Horological Meandering

Thomas is a regular fixture for auctions by Phillips in Hong Kong, and his passion for watches radiates strongly.  Our connection is serendipitous because the introduction came from his jewellery team colleague whom I met via my children’s play date which I originally did not need to attend.  Thomas is a fashionable Italian gentleman who is well groomed.  He much appreciates his expresso, fine clothing and watches (what else should be included that he did not reveal ?? 😉).

When he was 7 years old he started loving watches wanted a Swatch instead of toy for his birthday present.  Do you know or have a child that behaves this way ?   Is this normal behaviour ?🤪  Well, during university days, Thomas asked his dad for gas money so that he could drive from Italy to Baselworld to attend the fair on his own.  Would you do the same as a university student ?  Something is great/wrong here and he is really fixated on anything horology !

To get a job in the watch industry after university, he had to promise his father that he needed several months to pursue his dream and if he was not successful, he would find a “real” job.  Thomas  thought outside the box by making an appointment with Osvaldo Patrizzi, the founder of Antiquorum, by saying that he wanted to sell his grandfather’s watch.  During the meeting, Thomas revealed his true intention and Signore Patrizzi was of course most surprised, but very impressed.  Eventually he got hired and started working on researching and writing the catalogues for auctions !  One day, he was told by his boss that since he knew so much about watches, he should become an auctioneer.  After his first lot, he was hooked and the rest was history.

Thomas was frank about his working relationship with Aurel Bacs.  He learns from Aurel and Aurel’s presence pushes him to the next level.  A positive spiral effect don’t you think ?  They take turns as auctioneers in Hong Kong on different lots.  How do they decide who to auction off which lots ?  Answer is that when Thomas’s collector clients want him to help bid on certain lots, he will let Aurel be the auctioneer for these lots.  Fortunately I am not at the level that requires Thomas’s help, otherwise I would have not body parts left.

What do you think of Thomas’s horological journey ?  What is an appropriate nick name for such a dashing auctioneer ?  Perhaps the “GQ Auctioneer” ? 😇