They’re brands known for delivering a ton of value at a reasonable price (in inflated mechanical watch terms). Still, Shteyngart cautioned against putting too much focus on that.
“I like people who don’t keep using the word ‘value’ over and over,” he said. “This isn’t an Excel spreadsheet. None of these so-called values make any logical sense.”
The best collectors are self-aware and able to embrace the fact that mechanical watches are totally anachronistic. But that doesn’t mean they’re irrelevant. Far from it, in fact—they continue to be beautiful expressions of craft and culture.
Digging Deeper (and Then Even Deeper)
This applies whether you’re looking for a brand like Grand Seiko or Nomos, or one of the rising independents. Nowadays, this is where the Illuminati really show when they’re in the know. True Illuminati members aren’t obsessed with just the name on a dial. They’re also looking for what’s next—innovation, design, and craft—and supporting the up-and-coming watchmakers behind these efforts, no matter how small.
“The second generation-independents like Xhevdet and Rexhep [Rexhepi], Simon Brette, Berneron, Theo Auffret, and Petermann Bedat, are really being worn in this spirit,” said dealer Erik Gustafson of Hairspring Watches. He’s referring to a young cadre of indies that have risen over the past decade, thanks to the explosion of interest in independent watchmaking, driven by the old guard—FP Journe, Roger Smith, Philippe Dufour, and others.
Collectors love being in the know and supporting young talent. We take pride in being early to put down a deposit on the next up-and-coming wunderkid watchmaker. It’s appreciation, expression, patronage, and bragging rights, all at once.
Right now a new generation of independent watchmakers is designing the pieces that will define their legacies. But when it comes to brands that already carry weight, the Illuminati tend to look backward. This is where to find the foundational watches that built the legend.
