Collecting Watches at 23

Collecting watches at 23 is exciting, but it comes with a particular kind of pressure. My interest and knowledge are often far ahead of my financial capacity. I can understand why a watch is special and genuinely want it while also accepting that I am not yet in a position to buy it.

Being surrounded by established collectors can intensify that feeling. Many of the collectors I know have spent decades building their careers and collections. They own watches that are on a completely different level from what most people my age can realistically acquire.

I know it is unfair to compare the beginning of my journey with a collection built over twenty or thirty years. Still, it can be difficult not to feel left behind. The watch world moves constantly. There is always another piece to discover, an opportunity that might disappear, or a reference that could become much harder to find.

That does not mean I collect only to find watches that may increase in value. History, design, and emotional connection are far more important to me. However, there is still a fear of missing a watch I genuinely love simply because I cannot afford it yet.

Buying watches at 23 also requires a much greater financial sacrifice. I am still finishing my education and beginning my professional career. Money spent on a watch is money that could be saved, invested, or used for another part of my future. Every purchase requires planning, months of saving, and sometimes giving up other things.

At the same time, that effort makes each watch more meaningful. When you have worked, waited, and sacrificed for a piece, you remember exactly what it took to acquire it.

A Full Time Job

Collecting watches seriously can sometimes feel like a full time job. It is not simply about buying a watch and wearing it. I spend countless hours reading, researching references, learning about movements, and studying the history of different brands.

There are also meetings, collector gatherings, boutique visits, and events. Balancing all of that with school, work, and my personal life takes a significant amount of time. Still, I do it because I genuinely love it. The research, conversations, and experiences are as important to me as the watches themselves.

The Miami Watch Club

Joining the Miami Watch Club has been the most important thing to happen in my journey with watches. It marked such a clear before and after that it completely changed the way I experienced collecting. As it happened, I joined only a few months before it grew into what many people now consider one of the most respected watch clubs in the community.

For my first two years as a collector, I experienced the hobby mostly alone. I learned through articles, videos, and my own research. After joining the club, watches became much more social and personal. I began attending events, seeing important pieces in person, and learning directly from collectors with far more experience.

From my first event, I was welcomed incredibly well. Alex Gort, one of the club’s founders, told me not to worry and that he would personally make sure I was added to the club. I still have tremendous appreciation for the way he treated me from the beginning. At a time when I was unsure whether my age would prevent people from taking me seriously, he immediately made me feel that I belonged.

Joining the club was also a major change in my environment. Before that, I spent most of my time around people my own age. Suddenly, I was surrounded by collectors who were mostly in their forties or older.

That difference became one of the most valuable parts of the experience. They did not only teach me about watches. They shared lessons about their careers, businesses, decisions, and mistakes. Being around them helped me grow as a collector, but it also helped me improve in my personal and professional life.

The club also creates a positive kind of pressure. Seeing important collections motivates me to learn more, work harder, and develop my own taste. The right collectors do not pressure you to spend more money. They encourage you to become more informed, patient, and intentional.

The greatest example of what the club has given me is my friendship with Eduardo. I met him through the Miami Watch Club, and he has become my best friend within the watch world. Today, he is the person I speak with the most and with whom I spend the most time.

Our friendship has gone far beyond meeting at local watch events. We have organized trips together to Switzerland, New York, and Atlanta, creating experiences and memories that would never have existed without this hobby. We are also building WatchVote together, a project that allows us to turn our shared passion for watches into something of our own.

I joined the club looking for people with whom I could share an interest. Instead, I found one of my closest friends and a much larger community that has become an important part of my life.

Being Taken Seriously as a Young Collector

At first, I often felt that my age affected the way I was treated. Like many enthusiasts, I visited boutiques to learn about the watches, see them in person, and try them on, even when I was not planning to make an immediate purchase.

What bothered me was not that the sales associates understood I was there to explore. It was noticing that I did not always receive the same level of attention or respect as older visitors. At certain boutiques in Miami, the difference in treatment was clear before anyone knew anything about my collection, my knowledge, or how serious my interest in watchmaking was.

Those experiences made me feel that I constantly had to prove myself before being viewed as a legitimate collector.

The first collector who truly made me feel that my interest deserved to be taken seriously was Alessio Zenga. I contacted Alessio after inheriting my grandfather’s vintage watches. At the time, I did not fully understand what they were, and I needed someone with real knowledge to guide me.

Alessio is an extremely important collector, yet when he came to Miami, he took the time to sit down with me and explain the watches, their history, and why they mattered. Someone with his level of experience could easily have ignored a young collector who was only beginning to understand what he had inherited. Instead, he gave me his time and treated my questions seriously.

That moment meant a great deal to me. The relationship that began through my grandfather’s watches is one I know I will value for the rest of my life.

Vacheron Constantin has also been a major exception to my early boutique experiences. Although I had inherited two vintage Vacheron watches from my grandfather, I had never purchased a watch directly from the maison. Even so, Alexander Schmiedt took the time to sit down and speak with me.

There are very few brands where the president would do that with a 23 year old who had never made a direct purchase, especially when representing one of the most important watchmaking maisons in the world. The fact that Alexander gave me that time still feels almost unbelievable and says a great deal about Vacheron Constantin.

My connection to the brand also became more personal through Julien, who went from being someone I met through Vacheron to someone I now genuinely consider a friend. He has always shared his knowledge, treated my interest with respect, and made me feel welcome.

I have even had the opportunity to speak with Christian Selmoni through Instagram. In my opinion, he is the most important person at Vacheron Constantin and someone for whom I have an enormous amount of respect. Having the opportunity to speak with Christian is another example of what distinguishes Vacheron from so many other brands.

Another important example has been François Hotier. From the beginning, he respected my interest and never made me feel that my age limited the conversation. What I value most is that our exchanges were never centered on receiving a watch, an invitation, or a favor. They were based on a shared enthusiasm for watchmaking and a genuine exchange of ideas.

F. P. Journe has also completely exceeded my expectations. Given the demand for the brand, its current popularity, and the fact that it has become one of the biggest trends in modern watch collecting, many people might assume that the experience would feel distant, exclusive, or difficult to navigate. My experience has been the exact opposite.

Without a doubt, F. P. Journe has given me the best experience I have had as a client. The people at the brand have been welcoming, attentive, and genuinely interested in creating a relationship rather than simply completing a transaction. They have invited me to events and made me feel included in the world of the brand, even as a young collector.

One person I especially appreciate within F. P. Journe is Horacio Ramos, known as “Rocky.” He has always treated me with tremendous kindness and respect. His way of interacting with clients reflects what I value most about the brand: authenticity, warmth, and a sincere passion for watchmaking.

My experience with F. P. Journe reminded me that a brand’s reputation and demand do not necessarily determine the quality of its client experience. In this case, the reality has been completely different from what many people might expect. Despite the attention surrounding the brand, I have consistently felt welcomed and valued.

These experiences changed the way I see the industry. They showed me that being a serious collector is not determined by age, purchasing power, or the total value of a collection. It is determined by curiosity, knowledge, respect, and a genuine desire to learn.

At 23, I may still be at the beginning of my collecting journey, but the experiences and lessons watches have already given me are just as meaningful as the pieces themselves.