Q: How did you get into watch collecting?
I have always worn a watch - spent years with Swatches, then I got a Citizen Ecodrive, but drifted to the windows of ADs from a young age. My first proper watch was my Junghans max bill Chronoscope. I never thought I'd dare to spend so much on a watch, but a tiny AD in Frankfurt gave me a 30% discount, and so I got it. I love that Junghans!
Q: What was the first watch you ever owned?
Somewhere there is a photo of me on my 10th birthday in the late 1970s with my first digital watch, which I am proudly displaying to camera. I was so delighted!
Q: Do you have a watch with a particularly interesting story behind it?
I inherited my great, great, great grandfather's fusee pocket watch from the late 1700s. My Uncle Richard passed it on to me, with this story: "Your uncle Paul and myself built ourselves a trolley and found the watch in father’s desk – it seemed like a perfect speedometer to fit to the dashboard of our creation. Naturally it suffered somewhat in its new role! Boy did we cop it!" The watch is a complete wreck!
Q: What is one piece of advice you have for someone just getting into watches?
Try to take your time - you can like and admire a watch without necessarily owning it. If there is a watch you really like, but it is not readily affordable, save for that watch rather than buying something similar but cheaper. You'll end up paying out for what you really wanted anyway, but you'll have also wasted money on an inadequate stand-in.
Q: What brands have been getting your attention lately?
I like a lot of German offerings, but microbrands have also caught the eye a lot recently. Too many to name, but plenty of quality out there.
Q: What is your grail watch and why?
The only grail I ever had was the Junghans max bill Chronoscope, which I bought in 2011. It was the most beautiful watch I'd ever seen back then (I hadn't come across Breguet and others at that point). I will never spend more than £5,000 on a watch, so my grail was affordable - which was a fantastic bonus. The Junghans isn't the watch I wear most, but it will always be my favourite.
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