If you’re a with a penchant for buying sought-after timepieces at retail, you’ve probably embraced—or at least surrendered to—the wait.

Whether you’ve added your name to a list of people who’ve expressed interest in a coveted model from one of the Big Three ( and Patek Philippe) or placed a deposit on a timepiece by an in-demand independent maker, you know that waiting months, if not years, to acquire it is part of the game in high-end horology.

And while there’s a difference between waiting to learn if you’ll receive an allocation and waiting for a watchmaker to deliver a piece that’s already yours (and partially paid for), the outcome is the same: Gratification is anything but instant. WATCH

Gary Getz, a founding member of the NorCal Gang, a group of watch collectors in Northern C

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