Good Old Day

Today we sat down with a senior from vintage watch industry, as one of the initial joiners of Vintage Rolex Asylum. Introducing you to @vintagefreak007 aka Mr. M.

He brought a few watches, part of his collections, to this session and from this first & the very moment we met, I definitely could feel a legend charisma, someone who has qualified reputation in this industry. Also big thanks to Ed (@Watchunting) for introducing Berdetik to him.

Our first initial conversation was about the Rolex 6536-1 with tropical dial from the previous interview with @not_just_a_timepiece where they both rushed into Medan for a quick trade at the airport (what a coincidence we could meet these two personalities on different perspectives). 

Mr. M is a really well known personality in vintage Rolex industry where he really has a great taste in watches. From this conversation, I can say that great history, great condition, and originality are parts of Mr. M main considerations from every watch that he has.

When we looked into his account at @vintagefreak007, we could find the consistency from him, he only wants to collect ONE item per brand that really satisfies him and the final one he decides to keep permanently has been the outcome of so many years of trying out different versions of each brand. This really shows his idealism and dedication to find the most historical & the best-conditioned pieces. Rolex is an exception though for him as there are many types that particular brand issued historically to date that he can’t help not having.

The first highlight from today's #talkingwatches is his military chronograph Breguet type XX. With unpolished case & bezel, and all correct parts from 1961 plus sub sec dials on 3 and 9 and hour markers on the bezel the watch is really something for this brand. It is really an outstanding piece where it is my first time to saw something like this in person. With the unique lugs of 19 mm, Mr. M pairs this Breguet with rivet type bracelet to match the look. The dome glass with pristine condition of dial is really a good looking watch especially when we are looking into the patina look of the numeral index. It’s really hard to find something like this pristine condition for a rare timepiece especially Breguet in chronograph.

Moving to another stunning piece is this big eyes Heuer chronograph with Valjoux 72 as the main movement. Personally, this is my most favorite collection from Mr. M on that day. This vintage Heuer sits really good on the wrist, especially with the type of bracelet that Mr. M paired it with. Crown originally signed with Heuer, dome glass and perfect case size are all that I look for in a beautiful piece of vintage watch. 

When we talked to Mr. M that day, these types of collection are his batch of daily rotations, so he really wears them daily! Back to another piece that he brought, Angelus Chronograph with vintage salmon rose dial is definitely another gorgeous piece. When we looked at a different perspective, this watch really gives us an amazing look with some glossy highlight not to mention the pristine condition of the numerals and functions. Paired perfectly with nato strap, an amazing piece to be owned.

I asked Mr. M which type of watch that he really loves to wear daily most of the time and the answer goes to this small but genuinely good-looking Vacheron Constantin from 1957, a vintage piece with black glossy dial which is really perfect to be paired with steel bracelet, simple yet striking, just showing time without date or chrono function. He added while laughing that it might also be because the brand partially almost matches his son’s first name, i.e. Constantine. Last but not least, the latest acquisition from Mr. M which is the all 18K gold vintage Audemars Piguet with diamond hour markers. A piece of statement where watch, lifestyle, and experience blend into one.

There’s a lot of learnings that we could take from this session, but the most important lesson is that it's not about who owns the most expensive watches or the rarest ones. The community, people, and excitement really play a big role in this industry. I also learned that community is the lead from the industry where we share the same passion in collecting. It's not about an investment, it's the lifestyle of sharing happiness by collecting watches and history.

Thank you Mr. M for the amazing time spent with us, hope to see you on the next round with a lot of story to be told and all the best on the next collecting journey.

Cheers, Danny Aw founder of berdetik.co