Vishesh Sahni, Watch Geek, Marketing Professional and Blogger
Collector — the word itself adds a slight allure to one’s persona. Sometimes when I am introduced to a bunch of people as a collector, the way they look at me reminds me of a crowd “oohing” silently at something extremely precious. Don’t get me wrong — it’s a great feeling, my chest swells with pride and I stand a little taller — and that’s saying something. People don’t call me a collector because my bio on social media says so, but because of the decisions I’ve taken, some bad some good, to get my hands on the perfect piece. Watch collecting didn’t just come to me one day, I’ve been a collector of various curious things throughout my life. Like coins in my mum’s vegetable patch because someone told me that’s where i would find the treasure — I’ve just collected.
Curiously, watches weren’t something that I thought I would collect as a kid, but there was just something about the way they ticked that drew me to them. I know this sounds a bit like a mushy romance novel, but it is a love that I couldn’t resist. It was a slow burning kind of love that still has a strong flame. I still look at watches like a newlywed couple look at each other — I’m besotted.
Traditionally, watch collectors were people who acquired watches to mark various occasions/milestones in their lives. If you notice, some of the most expensive watches ever sold in an auction have a story behind them, like the iconic Paul Newman’s Rolex with an engraved back which reads “Drive Carefully Me” as a gift from his wife.
Collecting watches can be one of the most expensive hobbies if you want it to be. There are people like Roni Madhvani, who is known for one of the world’s best personal collections of Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet mid-century design watches or Mr Zhu aka Horoloupe on Instagram who in the last few years has managed to have one of the most envied collections of modern steel sports watches by Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. Both collect watches of the same brands but the watches acquired are altogether different.
For a collector, collecting watches is not only about acquiring the piece, but also the journey. The thrill of finding your next horological marvel, the undetermined wait time while the dealers do the looking and then finally that moment when you get the call.
One of my recent trips to Hong Kong, had three days marked for searching my next watch. Today, Hong Kong has more watch shops than London, New York and Singapore put together. It’s not just a market of authorised dealers but also pre-owned dealers like The Vintage Concept, known for their vintage Rolex watches. Raymond Chung is one man, behind a small counter immensely knowledgeable on vintage watches and then the Watchbox that specialises in selling high end pre-owned watches.
The question arises — should we buy a pre-owned or a new watch? Well there isn’t really a right or a wrong answer. Being a newbie in the collector’s world, I was unhinged about buying a pre-owned watch. Soon I realised that pre-owned is just not about original papers, but also about the authenticity and the warranty the dealer offers you, which are a good equivalent to brand’s authorised dealers in the market. Also these watches are made with some of the best materials and by some of the most skilled craftsmen in the world, hence they last a lifetime and are even passed from generation to generation. First generation Audemars Piguet Royal Oak or A. Lange & Söhne Datograph first series still have a following that their predecessors don’t have.
There are various reasons people acquire a particular watch: brand value, investment, design, story or vintage characteristics. While all these reasons are great but the deciding factor often boils down to a connect — an emotion that draws you to a particular watch.
My last tip for any watch collector would be to enjoy this journey of a mushy romance, the first time you lay your eyes upon the piece, the first interaction, the first feel, the first time you feel the connect — yes all of these things happen until you take the final jump of commitment towards love.
