Going Deeper — Ben Clymer the Collector

[Music] so okay that concludes I guess our h10 roundup for the moment let's transition a little bit into your life as a collector and I love the fact that you said much like Ralph Lauren and I think that a he was also similar in some ways to Coco Chanel who used to say that her tastes were honed by hunger right sure and you know but the thing is the more you were compelled to sit there and think about things the more you refine your taste becomes yeah that's exactly right and you know collecting for me like collecting came first you know like the fact that I can pay my bill is doing no dinky is fantastic but like it's all to buy watches I'm here for the watch as well but you know watches for me right or everything is great also because it's like you know it's ten years you know clearly from a business perspective it's been very successful but you're still deriving the same almost naive enjoyment from the beginning absolutely how could you not right you know and like now that I've seen so much and know so much like now you know what I'm what I'm lusting after is different right but it was well how what are you lusting at so I mean now it's it's either the the most kind of important watches basically unique watches right but always with vintage always from the original owner right when I only buy vintage watches problems become so important you know it's just like there's so much nonsense with vintage watches you know replacement hand styles real oom bla bla yes you know I even laser welding on my face exactly no like a so that's you think it's new old soft but it's not right and so for me me being me and just seeing so much I only want watches from the original owner or one iterate in one generation if a dealer says I got this from original owner and there I prove it oh yes so I look for that and then mom watches I love monitor watches as well and I'll show you something really oh yeah this is exciting so we can we can open up the box here a little bit so this is kind of a random smattering of the collection yes sir but you know I mean this for example is just the standard steal Daytona yes it's best well I think it was also the first one to grab the United States yes okay so let me ask you this and this is kind of a car question but okay what I like about Rolex is what I like about Ferrari yeah so I know Flavio Manzoni pretty well I'm not a car guy but you are but but I like the fact that he always tells me he doesn't want to replicate the past right like he wants to create the language of tomorrow of Ferrari and not sort of necessarily keep on repeating things that had happened before because then you there's no progression and I feel that Rolex is very similar in that way you know like Rolex okay there's a little sort of like not here to them maybe the 64 one yeah with the black bezel but it's in a different it's in ceramic you know and they constantly kind of move forward rather than because it would be so easy for them to do I don't know like Paul Newman or whatever like that but they don't right how do you feel about that and how do you feel about this watch look III think Rolex is the master right there the master at pulling on on the heartstrings are the master creating products that that will last the you know the longest and feel the best at right after time they are so permanent and I think something that so many other brands even their contemporaries in that price range they just lack that permanence and this watch in 50 years will look awesome yes you know what I mean and I will wear this watch every day it's never gonna go out of style that's like a Cartier like that's never wrong yeah and so I I appreciate I don't I don't know frankly that that I even would want Rolex to redo a panda or something exactly you know it'd just be a little too easy a little too obvious like I want things to move forward yes and so for that reason I think this watch is just sensational fantastic yeah then we have a Tudor black Bay two-tone which i think is just a cool I just you know Tudor has been such a great supporter of ours and I love what they do this in-house one this one has a date yes well I also like the way when they went to the two-tone they actually found a way to sort of like get a steel core and then put the gold around it now it's not a plating process but it's got core you know and so it's solid gold but you get it a much more sort of accessible price because that's always important to them and when they went from Edda movements to in-house movements I mean their brands in the past have made this mistake I'm Jack their prices up tremendously I think they increase their price by like 10 percent yeah the fact that these watches are in-house they're chronographs our in-house everything that's in the house now yeah and they're still in the 4000 mile range if not below it's just wild it really is amazing then we have this is a really beautiful long Jean kind of called travail new old stock it's really like the original scrap original buckle really yeah this watch is amazing it's just a beautiful design of course and what's great about this is I got this from jungle burger Wow obviously wrote the book on launching Wow and it is just a beautiful thing and it is wonderful and you know I I do wear it actually so I should because it's not new old stock because I wear it but it's not like you run your fingers on the case it's it really it's one of their ultra-thin humanely Wow it's a killer and I'd love this this strap that's the original that's insane I know and that and then when I got it from Goldberger we it was part of a trade it's a long story it was a 20 it was a 25 26 okay that he that he'd wanted and you know he's a real collector he's like us oh yeah that's actually kind of the reason I feel he's kind of a little bit of man of fewer words yeah cuz like you know and I love the contrast with him in W a parmesan me but that be apparent parmesan like I have never met a watch dealer who wasn't the most charming man in the room right I thought like what do you talk about that video Parmesan II or max Bernardini or even you know James Dowling or Bob Maron those guys are like the most affable guys in the war always right always but whereas he's a collector so he's kind of like thinking all the time you know and I love exactly and so we launched in vain this is the launch in 1945 heritage which is a modern wash that was stolen in the store this one was given to me by launching because this watch was inspired by it by my watch which I don't have here of course yes so they I posted my original 1945 with a salmon dial on a suede strap dinky on instagram maybe three years ago right and apostle one of their production guys like a kindly borrow that watch yeah sure whatever research it and then a year and a half later this came out and this watch is is really a very similar you know by but it is certainly inspired by my watch and it's such a cool walk 100 bucks I mean it's such a beautiful wife this is also kind of an important message as well because there are such extraordinary watches out there for like anywhere between a thousands of dollars so you know three thousand dollars you whether it be a tutor or whether it be one of these yes or even a Hamilton you know which I know you sell as well don't watch absolutely and this watch again I has done so well for us it's house and it is you know as I said inspired by what I'm one of my own which is humbling of course and it's just a great thing then we have a long one along it to me is the best contemporary watch Brett in terms of quality you know at a high do for Darrell that's a different thing you know but longa is so special to me I've got such a close personal relationship with that brand with Wilhelm and and others a wonderful man he's amazing and I think the longer one is the perfect watch I think you know if I were that were not me if I were you know how were still at UBS so if I was you know an architect or right or something right and I had one watch to wear every day and I was dressing like this it would be a long two one photos and this one is a special one this is in honey gold well then may twenty pieces in honey gold to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the longa one it's got this amazing finish on the original movement right oh this came out in the new in the new movement era but this is the original Jaeger basement yes frosted plates engraving all over really a special watch only 20 these seasons made but on the subject of longer ones and rare long ones I believe you have one of the steel ones as well I do I do actually I intended to bring it today but it's in the bank so long one as I said it is an icon so this actually aesthetically and from wearing perspective I prefer right but I do have a steel long one which is kind of the Holy Grail it's funny too cuz of the big three guys I was chatting to recently all three of them had one with you or Alan Gabe Gabe got his recently L was given his by his mother-in-law on his wedding day that's incredible I know that that's a hell of winning it I love Olivia and I love her mom hear that yeah the steel on the one is a cool tank but I as I said I prefer the honey gold but I think it's the most longa thing that they did that Reverso this watch was neat because philippe owned a who's US president here was was working on design then and this was something where he came to me early and was like what do you think of this and i was able to see this watch early on right and that was the for a big champion of this watch well you know what's great is that so I interviewed Adam from red bar yesterday and he brought his as well it's great it's a watch that enthusiast really loved yes it was the first time this was 2011 that that I really doesn't end that I felt I could have any impact at all on really very watchmaking because Philippe asked my opinion right early on and then of course I bought one time lines engraved on the back with my initials and it ended up coming we know I was in grad school all right it came to me the day that I finished my master's really congratulate my fantastic and then we'll go into some silly stuff here this is a 5711 our Tiffany signed yeah hang on I I said something during the collecting thing yeah and I didn't I want to just clarify I have no I think they're really cool when you do that you get Patek you know double sign watches with a Tiffany stamp on it as well my point from a collecting perspective is not that if you have those those or show-off watches the the thing is sometimes people just buy them as commodities and they get huge huge sort of collections of these with no actual connection to the watch that's a very different thing and you'll see I mean if you look at this I will watch a lot yes and for me at you know I I am an American guy I don't speak French well you know most of the Americans here do speak French you know I mean a real American party American and because of that I've got a real affinity for American watches yes and so Tiffany to me is the quintessential American retailers 57th Street and Fifth Avenue so I have a love for Tiffany sign logic because I'm a New Yorker and this is a New York so 57:11 are Tiffany sign I've had for four years probably back then they couldn't give them away and so that's a really new one so then in line with that is this is a 50 70 which is the Patek chronograph Lamantia based the big boy all right rose gold also Tiffany something that's about which is is really I don't know that I've seen another I've seen one in G Tiffany signed yes I did I did not buy this new from Tiffany by a spotter from the gentleman who did write and it's just it's a badass watch as you said so that that's it because you just acquired a fifty nine seventy and white gold didn't say Tiffany signed as well yeah I'm making a little collection there and just because you know these are New York retail box yeah I think it's it's fantastic and it is the only retailer today that is allowed to stamp its name blonde Patek styles as well yeah and that as you said this is too bad a swatch it's a boy and so then moving on over here I guess we'll keep on going so in again in that vein we have this as I said I'd buy mono watches and I pay full price just like everybody else 51 70 all right P Tiffany signed nice which is just an amazingly beautiful watch a much better watch on the wrists in the right D said really oh yeah I mean so much small for me anyway smaller thinner diamond actually just putting it on there looks a lot better right and what's neat about this is I'd wanted one of these for awhile and I said you know like I it's a lot of money I don't know that I really need it yes and then I got a call from them saying like we have one of these and if you'll notice if you look at all the other 51 70s that Tiffany's ever sold the Tiffany is at 6 o'clock ah and so they said hey we've got this watch it was a mistake right but they put it at 12 put it twelve do you want it sounds like you know what sure like it's not worth any more than the other ones I don't think like that's a cool thing I'll take it you know you know as John Mayer said in his talking watches like I'm all about going that like you know it I going deeper and deeper and this one to have a Tiffany up there is well that's it it's kind of you finding the rarest iteration of the rare and then ideally one that is unique right and as I said modern watch again this is a this is a grand Cinco I think grande Seco is one of the best brands around we sell them in the store because we really believe in right Jack is obviously a big proponent yes this is the SBG 2 v 3 which is the platinum rien which is like just a killer I mean it's just it's people when you see this watch in broad daylight in bright light it'll blow you away I mean the quality of finishing on this is out of at its world just and then of course the Platinum Edition versus the steel in the rose gold this movements actually regulated - I think - 1 + 5 it's incredible 3 so really precise amazing handle on movement I see you got a 3705 yeah I brought that just because of what happened this weekend yeah 705 sold exceptionally well and this is a watch that I bought from a mutual friend William Messina oh he had this watch forever and he says like I'm over it and so he sold it to me maybe four years ago and I love it and I think you know IWC is a brand that has so much potential and has so much great history is in 90s you guys love their stuff from the 90s these these smaller ceramic cases yeah and they were all there was such you know such innovative badasses back then you know I mean I love the fact that they created a ile Destry arrow scuffle yeah which was the as complicated as a seven thirty thirty 1735 back then but based on a 7 7 5 hey boss you know this to me is is the best watch that it's my favorite item you see the original Portuguese it's so you know date and German tritium dial is really killer the size is perfect perfect and so I think you know if I'd have you see could could could continue to make watches like this I think you know the future is really bright so going on to do vintage watches a little bit you know dishes I love them and you know as I said I'm looking for really special collectible stuff from bottom up things yes Amy this is an original owner guilt dial 1961-62 GMT yeah and it's just dead mint and it's full box papers from the original owner in Hong Kong I got a beat up one of these yeah and it's really nice to be able to see what the the crown guards I should look like I'm like oh yeah it's a very different profile yeah that's really the bracelet it's same thing yeah so again full box papers Carroll owner in China through dealer but you know I know it's it's a red zone or watch and I've already buy this year and a half you're not fantastic and these watches have jumped a lot in value but yeah it's look it's a 1675 Pepsi guilt oh yeah the case is same crazy it really is this is like movie about 60 75 / - thank you you know it's really it's a special thing and but it's it's still like it's seconds to where you know it's not like crazy and who do you buy watches from this watch came from at Fame okay but you know I buy them from everybody I know what if I can find from the original owner directly right preferred but if not you know I trust a lot of guys and but again I want to know that these watches really did come for me rightful well I think that's the other thing that how many keys done also it has also sort of United all the really legit guys yeah I mean cuz you were one of the first guy you were the first guy actually to go and talk about watch as other people were selling right and you were like look at this this is a great example and in some ways you were uniting a community if like trusted sellers you know yeah absolutely then you know the watch that I'm wearing again is a vintage watch it's a 2998 yes it's a 2 9 9 8 - 6 so the last generation of that really the quintessential speed master at every iteration speed master including - 915 and this watch is again just amazing condition really mentum and if you look at never been polished really original this watch is an original owner watch as well oh wow it's a royal canadian air force watch Wow that'll be delivered to a base in Metz France yes and I have a box yeah the original box which is a medicine box was the Royal Canadian Air Force Metz yes then you open it up I've got the original bracelet right as of course right you have a sales receipt different that's where she stops back in the day that's a really good and then you have you know the original paperwork Wow and it's all signed from Metz France and this was an amazing amazing watch 2 9 8 right there 1963 July alive and again purchased at the the station store and so this is these the type of watches that I think really speak to me absolutely because like there's a real history there this is military watch yes and the fact that you still got like the little sales receipt you know it's just such a cool thing that's great then thank you so much it's been an absolute pleasure spending this time with you and amen congratulations thanks so much you know the world watches is a better place because of you thank you [Music]

Channel: Revolution Watch

Views: 226,831

Rating: 4.8137341 out of 5

Keywords: watchmaking, swiss watchmaking, horology, hodinkee, ben clymer, wei koh, patek philippe, omega, rolex, revolution, revolution watch, revolution magazine

Id: o1uSzKSUXhU

Length: 16min 17sec (977 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 18 2019