I was in Belfast on Friday with a few hours to kill. Would have been more pleasant if I’d known about this place. I will definitely look it up next time.
I thought I'd share some pictures from today's lunch time walk and visit to "Pride and Pinion" - a recent arrival to my capital city. Just to say up front - I've no affiliation to the shop, haven't even bought from them (yet)... just wanted to show you all what an absolute GEM of a shop this is to those of us who cant get enough of good watches.
The shop is located inside "The Vault" - which as the name suggests, is the old bank vault at the heart of what was the Ulster Bank headquarters, built in the mid-nineteenth century. A refurb in 2006 transformed the old bank into "The Merchant Hotel". A small, exclusive venue. Personally, I find the building breathtaking inside. How on earth do we NOT build stuff like this nowadays..... it's art.
A snap of the exterior on my way in:
.... and on passing through the inner doors, you are met with THIS!!
(Random fact: that's the largest chandelier in Ireland, made by Tyrone Crystal)
I must go back some day to just sit down and enjoy a bit of time and a coffee here. Places like this are special. Incidentally... if you're flush (aka lottery winner!), the Merchant serves up a world record holder - the world's most expensive cocktail! Its a mai tai made with hand-cut Fijian ice and rare Wray & Nephew rum, for £750. Just so you are clear.. thats SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY A GLASS
Now... take a right, into the bar, through into the back hall... turn left... and ahead of you is the barred gate of "The Vault":
Enter.... and you're met with cabinets FULL of the good stuff! Note a rack of fine whiskeys, gins and beverages to enjoy while you're here! This is the only photo thats NOT mine, but its a belter of a shot so I wanted to include it:
What really makes this place for me is that the shop is clearly a passion for the owner and staff. They post daily on their Instagram page which I'll link at the end of this post. I thoroughly enjoy their banter and get a smile most days, breaking the boredom of work. Its refreshing... Tuesdays at 9pm brings us an Instagram live feed for an hour, entitled "Watches and Bolex" (pronounced Boll*cks!) which is entertaining to say the least!
So, I'll wind up now... and show you a few of the cabinets. These are just a few random shots I took of things that caught my eye. A lovely line up of vintage Daytonas.... some BEAUTIFUL IWC's... and for me, a stonking DSOTM ceramic Speedmaster - new with tickets still on. Damn..... I love that thing... and it's now on my "to do" list!!!
If you like the look of any of these and want close ups or macros, just shout up. I'll happily have any excuse to go back in next week and take some snaps for you. Well worth adding to your list of places to come see if any of you are on this side of the Irish Sea (or coming up from the South of Ireland).
LINKS:
Website: https://prideandpinion.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prideandpinion/ or @prideandpinion
Also... Nico's personal feed: https://www.instagram.com/nicoleonard87/ or @nicoleonard87
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXP...yV6Y-0PZecwBLw
The Merchant: https://www.themerchanthotel.com/
And the pics.....
The one that I'm smitten with....
Last edited by JohnnyE; 15th January 2020 at 03:44.
I was in Belfast on Friday with a few hours to kill. Would have been more pleasant if I’d known about this place. I will definitely look it up next time.
That’s great we’ll worth a visit,a shame I’ve no plans to go there .
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That does look amazing. And a very impressive stock list too.
Looks like a superb place to hang out and buy watches. Thanks for sharing.
Is that a Panam gmt Rolex
I notice no prices
”...the world's most expensive cocktail! Its a mai tai made with hand-cut Fijian ice and rare Wray & Nephew rum, for £750”.
If you ordered the world’s most expensive cocktail, how exactly would they prove it was hand-cut Fijian ice and not regular ice from tap water? Assuming they had a stash of the stuff, wouldn’t it go off after awhile?
Wow, an impressive building and some quality stock too.
Stunning shop, that first row of vintage Daytona’s is amazing, if ever the Euromillions comes in for me I’ll def visit this place.
It does actually. It gives potential customers an idea of the sort of watches (age, brand, quality etc) that they deal in. It also gives them some ‘previous’.
Plenty of other watch dealers do the same (including outfits such as The Old Watch Shop, Miltonaires and Blowers).
Photo wasn’t clear - but it’s been pointed out to me that it’s this one https://www.rolex.com/watches/gmt-ma...blro-0002.html
At least all sold items are kept on a separate menu item 'Recently Sold' so you don't have to filter between sold and current.
Looks like some nice stock, but then I saw some of the prices.
Someone's paying for the whisky and boutique experience - and it ain't Santa.
Nice place.
Have looked at their website previously
I think they are tied up with Amsterdam Vintage watches(or someone similar)
Prices are expensive.
Current listings on chrono24
https://www.chrono24.co.uk/search/in...&dosearch=true
Never been in, must have a look sometime
The owner, Nico, is Dutch but has been living in Northern Ireland for years.
The physical shop has been open for just over a year, but he was selling via Chrono24 etc. prior to then.
Google Maps does show an image of Marks & Spencer when you search for the registered address listed at Companies House, but a bit more research, or indeed, a look at the filings, shows that the same address is also correct for an Accountancy Firm (which is standard practice, and presumably quite a prudent precaution given the value of stock involved).
The Merchant Hotel itself is a gorgeous old building and worth a visit in its own right (but I’d probably skip that cocktail).
I suspect that they aren't in business to 'help you'. I'm guessing that they are in business to sell watches so any information about what they have sold, to whom and for how much is hard won, commercial information. I'm not surprised that they don't want to give it away for free.
How could I forget THIS one!!
They say, if you have to ask, you can't afford it.
I didn't ask. I still can't afford it.
Last edited by JohnnyE; 16th January 2020 at 20:47.
Working in a basement vault must be depressing after a while.
Could have at least aligned the bezel on the Comex ;)
Fantastic looking building. It's a shame that we overwhelmingly seem to build boxes these days.
That is an amazing mix of watches to find in one place. Makes a change from the usual datejust selection you see in most places
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