Bal Harbour

FACE TO FACE Armando Gonzalez and Kevin Wilson share the first, last, and the one that's just out of reach (for now). Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore selfwinding chronograph ARMANDO GONZALEZ GRAIL WATCH: The Patek Philippe 2499 perpetual calendar chronograph double-signed by Serpico y Laino FIRST WATCH: The Victorinox Swiss Army officers steel watch from the 1990s MOST RECENT PURCHASE: The 5270/1R Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph black dial FAVORITE BRANDS: Patek Philippe and Rolex have a great standard of care. Audemars Piguet, A. Lange, Vacheron Constantin are also superb brands. KEVIN WILSON GRAIL WATCH: Patek Philippe 5711/ 111P-001 with sapphire bezel FIRST WATCH: Rolex GMT Master II Coke MOST RECENT PURCHASE: Patek Philippe 5170P FAVORITE BRANDS: Patek Philippe, A. Lange & Sohne, Rolex Armando Gonzalez, a Miami-based pri- vate wealth advisor, has a similar approach to collecting. "It all star ted with the emotional connection I made with my first nice watch as a teenager," Gonzalez told me. "I might have been 13 or so. I was lucky enough to use good grades as a bargaining chip to convince my parents to buy me a Swiss Army steel watch. There also might have been some begging in- volved. There was also a connection to my fa- ther's watch as well. He had a Rolex Oyster my grandmother gave him for his 15th bir thday. I remember playing with it and pretending I was a big shot." The days of make-believe are long gone, though. "The actual collecting of watches went from a sporadic a†air to a full-time concern when I started in my professional career and had disposable income," Gonzalez said. "I was lucky to live in Geneva after graduating college and spent almost eight years walking through the most impressive watch stores on a daily basis. At some point, an Audemars Piguet bou- tique opened just below my oŠce. Looking at watches was basically a part of my commute." Gonzalez's story reminded me that I wore my father's watch for years. It seems like time to ease myself back into the game and meet other mem- bers of the collecting community. The problem is, I don't know where to look. Wilson does. "The biggest concentration of the commu- nity actually lives online," Wilson says. "There aren't conventions or anything like that. There are big watch events each year like Watches a nd Wonders a nd Ba sel World where t he brands often announce new releases. The big auctions can draw a crowd. Watchbox has also created lounges all over the world where col- lectors can gather and discuss their passion. The Miami Beach Antique show is happening now and it is filled with dealers, buyers, and sellers. I'm not much of a seller, but that said, any day is a good day to talk and buy watches." Big collections like Wilson's take a lot of attention, and sometimes, pruning. "I 've recent ly gone t h rou gh a process of rat iona lizin g what I ow n a nd pa r in g dow n to fewer t i mepieces t hat a re si g n i f ica nt to me," Wilson says. "I moved full time w ith my w ife and children from New York Cit y to our home in Key Biscay ne in June of 2020. I tend to favor spor t ier models which a re suit able for a warm and humid climate. That said, I'm increasingly at tracted to classic and compli- cated watches that are, in fact , timeless." Geneva , London, and New York a ll play a pa r t i n t he ser iou s wat ch ga me but , r i ght now, Mia mi may be t he rea l sa fe ha rbor for serious collectors. ou can read Hodinkee if you want to know what's going on in t he commercia l world of watches, or check Dimepiece if you're young and have an idea of cool that isn't borrowed from a movie, but if you want to go to the mountain top of watch collecting, you must go with a g uide — or t wo. Kevin Wilson and Armando Gonzalez are both avid collectors who have a real appreciation for the art and engineering that goes into a watch. Both men were first in- troduced to this universe in their formative years and have since made it a full-time con- cern in Miami. Kev in Wi lson, a f intech execut ive who spent a number of years living in Geneva, was exposed to the machines that drive the watch- making capital of the world. He was drawn to the unique combination of art and mechanical engineering that goes into a watch. "Since I was a teenager I aspired to one day become a collector," Wilson says. "I purchased my first Rolex in Geneva from a loca l dea ler ca lled Bucherer when I was 17 years old. It was a GMT Master II Coke which cost about 3,500 Swiss francs." (That 's roughly $3,745). "That was a time when a consumer could act ually walk into a Rolex Authorized Dealer and choose freely from a wide selection of pieces for sale, but that's not possible today. Demand far out- weighs supply. It 's become ver y diff icult for new customers of the brand to obtain the more popular references without a pre-existing re- lationship with the dealer." You may not ever need a watch, really, if it's time you're keeping track of. Your phone and computer and half-dozen billboards will tell you where you are in the day. That's not what watches are about now, if they ever were. "Fine watchmaking is a skill that is often passed down from generation to generation," Wilson says. "A single watch may be touched and worked on by a hundred people before being released for sale. Designing a new watch can take years and the mechanical know-how needed to realize that vision is rare." Wilson knows that watches have become an asset class, but he stresses that collecting shou ld be done for t he love of t he pieces. "When you're spending a significant amount of money on a timepiece, it is only reasonable to consider the future potential value of your investment and it 's impor tant to buy care- fully," he says. "I've made some expensive mis- takes and learned a great deal along the way. That said, collect what you love, wear it, and enjoy it. I don't believe watches should sit in a safe, they are made to be worn." Y O P P O S I T E: P H OTO BY COV E T E U R / T R U N K A R C H I V E BAL HARBOUR 127

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