60th birthday. Needless to say, it was a wonderful birthday surprise.
I retired 12 years ago as a Product Manager from a Fortune 10 U.S. company. Since then I've had a lot of time on my "wrists" to do just about anything my heart desires until recently. More about that in a minute. I was married at the young age of 20 and just celebrated my 40th anniversary. What has made our marriage more exciting over the last couple of years is that we both have become collectors. I like to collect watches. Everytime I aquire one, my wife collects a gun. On my last acquisition, the wife opted for ammo instead. When I ask her if she's having fun..she just smiles, points her finger at me and pretends to pull a trigger. Anyway, she seems real happy about the whole collecting business. I told her about the new South Coast Boutique that just opened and she wanted to know the telephone number in case my cell battery dies and she needs to get ahold of me. Oh, she also wanted to know if the new Smith & Wesson Boutique opened yet.
We live in Southern California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. On clear days we see Catalina Island which is part of what's known as the Channel Islands. Enjoyment for me includes riding my bike on the many dedicated bike trails either on the beach or up and down the Pacific Coast Highway ( PCH ). Power Boating has also become part of retirement and we enjoy cruising the Islands with our friends and their boats. Art is another interest. My wife is a talented painter, and my involvement is hanging the pictures. OK, I admit it..I like art museums. I told my wife that there's this fabulous museum with a number of masterpieces on display in the beautiful small town of Schaffhausen, Switzerland that sounds like a must to visit (that's not considered lying is it?). We are planning a trip hopefully in the near future.
Our family consists of no kids, 3 beta fish, 2 white doves, 1 way to smart Shetland Sheep Dog and a Partridge in a pear tree...sorry for that last one, threw it in for a Christmas bonus !
Finally, my time for bike riding, boating and travel right now is very limited as I have become a full time caregiver for a elderly parent with some serious health issues. While this was rather sudden, I am grateful that I have the time to assist and help make life alittle bit easier for someone who spent most of their years taking care of and watching out for me. My wish for this holiday season is good health to not only my parent but to all of you and your families.
Looking forward to the SIHH unvailing and to another great Forum year.
Happy Holidays to all,
Andy
My name is Andrew and I have been a forum member since 2001.
I am married and live in Adelaide, Australia and have I have a Finance background.
My lust for watches comes from my father. He likes to remind me when I was a little boy, he used to let me play with his watch, unfortunately I managed to loosen the crown on his Omega, so you can imagine what happened to it the next time he went swimming.
No IWC acquisitions this year, but instead this was special year for us with the birth of my first child, Olivia.
For that momentous occasion I wore my grail watch the BP 5002.
Here's me getting ready for ready to attend her birth.
Last edited: 14 December, 2012 - 02:24
I am Tonny Berteloot, from Belgium. 47 years young and member here from 2002.
As some members before did present themselves with their professional live, their hobbies, the active sports they practise and their pets, I will try to do the same by telling a bid about myself...
Even from a very young age ( as a baby ) I was into IWC watches...
I started to learn about watches, calibers gears etc. And I started to collect IWC watches, not with one theme, but with a more ecclectic approach. I know, I am sometimes difficult to follow in my choices, that is also called, complicated...
Some of the forum members have very nice dogs, I know one that wears an IWC on each leg ( the dog, not the forum member ). Myself, I am allergic to dogs and cats ( not amuzing as I like dogs very much ), so I keep it to these ones. Good thing, they can't run far or fast.
One of the highlights being member of this great forum is the fact that you get to know lots of interesting people. The meetings are always educative and fun.
One can meet the strangest people : this gentlemen pretended to take pictures of watches,
but when the film was developped, this was on the picture...
One of the people that I met was our Scotsman, Andrew, great fellow collector, great sportsman who made recently a ride with his bike from London to Paris. Here you see him just before going to the antidoping control with some sample...
For the rest, happy holidays to all, have a good time and hopefully there will be many IWC watches under the tree.
tonny.berteloot@pandora.be
Last edited: 13 December, 2012 - 17:33
My name is Tracy and I live in Honolulu.
“Kokoro” is a Japanese term that means “from the heart” or “with passion” (but not in a romantic way) which is how I feel about all of my hobbies.
I have a government civil service job and I’m looking forward to retiring in a few years so I have more time to travel.
I’m standing in the front row center between KS Low and Oliver Siegle at SIHH 2012 - Year of the Pilot Watch!
My favorite IWC watch is the Big Pilot.
In addition to all the obvious fun on the Forum, I enjoy going to second-hand stores and thrift shops after work to look for vintage Hawaiian shirts and also inexpensive props so I can take photo-shopped pictures of my favorite IWC watches...
-- Big Pilot 5003 With A Broken Desk Fan --
-- Big Pilot 5003 With A Baking Pan From The Thrift Store --
-– Big Pilot 5003 With Rubik’s Cube --
-- Big Pilot 5004 With Toys From The Thrift Store --
-- Big Pilot 5003 With A Cross-Section Of A Jet Engine --
-- Big Pilot 5004 On Final Approach To The Waikiki IWC Boutique --
-- Big Pilot 5003 With A Manikin Head & Beret From The Thrift Store --
I also enjoy taking photo-shopped pictures of watches that I’d like to see IWC make someday...
–- Ceramic Big Pilot With A Big Pilot 5002 Dial –
-- Left-Handed Big Pilot 5004 For Thorsten (“Perlmutt”)–-
-- Big Pilot 5003 With A Modified Big Pilot 5004 Dial --
I also enjoy running contests on the Forum and I’m always on the lookout for used IWC display or promotional items that I can purchase and use for prizes...
-- October 2011 Contest --
http://www.iwc.com/forum/en/discussion/31695/
-- April 2012 Contest --
http://www.iwc.com/forum/en/discussion/55238/
Finally, my favorite Big Pilot Watch is the Big Pilot 5003...
I had a lot of fun meeting up with Alec (“Jester”) and SC this past July. The hand-made turbine seconds indicator is sand cast and there are noticeable variations between the spacing and the pitch of the turbine blades which make each watch unique so we had a lot of fun comparing watches.
Well, that’s it for now, just another Hawaiian winter for us here in the islands - Mele Kalikimaka from Hawaii!
-Tracy
LOL Tonny I was expecting your post.
Although I was sure about something more gangnam style it was a great one once more, just think you picked the wrong guy for the doping control ;)
Best regards
Argiris
The subject is very beautiful but the author of this portrait must be a genius, LOL!
Regards,
Roberto
Last edited: 11 January, 2013 - 11:07
+2!
Regards,
Jeronimo
Omar Khayyám (Persia XI-XII Century) offered that Time should not only be measured in length but also in width due to the intrinsic difference between a minute or other depending on what is happening to the beholder... I wonder how a watch would look like...