About Me
I am a British private collector based in Hong Kong, although I spend a great deal of time travelling between Hong Kong, the United States and the United Kingdom.
My real obsession is finding watches that have lived a life — ideally single-owner pieces with a story, honest wear, and strong evidence of originality. I enjoy the interaction with the sellers as much as the watches themselves, and I have often travelled long distances to acquire a particularly interesting example.
On one occasion I went to Huntsville, Alabama — where the Apollo rockets were built — to buy a Speedmaster 2998 from a 91-year-old rocket scientist who had owned it since new. Encounters like that are part of the fun of collecting.
I have been collecting Speedmasters for more than twenty years. Over that time I have handled many examples and developed a strong preference for originality and honest condition over cosmetic perfection. I would almost always rather own a watch that shows its age but retains its original parts than one that has been heavily restored.
The watches I offer here are pieces that I personally hunted down because I found them attractive or interesting. Sometimes I buy a watch simply to compare it with another example already in my collection, and then decide which one to keep. For me the pleasure lies in the finding, buying, cleaning and holding the watch.
The only way I can continue doing that is to sell a few watches from time to time.
My aim now is to refine my collection into a smaller, more focused and usable group of watches that I can enjoy regularly. Selling some pieces also creates the financial room to continue the hunt for the next interesting one.
I do not rely on watch sales to put food on the table. I am not motivated purely by profit, although naturally I try not to sell at a loss. In most cases the watches I sell simply cover the costs of acquiring and owning them while allowing me to keep the collection evolving.
I have been part of the Speedmaster collecting community for many years through Speedmaster101.com and participation in the major watch forums. Over time this has allowed me to meet many knowledgeable collectors and see a great number of watches.
At heart, though, I am simply a collector who enjoys the search.
Selling a few watches from time to time allows me to continue the hunt for the next one.