Shortly after the official announcement in March my local boutique (Miami) contacted me and asked if I was interested in reserving a piece. They wanted 100% pre-payment and said they didn’t even expect ‘demo units’ to arrive until June and ‘hoped’ they could fulfill pre-orders in 2023. Much like you, I was not willing to give them $12K+ with no ability to even handle the watch in person for months and no guaranteed delivery window. My client advisor was sympathetic but simply said “this is what we require”. Ultimately I ended up going with a Laureato (an amazing watch). Zero regrets.
Coincidently this afternoon my client advisor texted me that he had a black dial available for immediate purchase. I declined. Something tells me this “years long waiting list, impossible to get, 100% pre-payment bs” is pure fantasy. I expressed initial interest once at launch, declined to pre-order and never contacted my client advisor again about it and yet I was offered the watch unprompted.