The Collector
“My passion for collecting is rooted in the thrill of the hunt, the roller coaster of negotiating,
and the stories that each piece has to tell.”
Bio
Collecting has always been a big part of me; as far as I can remember the longing for the missing piece has been there. It all started in my childhood with shells, rocks, magnets, and anything that glows. What drew me to these objects was the fact they worked on their own, each offered something distinctively unique and intriguing.
When I got a Roskopf pocket watch on my 10th birthday, many nights were spent analyzing, polishing and admiring its mechanical engineering. I could not reconcile its perpetual motion; how could it work without batteries, fuel or electricity?
This single object was the starting point of my passion for watches. From then on, I set out to find the watches that would appeal to me, thrill me, challenge me. And I was lucky to find plenty of them, gradually building a meaningful collection. Those watches formed an eclectic collection, on their own I find every single one remarkable, and I love the story each carry.
Cracking the Code
I look for three things when falling in love with a piece:
1. Its sheer beauty: I consider the talent of the designer, their technical knowledge and its fine taste.
2. The Dedication of its makers: I consider the hours dedicated to the piece, and it should be apparent from the first viewing. Nowadays time is a precious resource, and I'm highly respectful of the lengthy process of mastering a craft.
3. Its Historical Meaning: I consider how ground breaking this watch was back then, given the technologies available at the time, and the previous aesthetical codes in place.
This concept opened my eyes to other collectibles, such as paintings, tapestry, sculptures, lighters, pens, glasses, jewelry, silver, knifes, scientific instruments - a little of everything. I will talk more about these other trinkets in my Journal.
Collector of Stories
It is not only about the mere objects, I collect their stories. There is obviously the thrill of the hunt, but discovering more about an individual piece brings me a comparable pleasure. If I could time travel, I would go back and witness the creation of each watch, from a quick draft on a blank page to the minute adjustments by dedicated craftsmen. And wouldn’t stop there. Those watches were worn and cared for (if not loved) for decades, and ultimately they had their own lives that stemmed from the success, difficulties and hopes of their owner(s). This is this very human connection that I love about vintage watches.
From My Shelves
Into the World
After a lifetime of collecting came a desire to share my passions with more people, and so I opened up an Instagram and created Timeline.Watch – a vintage watch encyclopedia with each piece that I was fortunate to find. I chose to display them in chronological order to highlight the incremental improvement within one brand, and the design-choice made. It is from this sharing process that Dan Henry Watch eventually came to life, in order to offer a comparable experience to many other enthusiasts.
