#23 Don't give away your darlings

Most photos in this article were taken at the "Steaming to the History" festival, during a steam train ride, in a newly restorated coupé.
I pretty much can get attached to things, specially my Gs. Even when I have bought a G for family or friends, it's hard to give away. The loss is of course less when you already have one or more of that model. My brother Paul for instance has a great DW-069USV "Street Arts".No problem, I already had 2. Nope, I had more problems to part with the G-2300 Viper I bought as a birthday present for the son of one of my superior colleagues. Parting with the EQW-M1000DB was also not easy, and it wasn't even a G.
For the photo competition, that I and Adan (G-Stock, Hablemos de Relojes) organize, I bought a new DW-6900-1V. It is still in it's unopened box. Don't ask me why, but after all these years I somehow still have no proper DW-6900-1 (the one I have is beaten up so much, I barely dare to wear it).
Things get worse if it's your daily beater, or when your watch has a special story. So what's up with this DW-5200C, released by Casio June 1984.
About two years ago I bought a batch of watches from my friend Neil (G-Shock Nation) in Chicago. Regular readers of my weblog probably already know that he's a pretty good source for G-Shocks for me.
Neil is a Chemistry teacher, I'm a Technical Educational Assistant Chemistry, a kind of practical help for students and teachers on the laboratories. That creates a bond.
For years Neil had worn his DW-5200C as daily beater. In summer he makes some extra money with painting houses. Collecting G-Shocks is an expensive hobby ;-)
As a surprise gift Neil included his (July 1984) DW-5200C in the batch of Gs I bought. He knew I had ways to get a fresh battery, new straps and bezel.
When I got the watch I was actually in doubt. Should I leave the watch as I got it, or should I restore with bezel and straps. The watch looked actually great with all the splashes of paint on it. Still I was afraid the bezel would fall apart in a few years, so I decided to install a new bezel and straps. I must say I was amazed. There were some minor scratches, but under certain views it looked like new. I kept the old bezel and straps apart in a plastic bag. You'll never know.
Of course I examined the watch. The most surprising feature I found on this watch was the half hourly chime. A pretty cool and unique feature of the 240 module. Also I discovered the 12 hour countdown time (actually 11 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds, 0:00:00 does not start). A bit odd, since I read in an article the 240 module has a 60 minute countdown timer.
About a year later I got a mail from Neil. He missed his dear old friend. That was not hard to imagine. He had a proposal for me. He would try to find another DW-5200C for me and I would sent him his friend.
Of course I could imagine how he felt. Freely quoting a famous (90 year old) Dutch guitar legend: "He, who can give a G-Shock a favor, has a friend for life" (sorry, it doesn't rhyme in English).
A hard decision, but Neil has become a great overseas friend over the years. Friends should be reunited. For me another DW-5200C would be as great as his, specially when given by the same good friend. He found me a slightly younger DW-5200C, produced March 1985. So we traded, a 5200 for a 5200.