“A Man & His Watch” by Matt Hranek
The author Matt Hranek remarks at the beginning of this book that “for many men, watches seem to have a deeper meaning than just keeping time. Watches mark special occasions, they tell the world a bit about who you are, and they can, if you’re lucky, connect you to the people in your life who matter most.”
I’ve never been a watch enthusiast before. I was given a Swatch by someone I really look up to and I wore it since high school to university days even until my masters degree. And afterwards I use Apple Watch and later Garmin as a part of my sporty life, while at the beginning of my collector phase I tend to purchase more simple watches like an Edwin Jeans watch just because it has my name on the dial, a MVMT, or that time I bought a special edition G-Shock in Hiroshima, as well as that time I bought a Swedish minimalist watch at the N Seoul Tower. Also, I was particularly proud of this limited edition watch by Fossil that made several luxury watch enthusiasts asking about what it is (but it deteriorated less than a year).
But then I learned about brand association and that a watch is not just a time keeping device, but a part of our personality. And soon enough I became intrigued with learning who wears what kind of watch brand, and whether it fits with their personality. Like James Bond with his association with Omega, while Jason Bourne is more of a TAG Heuer guy. Or how Che Guevara sported a Rolex Submariner (which is cool AF but a stark contrast with his socialist idealism), or Indonesia’s dictator Suharto wears Audemars Piguet Millenary 150161ST which shows power. And then there’s Jurgen Klopp, who is loyal to one brand IWC even though he’s not an endorser, which fits with his personality as the brand is a kind of silent luxury brand at par with Rolex, without needing to show off like in-your-face designs of Panerai or Richard Mille.
And so the interest in watches turned into an obsession. I kept searching and reading articles about personalities with the watch brands that they wear, like how Ed Sheeran is apparently an avid watch collector but who loves one watch above all the APs and the Hublots in his collection: his cheap ToyWatch that meant a lot growing up.
Which brings us to this book. The book is listed as the number 1 recommended book on watches, by several different watch websites. It shows what many different watches mean for many different people, from a legacy watch handed down from generations above, to expensive top luxury brands, to cheap watches with a huge backstory that makes them priceless. There’s something for everyone to relate to.
The book is filled with sentimental stories about a man and his watch. Such as Francis Chichester, an adventurer, sailor, and navigator who circumnavigate the globe wearing Rolex Oyster Perpetual. Benjamin Clymer with his Omega Speedmaster Mark 40 that was given to him by his grandfather that pretty much started off his love of writing about watches that eventually led to Hodinkee. Keith Haring and his Swatch collections (which he sees as pieces of art that can be put in our wrists). How Dimitri Dimitrov – a Maitre D at the Tower Bar at the Sunset Tower Hotel – got a Timex watch from Bill Murray. Or that interview with a NASA guy whose job is to test the endurance of watches to see whether they are equipped to be used as a tool in space (which only Omega passed the tests).
There’s also Geoffrey Hess who met his wife because of his love of vintage Rolex (and someone who makes me want to attend vintage collector gatherings). Tom Sachs who loves his Casio G-Shock DW-5600 that he has been wearing for 20 years. A Rolex Submariner reference 5513 that was buried in a beach and found by some chap with a metal detector, and ended up purchased by Grahame Fowler. Sylvester Stallone’s Gold Rolex submariner reference 1680/8. Ralph Lauren’s Cartier Tank Cintrée. Or Andy Warhol’s impressive collection of as many as 300 high-end watches.
As Hranek commented, “at the end of the day, a watch is just a watch – it’s the story behind it that can make it exceptional. Just like Paul Newman’s model 6263 big red Rolex Daytona given by his wife, with the engraving of “Drive slowly – Joanne.” Which is a nice touch since Newman was a race car driver. Or how according to Mario Andretti, “in racing watches can stand in for trophies”, which he indeed collected along the way during his illustrious career.
But my favourite sentimental note on watches got to be the vintage Tudor watch that Jacek Kozubek bought that came with a handwritten note from the seller telling the backstory of the man who had owned it: “her father, who had been a marine, a submariner, and mechanic aboard the USS Barbel, stationed in Papa Hotel – also know as Pearl Harbor.” The seller wrote, “Though it is hard for me to part with my father’s watch… my hope is that someone will appreciate it as much as my father did!”
The book also inserted watch history in between the personal stories. Like how Eric Ripert’s watch Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921 tilted to the right because it was designed for a driver whose cars back then had big steering wheels. Or how Patek Philippe is credited with inventing the wristwatch, but the style was largely created as a timepiece for women. And it wasn’t until the Cartier Santos-Dumont that wristwatch became associated with exploits of daring and courage: “Louis Cartier invented a small timepiece that attached to the wrist with a leather strap, and gifted the new “Cartier Santos-Dumont” wristwatch to his famous aviator friend [Alberto Santos-Dumont], who never flew without it.”
Furthermore, to write this book Hranek got access to archives of Rolex, Cartier, Omega, Zenith, Hermès, and TAG Heuer, held Paul Newman’s Daytona in flesh, talked with Kikuo Ibe (the creator of Casio G-Shock), among many others, which was an intriguing read by themselves.
And the many pictures of the watches in this book, especially the vintage or rare ones, are also superb. The Cartier belonged to King Constantine I of Greece, Elvis Presley’s Corum Buckingham, Sir Edmund Hillary’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual Officially Certified Chronometer from 1950, John F. Kennedy’s inauguration Omega, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Tiffany & Co Yalta conference watch, the Popeye and Domino engraved Rolexes, the 1952 Tudor Oyster Prince that was one of 26 models sent to Greenland on the wrist of scientists and military and medical personnel to do a seismological and gravitational research. And the many incredible watches that I’ve never heard before, like Orfina, Fisher Ancre 15 Rubis, Elgin, Waltham Trench, Jaeger-Lecoultre Reverso, Doxa, Kurono, Autodromo Monoposto, and many others.
I mean, I get it now. It’s not necessarily about the brand name or the price, but more about the memory or what it symbolized. My dad was a watch collector, and among the Rolexes and Cartiers that he has, he was most fond with this fake Rolex Submariner that he bought in a flea market in China. He even like to wear it to the office every once in a while for a laugh. When he passed away, that was the watch that I took to keep him in memory (for the cheekiness), just like Paul Newman’s daughter took and wear his Daytona when he passed away (although I don’t think I will ever wear it in public).
Moreover, just like Hranek, I too have an Oyster Perpetual Datejust, which was given to me by my father in-law on the day I married his daughter. It took me years to realised what it meant, because he didn’t literally say it to me back then: That it symbolized the day he accepted me as his son. So, I get the sentimental meaning of watches, just like when I bought myself a TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph for my 40th birthday then went to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in the evening.
Or my current everyday watch IWC Mark XVIII Little Prince edition, a watch that I got obsessed with due to the fact that I love to read books and the watch is a tribute to one of my favourite authors Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Never thought that I would get my hands on it, and just like all men interviewed in this book I wouldn’t trade this watch or any of my other sentimental watches for anything else in the world. Not even this vintage Omega that I found in an antique market in Java, which I bought for less than $10.