Purist-of-the-Week: Graham Hutton (G99)

AndrewD introduces Graham Hutton (G99) as the first 'Purist-of-the-Week' for 2012, celebrating a long-standing community member known for his generosity, knowledge, and personal stories. This feature offers a unique look into Graham's collecting philosophy and the watches that resonate with him.

Dear All,

It is my pleasure to present Graham Hutton (G99) as the first POTW for 2012. Every now and then I like to feature a long standing Purist member and provide a peek into their personality, motivations and collections. Graham has been one to always give generously of his experience, time (pardon the pun) and knowledge and has shared many of his personal stories. That is partly the reason why many of us count him as a good friend.

Andrew

1. What watch are you wearing today?

Today I’m wearing my Longines Jamboree which is my most recent acquisition. A very nice 1964 gold capped piece with the very reliable 280 calibre handwind movement. My first Longines to add to the ‘64 collection. I’ve had the chance to buy other gold cased Longines in the past, but they have mostly been Dennison cased dress watches with very boring dials. This Jamboree has a great dial and lovely sword hands so I went for it rather than a solid gold piece.  

I usually wear 2 watches when I’m at home and often forget to take one off when I go out. On my left wrist I’ll wear something automatic and robust as I’m left handed. Sometimes I’ll wear the same watch on that wrist for a couple of months at a time. On the right wrist I’ll wear a new acquisition or one of my handwinds. Sensibly I have a safe so I’ll dive in there every couple of weeks and do a swap over of a few pieces that then sit around and are available for me to wear on rotation. Sadly some of my older pieces get neglected, but that is due to keeping them in the safe. If I had them on display I know I’d change more often and wear more obscure pieces. For example, the last time I wore my MIH I found that I hadn’t worn it for 6 months which is not really acceptable.

I discovered the PuristS about 4 years ago when I was buying my Ulysse Nardin Freak. I spent a lot of time researching it and came across the PuristS in the process. I then registered and asked some questions. Vlad was very welcoming and the rest is history.

To me being a Purist is about friendship with a common interest. It starts off with watches and our passion for them, but as a result of that I’ve now got better friends on the forum than I ever had in real life, which is due in main to my previous job; you don’t join the police with the aim of making friends. On PuristS I have friends I’ve met and would trust with my life, I have friends I Skype and would trust with my life, but have never met in person and I have friends who I know I could contact if I were in their country even though we’ve only ever ‘spoken’ by email. 

Also without the PuristS there wouldn’t be much fun in owning these lovely watches as there would be no one to show them too who would appreciate them and a collection should be appreciated by many sources, not just yourself.

5. Is there a single element in a watch that is most important to you, and why?

The look of the watch is the most important thing to me. I like unusual designs and don’t really mind if it has an ETA or in-house calibre inside.

I have to admit to not having many other hobbies and being a bit of a TV-aholic. I love cars which is a passion more than a hobby as I can only afford to own one, but I always own the best I can afford (which isn’t much). Being a low mileage driver I can afford to own big engined cars and have some fun. I used to be a lifelong motorcyclist, but my bodies’ too knackered to risk doing it anymore. It’s the one thing I really miss.

I have a bit of an addictive personality so have collected many other things in the past, but it’s watches only now. Everything else has gone.

How do I relax? Good question. I’m medically retired so I spend most of my life relaxing. I read a fair bit and like listening to music, especially blues and rock. I go to see live bands in the local pubs and with my sister in pubs near hers. That’s good for a Friday night out and a few beers. I cycle gently when the weather is nice, which is apparently good exercise for my arthritic knee. I hate gardening with a vengeance. All of my family loves it and I’ve always hated it. I can’t stand grass as it needs constant maintenance, is always too wet to cut and never looks nice. Give me a patio and shingle any day.

7. Have you followed any particular directions in your watch collection?

I have followed many directions over the years. I started off nearly 20 years ago by buying any watch I liked the look of and a few years and 300 watches later I thought I’d better get rid of some.

After selling nearly 100 I concentrated on Omega’s, Tuning forks and military pieces.   

After my wife left in 2009 I slowly offloaded my higher end pieces to make ends meet and was then forced to sell the Freak and a few others to settle the divorce leaving me with only a few newer mid to higher end pieces.

I now concentrate on pieces from 1964 and must have about 40 or more. I also like unusual displays and support micro brands with several from different brands in my collection, the latest of them being my Zenton B42 Bronze which I bought because of the case material. If I had a BBC nature programs time lapse camera you would see the case changing colour and patina.

Difficult question this one. I often think it would be my MIH as it does just about everything a variety of watches needs to do, but I’d probably hang onto a Speedmaster if I let my heart rule my head.

9. Is there a watch you love, but would never own? Why?

There are lots I’d love to own, but can’t afford too, but that’s not really the question. The watch I love, but wouldn’t own is the UN Freak. The reason is twofold: firstly I’ve already owned one and secondly I would only want the one I’ve already owned which would be virtually impossible to achieve.

Although it was a great experience I’ve discovered watches that valuable are really not my thing. I love them, but I don’t feel comfortable wearing them. It’s as if I don’t believe I deserve to own them. Part of my personality I can’t change I’m afraid (or glad) to say.

10. You have been collecting for many years. What single piece of advice would you give to the novice collector starting on this path?

The biggest piece of advice is research, research, research.

11. What do the Freak and a "fifty quid" vintage Omega have in common?

The first and most glib answer would be ‘nothing’, but there are similarities. The main being that they were all made with the best materials and technology that was available at the time they were made.

The Freak was a revolution, but so was the Speedmaster, the 30mm range of handwinds used by the military, the 5xx range of automatics. Most of my vintage Omega’s are accurate to a few seconds a day which just shows how good they were when they were first made.

I’d also like to add that it has been a privilege to be asked to be Purist-of-the-Week and I hope to continue contributing for many years to come.