Hi there, could you give a brief introduction of yourself? Do you remember your very first watch? What was the story behind it and how did it come to possession?
Hi, Iʼm Joseph, 28 this year and Iʼve been collecting watches for about 4 years. You can find me on instagram @chronohunts. I collect mainly vintage pieces because of the amount of character they have and that it would have to be as close to or is the OG!
My very first experience with a “luxury” watch was an Oris limited edition Dizzy Gillespie that my dad bought for me on my 21st birthday, that did not really piqued my interest though.
How my watch obsession started was after I graduated from university and was looking for a first watch for myself. It was a Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope, which is now worn by my brother. But this was the beginning of a very long and deep rabbit hole.
How did the passion for luxury watches come about and what is it about watches that draws you to them?
My interest for watches started after the Junghans and the purpose for it was actually just to get a presentable watch for work. Ironically, before collecting watches, Iʼve always thought of them as an immense waste of money, considering that we have our phones that probably tell the time more accurately. HAHA!
However, this will soon come to change. I continued to look around and was somehow smitten by the story of the Omega Speedmaster and the journey of how it became the first watch on the moon. That was when I decided to bite the bullet to buy a 3572.50 Speedy, and that was a long tumble down the rabbit hole. I started moving into vintage Speedies and subsequently vintage pieces of other brands. For me, I realize after these few years of collecting that the pieces that really stick with me are pieces that have a good historical story behind them; like the Speedy for Omega as the first watch on the moon; the Royal Oak for AP as the first steel luxury watch; the El Primero for Zenith as the first (debatably) automatic chronograph and so on. For me itʼs the story and history behind these watches that draw me to them, of course aesthetics do play a role as well but these icons do tend to be quite timeless classic designs.
Tell us more about your very first luxury watch story. How did you come to own that piece?
The first foray into timepieces was a Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope, but the first purchase of a “big” brand name would be the 3572.50 Omega Speedmaster with the clear caseback.
Letʼs talk about your watch collection. What is your favorite watch in your collection and could you tell us the significance of it? Was it a milestone acquisition or does it have sentimental value?
I have several “favorites” in my current collection. They would be the pieces with a classic, timeless design (usually the iconic piece of a company), with a great story behind it.
These pieces would be those Iʼve mentioned earlier like my 105.003-65 Ed White Omega Speedmaster.
I hope to not ever need to let these pieces go, unless better ones come along! The A386 was quite a milestone acquisition because these are so hard to find, especially in those in great condition considering only about 2500 pieces were produced in the late 60s to early 70s. So it took me a long while to find one, but Iʼm glad I waited. One piece that would have sentimental value to me would be my Omega Speedmaster 60th Anniversary Trilogy; that was a first brand new piece that I bought at a boutique, it was an exception considering most of my pieces are all more than 50 years old, but I guess itʼs unlikely that Iʼll ever actually own the original 2915 Speedmaster, those go for too much nowadays and the boat has long sailed!
What will your next watch acquisition be?
Iʼve been eyeing a couple of pieces so far; a Heuer Carrera 2447SN, a Breitling 806 Navitimer and also a Tudor Snowflake 9401 sub; vintage ones of course, but right now Iʼm in the midst of consolidating and streamlining my collection first.
Thank you Joseph for sharing your watch story and collection with us! The photos were awesome. For more pictures of his collection, you should definitely check out his Instagram and give him a follow!