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Wes Wynne - From Vintage Guitars to Rolex: A Collecting Journey with Wes Wynne of CCNY
1.1k Plays1 year ago
Today I’m chatting with the founder of Collectors Corner NY, Wes Wynne. Wes and I have been buddies for a few years now and while his business has grown significantly, his collecting and dealing philosophies have remained unchanged. What I love about CCNY is that you always get an eclectic offering, from LL Bean signed Hamilton’s to rare white gold Rolex day-dates. Wes’ background actually is in music and tech, but his analytical and technical prowess translates perfectly into his watch business. While focusing on a diverse offering, he takes pride in the condition of each and every piece and the detailed writeup each one gets. Be sure to take a look at his website and social channels when you get a minute, as there are a lot of exciting pieces coming available soon. Alright, this is my buddy Wes Wynne, for Collectors Gene Radio.
Collectors Corner NY Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/collectors.corner.ny/
Collectors Corner NY Website - https://collectorscornerny.com/
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Transcript
Introduction to Collector's Gene Radio
00:00:00
Speaker
The community in watches is pretty incredible. It's probably not too dissimilar from the car community, where folks are in touch all across the globe. It's a little bit easier to transport a watch from Europe to the US, for instance, right? But I think it's a highly connected community. Dealers and other collectors are very happy to share information with one another. And I've met some of my best friends, including yourself, in the watch community.
00:00:29
Speaker
It's a fun space to be a part of. What's going on everybody and welcome to Collector's Gene Radio. This is all about diving into the nuances of collecting and ultimately finding out whether or not our guests have what we like to call the collector's gene. If you have the time, please subscribe and leave a review. It truly helps. Thanks a bunch for listening and please enjoy today's guest on Collector's Gene Radio.
00:00:57
Speaker
Today I'm chatting with the founder of Collectors Corner NY, Wes Wind. Wes and I have been buddies for a few years now and while his business has grown significantly, his collecting and dealing philosophies have remained unchanged.
Eclectic Range at CCNY
00:01:11
Speaker
What I love about CCNY is that you always get an eclectic offering from LL Bean signed Hamilton's to rare white gold Rolex day dates.
00:01:20
Speaker
Wes's background actually is in music and tech, but his analytical and technical prowess translates perfectly into his watch business. While focusing on a diverse offering, he takes pride in the condition of each and every piece, and the details right up each one gets is kinda hard to beat. Be sure to take a look at his website and social channels when you get a minute, as there are a lot of exciting pieces coming available soon.
Wes Wind's Transition and Values
00:01:43
Speaker
All right, this is my buddy Wes Nguyen for Collector's Dream Radio.
00:01:48
Speaker
Wes, Wynn, welcome to Collector's Dream Radio, my friend. Thank you so much, Cameron. Really appreciate you having me on. Of course. This is really just going to be an extension of our monthly calls that you and I do together, but nonetheless, I'm very excited to have you on and let our listeners learn a little bit more about you. Yeah, it's funny. We were joking last week that this is our normal State of the Union conversation, but just a podcast.
00:02:14
Speaker
Yeah, now I just get to put our conversations out to the world. It's a little intrusive, but we'll keep it PG. Awesome. What's on the wrist today? I am wearing a GMT in solid yellow gold. It's a teen 718 that I just listed on the site this week, and it has a black gilt dial. It feels like it should be on Safari for some reason. I don't know what it is about this watch, but it feels like it should be in Africa.
Business Strategy and Location Choices
00:02:44
Speaker
I love it. I think I saw you post a picture of it the other day, but I'm excited to look at your great photography that you usually do. I shot it on a camo swatch per usual. Love that. You were just in Rhode Island, right? I was just in Rhode Island. We had the whole family descended upon us.
00:03:07
Speaker
And we had my grandmother come in from Paris. She's 92 years old. My cousin from Colorado, my sister and her husband had two toddlers with us who are new to the family. So it's been a lot of fun. And I'm going to spend one more weekend up here for Labor Day this coming. Okay. But you're back home now. I am back in Connecticut for the time being. Yep. Love it.
00:03:33
Speaker
I know what the car scene is like in Rhode Island, but I'm not sure the watch scene necessarily follows suit there compared to the caliber of cars that you see. Am I wrong? I think there's definitely a fair amount of watch collectors in Rhode Island.
Origins of Wes's Watch Fascination
00:03:49
Speaker
I'm trying to cultivate a good list of clients over there.
00:03:52
Speaker
And part of the reason I put my business in Connecticut and kept my New York name was to help sales tax burden for any folks who are in New York. And I actually don't really look for clients in Connecticut because I would be charging them sales tax. My price is not as competitive for them, but I certainly am looking for clients up there in Rhode Island.
00:04:15
Speaker
in Watch Hill specifically is where we are. So it's been great. It's a social scene I've been part of since I was born, essentially, and we've got a great community up there.
00:04:25
Speaker
So for those that don't know you or may not know the name behind the brand, you run Collectors Corner and Why, otherwise known as CCNY, which is one of my favorite sites for vintage and neo-vintage watches.
Music Industry Background and Collection Skills
00:04:37
Speaker
And before I forget, the website is collectorscornerandwhy.com. And don't worry, I'll be putting it in the show notes for everybody.
00:04:45
Speaker
I know a lot of people know about your website and a lot of people also know about you, but I want to kind of go back a bit because I think your story is super important in terms of the way that you run your business and kind of your philosophies. Yeah, so I've been following the watch space for probably as long as Ho Dinky has been around. I remember reading articles from Ben Clymer and our mutual friend Eric Wind very, very early on.
00:05:14
Speaker
And it wasn't until I inherited a watch that was passed to me through my father after my grandfather had passed away. It was a Rolex that he'd pretty much worn every day. And I think since an early age, I've always had an interest in mechanical things from
00:05:32
Speaker
building RC planes and helicopters in interesting cars that my father certainly passed to me. But it wasn't until this watch was passed to me that I realized the permanence of a mechanical watch. There was so much value put into understanding that my grandfather had owned it previously. And I just went on this research rabbit hole and became extremely interested in horology in general as a result of that.
Military Watches and Provenance
00:06:00
Speaker
And your background before that was actually in music, if I remember correctly, and kind of like vintage guitars were also a big part of your life. Definitely. And another thing that my father kind of passed to me was an interest in music and guitars. We both collected vintage guitars for years and still do. And I was able to work in the music industry for about 10 years, starting with internships from Rolling Stone magazine to songs, music publishing,
00:06:29
Speaker
And eventually I landed a job at Columbia Records, which is part of Sony. And I worked there for seven years in the marketing team. When it comes to vintage guitars and vintage watches, what are the similarities when it comes to collecting both, right? Does condition matter as much? Because I know sometimes the beat up Stratocaster is a look that people kind of go for.
00:06:53
Speaker
It's a great question. I think that having an eye for understanding condition in both fields is pretty critical.
Mentorship and Community in Watch Dealing
00:07:01
Speaker
There's definitely a lot of tomfoolery with regards to guitars. You know, it's difficult to figure out if a guitar has been refinished or if parts have been replaced. So having a feel for what feels like honest condition with a guitar is very important.
00:07:17
Speaker
For my taste, I would say that I actually kind of like more beat-up guitars. And in watches, I prefer watches that are very, very clean, condition-wise.
00:07:27
Speaker
Yeah, there is something cool about kind of seeing the raw wood kind of being shown, especially like a Stratocaster or a Telecaster that has provenance, because you just know that these guys were wearing a watch, probably rubbing up against the body of the guitar, scratching off all the paint over time. Right. Yeah, you could look at Stevie Ray Vaughan's Stratocaster and he just beat the shit out of that thing, but it looks so cool.
00:07:54
Speaker
And then after the music industry, you kind of went to some of the big tech companies, Meta, Twitter, Pinterest, which makes perfect sense knowing how analytical and technical of a person you are. But how do you go from companies like that to then starting your own? I mean, I know that mechanical things were always of interest to you based on some family members, but what was the jump there like?
00:08:22
Speaker
Yeah, I think a lot of it ties back to that research theme
Diverse Clientele and Offerings at CCNY
00:08:25
Speaker
we discussed earlier. I would say I have a sort of inherent curiosity for things. And to be successful in the marketing field and analytics, you have to have a passion for research. And I think that really ties into the vintage watch field because if you're not willing to kind of sit around for two hours every day and dig around into the far corners of the internet,
00:08:52
Speaker
and just learn more and more. It's kind of an endless abyss of information, but that's part of the beauty of the hobby where you know there's always more to kind of grasp, but as you build your understanding, you just become more skilled at understanding what you're looking at. And for anyone that knows you, you have an affinity for military memorabilia, and I know that your grandfather
00:09:18
Speaker
Collected you know stamps and military ephemera and all this stuff But did that kind of contribute to your affinity or was that just happenstance that you also kind of fell in love with this stuff Yeah, it's a great question, too I think both of my grandfathers on my mother's and father's side were interested in aviation but it was really my mother's father who probably collected more of that military ephemera and
00:09:44
Speaker
I think I developed a bit of a taste for it, but it wasn't until I got into the watch world that I understood the kind of built-in provenance that comes with buying a military watch. And that started just kind of a rabbit hole of understanding different camouflages and pairing them correctly with various photographs.
00:10:05
Speaker
Some of that stuff's a little bit easier to track, I would say, in terms of the provenance, right? Because the military kept a lot of records, obviously, and all that sort of stuff, so maybe it was easier to find names. I would say so. You know, any kind of military watch is supposed to have military markings that would show that it was issued, so it becomes easier to understand when it was produced and possibly where it was issued.
00:10:32
Speaker
In terms of paperwork, it's not super likely you're gonna find that kind of stuff, but it's definitely a huge plus if it comes with it. And for those that haven't visited your site, Wes finds some of the coolest vintage military watches from Benriss to LL Bean signed Hamiltons. I love them. And the condition that you find on some of these are insane. I appreciate it, man. I think for the Hamiltons, you know,
00:11:00
Speaker
Hamilton from Lancaster, PA was the factory where most of these watches were built. Some of them were actually built in Hong Kong, where you can see on the inner case back.
00:11:12
Speaker
In terms of those watches, it was really the issued watches that started the LL Bean signed dials. I think Hamilton saw their success with their military watches, and that led them to release the khaki, which was a civilian model, as well as the LL Bean. And I actually have an Orvis, which is extremely rare, sitting in front of me. And shout out to Mark Chu for tipping me off on this one, which was an eBay find. Mark, if you're listening, your gift is in the mail currently.
00:11:43
Speaker
Love it. Yeah, they're not that easy to find and I've only seen a few and most of them land on your site. But I find that for double signed watches like that, for retailers that are still around, they haven't even hit their peak
Mentorship Stories in the Watch Industry
00:12:01
Speaker
yet. And there's still so much fun to be had with these that it's cool to see them making a resurgence in people's collections.
00:12:11
Speaker
Yeah, I think there's a ton of history packed into any one of these watches. They're still relatively affordable. You're getting a vintage watch with a matte dial and tritium and just a kind of a toned down look that's understated and just very easily wearable.
00:12:29
Speaker
I was just in Park City and we were fly fishing and all the waiters were made by Orvis. It was pretty cool. Just made me think of that watch. And when you start to notice brands like that, especially ones like LL Bean where you have towels in your home that are LL Bean or other clothing, you start to imagine the time when they were like, yeah, let's stamp our name on this dial and partner with Hamilton.
00:12:56
Speaker
There's just something so cool about that you know the same thing as a tiffany stamp watch or a buyer stamp watch i mean it's just. These two brands collaborating together to do something simple yet so special. Yeah so are our mutual friend skip powell coined a term about the llb and he said it's the ultimate piece of horological americana.
00:13:18
Speaker
It really is. I mean, it's so under the radar, but when you show anyone who lives in the US, they know both brands. And that doesn't happen often. Totally. So getting into the Watch Game as a dealer is obviously not easy, albeit the community is extremely welcoming. Was there anyone who mentored you or gave you some guidance kind of to get started? Because I know that that happens quite a bit.
00:13:47
Speaker
Yeah, I definitely have to shout out a few names here. First and foremost,
Starting Small and Emphasizing Condition
00:13:51
Speaker
James Lambden has been extremely helpful in getting my feet off the ground. I'd followed him for years and been a fan of Analog Shift and everything they were doing over there. I think with their acquisition of From Watches of Switzerland, they're probably the top
00:14:08
Speaker
retail experience and vintage and pre-owned watches in the world right now. But James, I consider a friend and he's been nothing but extremely helpful. Eric Wind is the other mutual friend that I should list.
00:14:21
Speaker
When I reached out to Eric, he looked at my website early on and just helped me in terms of understanding condition and refinished dials or any kinds of hands being replaced. So thank you to Eric for sure for helping me get started. And just mentioned Skip Powell as well. Skip was an independent dealer for the last four years and is now at Sotheby's in their private sale division.
00:14:49
Speaker
but his company was called Saga Trading Co. It's still active selling accessories, but I would consider Skip to be one of the top vintage Rolex experts in the world, and I think Skip really taught me how to become a real watch dealer, and he looks very handsome with a mustache. I'm sure he'll appreciate it.
00:15:12
Speaker
It's kind of a crazy concept though, right? You think about competition and different businesses and different industries, and you think of the idea of somebody helping somebody else, and there's not many industries where it's so common for people who do exactly what you do to help you get started. It really doesn't happen often, but I find it so cool that watches is one of those few industries where everybody can come together to help somebody, you know?
00:15:42
Speaker
Yeah, I think the community in watches is pretty incredible. It's probably not too dissimilar from the car community where folks are in touch all across the globe. It's a little bit easier to transport a watch from Europe to the US, for instance, right? But I think it's a highly connected community.
00:16:01
Speaker
Dealers and other collectors are very happy to share information with one another, and I've met some of my best friends, including yourself, in the watch community, so it's a fun space to be a part of. I think to become a dealer, it's a little bit trial by fire, and I started off
00:16:21
Speaker
basically flipping watches in the few hundred dollar range and scouring eBay and looking at auctions and I just started small and didn't take too too much risk early on.
00:16:34
Speaker
Do you find that your clients like to collect a mix of watches because obviously your website is all about this eclectic mix of modern and vintage Rolex to Hamilton watches that are signed by L.L. Bean to Cartier and you have this kind of
00:16:55
Speaker
pool of watches that fits every bill for everybody but do you find that your clients like to collect a mix or do you simply carry such a wide array to attract all types of clients.
00:17:07
Speaker
I think it's probably more the latter. From a business standpoint, it makes sense to have a little bit of everything to attract a diverse pool of clients. I have a lot of sourcing requests for Cartier panthers from female collectors. I like sourcing modern watches. I don't love stocking them right now, but I do think having modern watches for sale is a great way to bring new enthusiasts into the space.
00:17:33
Speaker
you know, in terms of the progression of a collector, most of these folks start in modern and then end up realizing they like vintage more. But yeah, I think having a diversity of price points as well as brands and models is just a great way to attract a vast number of different inquiries.
Connections with Car Collecting
00:17:51
Speaker
How about collecting in other categories? You and I both love to collect other items besides watches. Do you find this to be true with your clients as well? I think there's definitely a connection to the car community. I would say that a lot of my clients love cars. I do love cars myself. And there is certainly that connection to a love for mechanical things and analog things that joins the two.
00:18:19
Speaker
Yeah, I mean there's obviously a direct lineage there and we just saw this week that there's been some piece unique car clocks that have come out for some pretty insane cars and stuff like that. So there's always been a direct lineage there too, which is interesting and I'm wondering if the dashboard clocks
00:18:40
Speaker
will ever make their way back. You know, like the old Hoyer dashboard clocks that were really for racing to time people. I know some people have put them in their cars and stuff, but I wonder if they'll ever see a resurgence in the collector community. Yeah, I think as the scholarship grows in the internet era, it's just going to only build more awareness of those things, you know. But looking at the pocket watch market, for instance,
00:19:07
Speaker
A Patek pocket watch trades for like a tenth of the price of maybe a Calatrava modern today.
Curating Pocket Watches
00:19:14
Speaker
So the pocket watch market is pretty rough. It's very thin, but it's incredible what you can get for a dollar in that market currently. Yeah, there's some insane stuff that gets traded. Complicated stuff too that you can get for a fraction of the price of something that goes on a strap. A hundred percent.
00:19:33
Speaker
So in curating for the site, something that a lot of people don't realize is that you're actually in collecting mode, would you say? I would say so. I think some of your other guests have alluded to the fact that you have to be a collector to be a dealer. And I agree completely, you know, it's, uh, there's definitely a bit of a blurry line for a lot of dealers, including myself there.
00:19:59
Speaker
But I would say I mostly buy my stock, probably 90% of my stock I own. So I would say if I'm willing to put my own capital, which is hard earned behind my stock, then it's something that I wouldn't mind owning myself if I get stuck with it.
00:20:16
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you've always got a bunch of great stuff on offer on your site, but what I love the most is the write-up that each watch gets, right?
Photography and Detailed Descriptions
00:20:25
Speaker
So aside from your attention to detail, like making sure all the hands, even the seconds hand, is in the exact same spot in all your photos, which I would have to assume you and your camera have probably exchanged a few F-bombs if the photo didn't come out the way you wanted.
00:20:41
Speaker
Yeah, it's funny. I started actually shooting all of my date watches on the number eight as well. And I don't know if you noticed that, but I just I'm a little bit picky and probably a little bit OCD with how things look. And I just like the consistency across those images now. But as we know, eight is a lucky number in Asia. So I'm hoping someone in Hong Kong is going to buy a watch for me.
00:21:07
Speaker
We gotta start putting that out into the ether there that all your photos are dated for eight. But I love your briefings, your condition reports, and the specs are always so organized and comprehensive, but they're honestly fun to read. So I encourage anybody who hasn't spent too much time on your site to really go learn about these watches, because you've done it in such a concise way that it's really easy to
00:21:33
Speaker
learn about this stuff, right? It's almost like an encyclopedia. If you want to learn about a vintage Benris that you would have never have known about, you give a lot of history in a really concise way. Was that kind of always part of the plan? Absolutely. And I think, you know, the top of this year, I spent a lot of time rebuilding my website. I wanted it to be a very user friendly interface for both mobile and desktop.
00:21:58
Speaker
And part of that was making a pretty clean looking page for the listings, right? So I think you go to a lot of sites and there's sort of like an empty area of space that's not being utilized. And the way that I built it, I just created it so that it's visually pleasing and easy to use. I would also say that in terms of the scholarship in those listings, there is an archive page. So you can kind of look through any of the previously sold listings and
00:22:28
Speaker
I think it's always good to kind of keep your listings up there for anyone to scrutinize.
Wes's Business Ethos and Featured Watches
00:22:32
Speaker
You know, if you're selling watches privately only, you're not really opening yourself up to any scrutiny from the public. Yeah, I mean, the hard part with a lot of these other sites is that they don't give enough information. And then you're asking them for information and a lot of times you forget to probably ask something. And then even more often the watch probably comes and you
00:22:56
Speaker
notice something that you probably should have asked. And it's nice to see somebody putting so much thoughtful effort into making sure that you don't really skip a beat and that there's no questions left unanswered.
00:23:11
Speaker
I appreciate that. Yeah, I think in terms of the macro photography, right, I'm shooting these watches at every possible angle. And I want to be able to show description, describe condition as closely as I can. And you're going to have every piece of information you need to understand before pulling the trigger from my site.
00:23:34
Speaker
Right. And since you are so analytical and technical, I thought it would be fun to choose three of my favorite watches from your site right now and have you tell the listeners about them because I chose the three based on
00:23:48
Speaker
what I feel are probably the three pillars in your business, which are condition above all else, client relations, which Wes is always around to chat with different buyers and collectors and help you learn and teach you about something that you may be interested in or maybe looking to buy. And thirdly, the eclectic mix that we mentioned before.
Rarity and Appeal of White Gold Day-Dates
00:24:11
Speaker
I think the three watches that I picked kind of hit all of those boxes. So we'll list them out one by one and you can kind of give everybody some details on it. Sound good? Yeah, for sure.
00:24:22
Speaker
All right, so the first one is this Rolex Day-Date that you have on the site. It's a reference 18239 in white gold with a cream dial that I've never really seen before. You also have a black dial, a gilt black dial Day-Date on the site, which is incredible too, that I encourage everybody to go look at. But I thought this cream dial was just so interesting. This is an early double Kwikset Day-Date in white gold and
00:24:51
Speaker
It's from 1989, the first double quickset would have been from 88. And for those who don't know what quickset is, it's essentially allowing you to flip through the day and date more quickly. And I think a lot of folks don't really understand how few white gold day dates there are compared to yellow gold.
00:25:09
Speaker
I think it's a very striking watch. I'm always looking for the white gold variants, but this particular example had a silver dial and it tropicalized into this gorgeous warm tone. So very, very unique looking watch. I think a Day-Date is probably one of the most recognizable watches in the world. So having it in white gold just makes it a little bit different.
00:25:32
Speaker
Yeah, I'm curious, I wonder if there are any numbers on how many they did make in white gold over the years, because you really don't see them often. The majority of people probably do recognize the day date in a yellow gold material, especially when it comes to vintage and neo-vintage day dates. But the white gold you rarely see, and a lot of times they all have cool dials. This is also an interesting point of value in the market, right? If you look at a brand new day date trading at double the price,
00:26:03
Speaker
I think that this is a more attractive watch. It has brushed lugs. It's not like a shiny piece of jewelry where in the year 2000, I think Rolex kind of went from building tool watches into building almost jewelry. And from my point of view, there are just too many shiny surfaces that are kind of like scratch magnets on them. This is a great size. They did not change the size of the Day-Date until the year 2008. So I think that's a,
00:26:32
Speaker
a pretty good sign that 36 is a great size for most people. Yeah, I mean, anybody who's worried about wearing a 36 millimeter Day-Date, that was like the OG 400 pound mobster watch, so I think you're fine. If Tony Soprano could wear one, I think you're okay. Yeah, I agree, man. All right, the next one is the, we talked about it a lot already, but it's an LL Bean signed Hamilton, but this one happens to be new old stock, which is impossible to come by.
00:27:01
Speaker
Yeah, so this is probably going to be one of the most expensive LL Bean signed Hamiltons ever sold, if I had to guess. I've sold a lot of them, but I've never seen one with a stickered case back that was completely new old stock condition. It comes with its correct box and strap. And in terms of what's described as new old stock, my definition of that is something that has absolutely no marks on it under a loop.
00:27:31
Speaker
like new old stock might be some signs of handling, but this is a true time capsule example and certainly a pretty impressive watch.
00:27:41
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I don't know that I've ever seen another new old stock one and just to look at it. And while it is maybe, like you said, one of the more expensive ones, it's not something that I would say anybody has to keep new old stock, right? There's some new old stock that stuff that is on the seesaw of, you know, do I keep this in the safe or not? This is something I think people should enjoy wearing because it's almost like you're just buying this new.
00:28:05
Speaker
That's how I look at this watch. You're buying it new and ready to wear. And I just think that there's just something so novel about it. I think it's probably easier to keep this watch looking very clean just based on the case size as well.
Encouraging Diverse Collections
00:28:20
Speaker
So it's not an egregious price. I think in general, the NOS pricing is essentially doubled out of a really great condition example. But you're just hard pressed to find another
00:28:33
Speaker
Example that's in that great of condition anywhere in the world Yeah, and let alone finding these isn't always that easy anyway, so someone should hop on that the last one is a Cartier pant there with a diamond bezel in the medium size and it's in like pristine condition the price is insane and I've happened to grow fond of this watch My wife has a mini one, but I've happened to grow fond of it actually for men, too
00:29:02
Speaker
and the diamonds are actually pretty subtle, so tell us about this one. Yeah, so as I mentioned earlier, the panther is a very popular request for sourcing for a lot of female collectors that I have. I think this watch is priced very fairly, frankly. It's not expensive like the LL Bean.
00:29:21
Speaker
It's an interesting one. It's a good daily wear and steal, a little bit more interesting with the factory diamond bezel. And the reason I bought it is because it's a full set and it actually has the original purchase receipt, which I think is pretty cool. So yeah, the pant there is such an iconic design from Cartier. Keith Richards wore one. It's hard to argue with that.
00:29:43
Speaker
Yeah, and the diamonds are so subtle on it. A lot of times diamonds can feel over the top and you feel like it's got to be a dressy piece or a special occasion piece, like a gallop piece, but this is so under the radar still and awesome every day where I happen to love it.
00:30:00
Speaker
Yeah, fantastic watch. And I've sold a lot of them. I would say that my favorite model is the mini version. Yes, that's one my wife has. It's a bunch of fun. We've seen a lot of photos of Timothy Chalamet wearing one. It's become quite popular.
00:30:20
Speaker
My wife has requested one too, so she's up next. Love it. Wes, before we wrap up with the collector's dream rundown, what's your advice for collectors who really want to diversify their collection but are having trouble getting over that hump? Because if anyone can convince someone to diversify, I feel like it's you based on all the stuff that you source for the site.
00:30:45
Speaker
Yeah, so I think it's fun to have an eclectic mix of things to be able to wear. You know, there are certainly collectors out there that focus on 5513 Submariners or they're just kind of in Rolex or a particular brand. For me and the way I collect personally, I like to not just fill every empty void, but
00:31:08
Speaker
have a diversity of different models and styles that I can pair with outfits. And a huge part of collecting watches, I think, is sort of taking you into this different realm, if you will. You can strap something on your wrist that essentially brings you into a different time or makes you feel like you're almost a different person for a short period of time.
00:31:31
Speaker
Love it. All right, let's wrap it up with the collector's dream rundown. You can answer them based on any collections that you have. You can answer them based on being a dealer and your business, whatever you feel is fit. Sound good? Definitely.
Personal Collecting Goals
00:31:44
Speaker
All right, let's head it. What's the one that got away? Gosh, there is another Hamilton khaki field watch that I think we both are aware of. Our mutual friend, Rawad from Huntington Company sourced this piece.
00:32:00
Speaker
And as the story goes, it was a Land Rover signed dial.
00:32:06
Speaker
that was gifted at a dealership in Romania. I made him an obscene offer on this watch, which I'm not even gonna disclose here, because I know a couple of other folks are going after it, but it's an exceptional watch. He's coming up to visit me from Virginia in September, so we're gonna take a photo of an LL Bean, an Orvis signed dial, as well as this Land Rover signed dial all in one go, so it'll be pretty cool. I love that.
00:32:34
Speaker
Is he keeping that one for himself? He's told me that he's going to keep it until he gets a Land Rover defender, which I think is pretty logical. All right, that works. How about the on deck circle? So what's next for you in the business or personal collecting both?
00:32:52
Speaker
In terms of my personal collection, I've been hunting a Tudor snowflake with blue dial and no date. They're extremely rare. I think Skip could tell us there's probably only a thousand of them that were ever produced with a blue dial. And you can only imagine the number that are in the type of condition that you'd want to own. It's probably, you know, a couple hundred that have remained really an exceptional condition.
00:33:18
Speaker
The other one would be a 1016 Rolex Explorer I. I think Craft and Tailored sold one with super pumpkin-looking patina. And I told Mike Nouveau that if that watch ever comes back, I'm interested. I just want something that has really unique-looking either yellow patina or maybe pumpkin patina for that watch. So keep your eyes peeled for me if you can, please. Sure will.
00:33:43
Speaker
But yeah, in terms of what's coming with the business, there's a lot of watches being listed for the holiday season starting in September, of course. So that's kind of the busiest time of the year is from September through January. And I actually have a really nice collection of Rolex ephemera coming from a retired Rolex authorized dealer. So it'll be nice to see some accessories that are all Rolex branded as well.
00:34:10
Speaker
I love that. I mean, some people don't realize how cool some of that ephemera is. I mean, there's binoculars, there's opera binoculars, there's signage, there's cases, there's glow. I mean, there's all this stuff that is super collectible, but also just fun to have. I mean, put it on a bookshelf, put it on your desk. I love that stuff and perfect for the holidays. A hundred percent. Yeah. I just need to get around to photographing it.
00:34:37
Speaker
That's the hardest part. Luckily, you don't have to change any dates or seconds hands to get them perfect. Exactly right. How about the unobtainable? Gosh, I think it has to be a timepiece and it would be probably a Cartier bamboo in white gold. I've only been able to find three examples of that watch and I'm not even sure if any of them were really for sale. Maybe one of them was.
00:35:05
Speaker
And I think probably the culmination of any work I've been doing with military watches would be a mill sub, which I certainly missed the market on. I remember seeing those in maybe the 50K range early on following the hobby and they've really run off.
00:35:22
Speaker
And even then, 50K is crazy. You know, when you think about it like price-wise, and a lot of times, you know, you hear people like, oh, I remember when these were five, 10K, and now they're 100K, but 50K, you know, you just know that they're rare. Definitely. Yeah, I think the market on them is, you know, it's a quarter million for a decent example right now, so.
00:35:44
Speaker
Do most of those come with a lot of the military provenance background?
Admiration for Ralph Lauren's Car Collection
00:35:49
Speaker
There's not many of them, so are most of them pretty well recorded? I think that in the circle of folks collecting those watches, they're gonna know a lot of the history from previous owners. I know Dr. Greg Petronzi just acquired one. I don't know from who, but maybe he got it from Graham Fowler. I would think that he probably knows a lot about the provenance of that watch.
00:36:12
Speaker
Yeah, those are, they're just super interesting. And I mean, I love that, you know, the fixed lugs and the hands, and it's just one of those iterations of the Submariner that is so different enough that if you show somebody, you can't not put a smile on their face, you know? A hundred percent. Um, the page one rewrite. So if you could collect anything besides watches or maybe it even is still watches, but money is no object, what would it be and why? Gosh, I'll start.
00:36:42
Speaker
somewhere outside of watches. I mean, we saw through COVID, of course, the car market exploded and I was looking at the price of 997 turbo manual transmission Porsches. Those kind of got away. I mean, I feel like the market might come back a little bit next year and I am hunting a car. Uh, I think a dot two is out of reach at this point, but a dot one is pretty damn near close. So that might be within reach. Yeah.
00:37:11
Speaker
That's an incredible car and being the last manual turbo, it's something I wish I had started maybe looking at five years ago.
00:37:20
Speaker
Well, the good thing is it hasn't been totally priced out of the box yet, and they are still obtainable. There's obviously some 911s that are just complete unobtainium that got priced out during COVID. And I think that that's one that still has some room to grow. So I think you're in a good spot to get one. I completely agree. Yeah, let's hope the car market softens a bit. How about the goat? So who do you look up to in the collecting world?
00:37:49
Speaker
Gosh, I think it would have to be Ralph Lauren. Also, impeccable taste in car collecting and just such a fantastic level of preservation for his vehicles. He has a 918 Spyder, he's got a LaFerrari. Of course, his vintage cars are really the gems of his collection, so no one else to look up to in that space besides Ralph Lauren.
Collector's Mindset and Passion for Research
00:38:13
Speaker
I agree. And if no one's ever seen photos of his garage, it's insane because I think they all make up, they're all like two or three colors only. And it's, you know, the cool thing about Ralph's collection is that he didn't go for these ultra rare colorways in some of these cars, right? He just has this aesthetic of black, red, and silver for just about everything.
00:38:35
Speaker
And all of his cars are those colors. Granted, you know, a 918 is a million dollar car, so, you know, you take what you can get. But he's got this theme going on of everything being black, red, and silver, and it just makes for just the most incredible collection.
00:38:53
Speaker
Very, very cool. Yeah. Well, I've guard railed my personal watch collection by only collecting white metal. So steel, of course, platinum, white gold. I think it's just a way to kind of add some responsibility to the lunacy. You're basically Ralph. A far planet. The hunt or the ownership?
00:39:17
Speaker
I would say for me, it's equal parts. And I tend to keep most of my personal watches. I'm extremely methodical about what I'm acquiring and wearing, but I think to be a real collector, you also have to be super excited for the hunt and the research part of this hobby. So it's a 50-50. Yeah, I agree. I mean, obviously the hunt is
00:39:42
Speaker
so much fun, and when you find the thing, it's even better. But you have to love the thing enough to enjoy owning it. And if you don't, those are usually the ones that you end up letting go of. Definitely agree there. All right, Wes, most importantly, do you feel that you were born with the collector's gene? Absolutely. I think it ties back to the love of research, first and foremost. You know, that ties into my earlier career in the music industry and the tech industry.
00:40:13
Speaker
I think there's just this very playful connection with the imagination in this collecting sphere, and it could not be more enjoyable than in watches.
Conclusion and Gratitude
00:40:23
Speaker
So I am a collector. It's a little bit painful to sell some of these things that I'm finding, but we gotta keep the train rolling.
00:40:33
Speaker
Everyone, go check out Wes at collectorscornerny.com and on Instagram and it'll be in the show notes as well if you need some help finding it. But Wes, always good to catch up with you. I still feel like we probably need another monthly call anyway just to catch up personally. But great to have you on the show. I can't wait to have you back on. So excited to see your business just continue to grow and I can't wait to see what comes out in September.
00:40:59
Speaker
Cameron, thank you so much, my friend. I am really, truly excited for you and all the success you've been having with the podcast. Very, very honored to be on. And I'll definitely take you up on coming back at some point. Thank you so much. You got it, man. Take care. You too. All right, that does it for this episode. Thank you all for listening to Collector's Gene Radio.