When I was still in school and making some money being a dishwasher in a restaurant, most kids were wearing Swatch watches. They were not that expensive and came in a lot of variations. I had a good friend who was already collecting Swatches and was on the lookout for a ‘black friday’ and other mode
When I was still in school and making some money being a dishwasher in a restaurant, most kids were wearing Swatch watches. They were not that expensive and came in a lot of variations. I had a good friend who was already collecting Swatches and was on the lookout for a ‘black friday’ and other models to start his collection. But what he wore was a stainless steel Rolex Submariner he had been given as a present by his father. My father did not care at all about watches so I had to buy my own, starting with a couple of Swatches and then on to an Edox (which I still have after more than 30 years), Seiko and then an Oris. But I always wanted that Rolex my friend was wearing. But it was too expensive for me. So when I was 25 years old I was able to buy my first second hand Rolex, it was a Rolex Date with a white face and I was very proud of it. But then when my career took off and I moved in with my wife things really got crazy. My brother in law was also crazy about watches so the frenzy started and we had sort of a competition and we started to build a collection. Omega, Panerai, JLC, Audemars Piquet, Eberhard & Co, IWC, Tag Heuer, Jean Richard, Sinn and Rolex.... a lot of Rolex watches came and went.
And now after more than 30 years I only have a few watches from Rolex and Patek Philippe. Gone are the days when the watches had to be flashy and recognizable. Now I tend to look for iconic watches or watches that are special to me for whatever reason. And if someone asks me which brand/ model is my all time favourite it is the one that started the whole thimg, the Rolex Submariner my friend was wearing when I was still in school. I have a lot of love for the Daytona, the Aquanaut and heck even for the Air King, but if I could only keep one from my current collection it would be the robust, clean faced, no nonsense Rolex Submariner no date. What would yours be?
