The Life of a Watch Enthusiast HY: "It all started with the Rolex Submariner."

HY, who had no interest in watches at all, fell in love with them when he happened to get his hands on a Rolex Submariner, and since then, his eye for watches has been sharpened. He has never shown his collection to anyone, and there are only a few people he talks to about watches. But his wife is a good confidant for him. The relationship between the two, in which watches have become a part of their conversation, may be, in a way, the ideal image of a watch enthusiast.

"When I'm unsure which watch to choose, I ask my wife. I've never been disappointed."

　I met HY in 2022. I remember being impressed by the fact that, despite his young age, he was wearing a Breguet Classique Tourbillon 3357 on his wrist. I thought he must be a very stylish man.

　Mr. H, who joined the family business after graduating from university, is in a position that many would envy. However, he says he had no connection with watches, to the point that he "never wore a watch to begin with."

"My father gave me a Milgauss as a gift to celebrate my 20th birthday. But I was afraid of luxury watches. I never wore it at university and it pretty much just sat there."

　He now collects watches, but says he has no other materialistic desires. His hobby is exercise, which seems like the complete opposite of a collector. So why did Mr. H become so obsessed with watches?

"It all started with a Rolex Submariner. I bought one by chance and started researching it. I realized that just wearing a watch makes me happy for some reason. That made me even more interested and I started researching it more."

　What's interesting is that his wife is sitting next to him during the interview. Normally, it's rare for a partner to be present when reporting on a watch. However, Mr. H is chatting with his wife about this and that.

"I bought a Submariner, and it's the perfect practical watch, but now I'm looking at dressier watches for special occasions," his wife chimes in. "You choose your watch to match your outfit."

　After the Rolex, Mr. H purchased a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, which he says broadened his horizons with the watch.

However, his wife says:

"The more classic watches are ones that he found himself. But the more traditional watches are ones that I recommended to him, such as the Reverso, Breguet Marine, and Patek Philippe World Time. I prioritize appearance and recommend watches that he doesn't already own. The same goes for Roger Dubuis. I think the Excalibur would go well with sporty clothing."

　Mr. H, who became absorbed in his watch hobby, began to collect information about watches on his smartphone. Naturally, the topic of watches became more and more of their conversations. "My wife didn't know anything about watches, but when I explained about chronographs and things like that, she started to learn more. So she said she wanted to see the Reine of Naples. People have an image of Breguet as a man's watch, so I was surprised, but we went to see it." In the end, his wife bought the watch, and for some reason Mr. H also ended up with the Marine.

"I was influenced by luxury sports, but I like watches with leather straps," says Mr. H. Indeed, the majority of his collection is made up of watches like this. The one that seems to be the complete opposite of that is a platinum Rolex Daytona. No matter how you look at it, it's not to his taste.

"When I first became interested in watches, I talked to my father, and he told me he had a few. So I was sneaking around his house and I found this watch. I thought, wow, it's the real thing, and asked him to lend it to me if I wasn't going to use it, and I kept it for myself. By the way, he also had a Paul Newman, but he said he couldn't lend it to me (laughs)."

　Mr. H talks about his family through his watch.

"I don't want to let go of my watch. I never had any investment intentions with it, so I don't really want to sell it. Also, it's like a child to me because it's full of memories. If I were to sell it, I would rather give it to someone I know."

　For him, the memories of the watch are probably memories of his family. Mr. H continues to talk with his wife.

"When I'm unsure which watch to choose, I ask my wife. I've never been disappointed by this, and I think it's actually been a good thing. I've had watches that I was obsessed with, so my wife has been my stopper. Now, watches have become a part of our conversations. For example, the word guilloche has started to pop up regularly. I dropped my smartphone and the screen cracked, and she said it looked like a guilloche."

　His wife says, "Even when I go to Tokyo, it's almost 8% about watches."

　The conversation expands further. Mr. H's father is a collector of vintage cars. He owns many famous cars, and Mr. H says that he used to take him to rallies. However, he never talks about his hobby. However, just looking at the car, it's clear that it was shaped through trial and error to become what Mr. H has today.

"My father is not good at talking and doesn't drink alcohol. But maybe it would be good to talk to him about his hobbies. By the way, my father buys cars quickly and then sells them quickly. I thought he was just buying them even though he couldn't manage them, and then I ended up doing the same thing (laughs). So I can't act like I'm superior anymore."

　When Mr. H talks about watches, he is ultimately talking about the "bonds" he has with his family. Isn't this the life of a watch enthusiast? "To be honest, I'm not sure what to do now," he says. However, his hobby life is sure to become even richer.