A magical watch with an exceptional story of humanity and the power of this hobby.

Last year, Marc of Long Island Watch and TGV launched the Islander X The Urban Gentry ISL-226. This was a limited number handwind field watch. This watch was one I had to have. Being a huge fan of TGV, he helped me with content when I was getting into watches. This watch sports a charmful 37mm case that is thin. It has an impressive full lume dial and skeletonized gold movement under its rugged case of 10 bar water resistance. This unique watch was one that tugged at my heart strings. So I pick one of the limited watches up. This leads me to the holidays. With Christmas, birthdays, and inflation… things got a little tight. So unfortunately, the Islander had to be sold. This is where Marc (a different one) came in. He was interested in buying my watch. So I started to do what I always do. I made him a detailed video, showing him the watch and every detail. I also made an extra video of me packaging the watch. Then another of me shipping the watch out and continuing updating him on his tracking. I even made a separate video showing how the Miyota movement had an indirect drive with the second hand that could delay if moved quickly. I was bummed to get rid of the watch, but I was glad it was going to a good collector. A couple days later I get a message from Marc. He told me that he was blown away by the selling experience that I gave him and he could tell that I really did love the watch. He gave me an offer that I could never imagine. He said as a good Christmas act, he would offer to send the watch back to me if I only paid for the shipping and nothing else. This was too kind. This was unbelievable. It made me feel like I would be taking advantage. But as 3 months rolled by, I just continued to think about this graceious offer and the Islander. I reached out to Marc and asked if he decided to sell or keep the Islander. He said he hadn’t worn “my watch” and he was waiting for me to pay the shipping. After all that time, he upheld his offer. So I vehemently thanked him and today the ISL-226 is back home. This watch is now one of my most prized watches and will forever remain in my collection. This touch of pure kindness and care from someone who is otherwise a stranger until now is what is so precious about our little community and it shows there are people that are ready to go out of their way to love others. I cannot thank Marc enough and will one day find a way to pay his gesture back. Cheers to you Marc 🍻