Fine Watch Tasting

I’ve been collecting, buying, and selling watches for over 25 years. My first watch was a Porsche Design chronograph, which I wore swimming so often that it took on water and told the tides as well. Then I bought a quartz Movado museum watch in Zurich and loved that watch for many years. Nathan George Horwitt, one of my design heroes, designed it. It was a fantastic dress and casual watch, but it finally gave up. My next watch was a Ulysse Nardin alarm, which I used for travel. My next watch was a Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral Dual Time. After studying watchmaking from Walt Odets online, I decided that the Ulysse Nardin watches weren’t made with enough craftsmanship and sold those two watches.

I next bought a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso and wore it for many years, but during that time I bought my first Lange, a Lange 1 in platinum. That experience taught me I couldn’t manage to keep a manual watch wound, so I graduated to a Lange SAX-0-MAT, which was my everyday watch for many years.

I had an IWC GMT until the bracelet fell apart while I was running in Fiji and decided to sell it after it came off again on a trip to Bermuda. Then I purchased a PAM72 new old stock, which was the last Panerai made with a Zenith El Primero movement (before Vendôme bought Panerai, Zenith sold their El Primero movements to several vendors – it was for many years the only chronograph movement with a 36,000 BPH frequency). I wore that watch for about 15 years, finally selling it to a friend who had to have it.

I enjoy buying watches, having them refurbished, and collecting them. More than anything, I enjoy the thrill of the hunt – finding just the right hard-to-find timepiece at a decent price and making sure it’s serviced and maintained properly. Now I’m turning my hobby into one of my many fun side hustles to help others enjoy the magic of handmade watches.

To learn more about me, visit dsiegel.com.