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Beautiful Imperial VFA! That watch is the whole reason I got into vintage watches! I'm honestly a bit jealous you got to come across this holiest of grails 😋.

Did he happen to tell you in what country he found it in? Been trying to figure out what countries known models have come from so far!

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Hi Christian - this is the only example I’m aware of with full provenance. It came from the family of a German diplomat. There are two other examples known that turned up in the Uk, but neither has any provenance. Plus one more that was photographed many years ago and has not been seen again in public for a long time. The watch pictured I actually sourced for the collector.

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Very cool! Also very impressive that you were able to source one.

I was only aware of 1 in the UK and another that had been listed on Chrono24 ages ago. Good to know another was found in the UK also.

If I don't come across one by chance in my hunts maybe I'll have bug you instead if I ever accrue the funds 😉🤣.

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Also, just a fun extra bit of trivia. Emperor Hirohito before returning back to Japan after his tour of Europe stopped by Anchorage Alaska and met with President Nixon for a brief meeting that lasted just shy of 2 hrs.

You probably already knew this, and chances of an Alaskan watch would be very slim, but I think it's a fun piece of the story regardless.

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