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.
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.
My collection was built from the countless quests that took place in flea markets and local auctions. I was not only hunting for myself, I also had the joy of helping many watch lovers and friends. After 30 years of studying and acquiring more than 1,500 watches, I wanted to share it with the world. I first opened an Instagram account and then put my watches on a dedicated website, Timeline.Watch.
Since, my watches received a lot of interest from fellow vintage enthusiasts. At first, it seemed that I could not share more than pictures, as each of these watches was so scarce, and in some cases their rarity had translated into a very high value. Eventually, I came up with a crazy project: make some beautiful watches such as the ones I was lucky to own, but accessible.
Dan Henry was born with the purpose of creating collectible vintage watches that tells the story of a time.
The watches I chose to make were inspired by the most striking pieces of my collection. Those are not only beautiful, one way or another they also changed what a wristwatch can be. More often than not, they were daring for their time but left a mark in watchmaking, and remain admired today.
The model name was inspired by the characteristic design of its time.
I always look for the best deal out there. Sometimes I get more enjoyment out of buying a watch than the watch itself. I have a fondness for the pieces which I made a good deal.
I create my watches to share with others collectors the thrill of making a great deal and wearing a historical piece.