Tag Archives: Sig Shonholtz

What a Coincidence

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When an event and a moment collide.

By Sig Shonholtz

For most of us, the phrase “what a coincidence” is simply a phrase like any cliché. I was still in high school when I started thinking about it more seriously. It was the result of an unusual event. I was driving home from school and noticed a sign for a real-estate company, called Red Carpet Realtors. I admit I was a little bored so I started thinking about what might be good to go with Red Carpet. A few minutes later, I was stopped at a signal waiting to turn left, I noticed a little piece of paper fluttering in the wind by my open window, it seemed like it was begging to come in. A moment later a car drove by and it was swept upwards, it floated down and again tried to enter my open window, by now I was transfixed on it, again a car drove by and the little piece of paper was once more swept away. This time though it fluttered like a whirling dervish, came through my window, and settled on my lap. What could be so important I wondered, I turned it over and to my amazement it said “Red Carpet Auto Parks”. I looked around, looked up, got goose bumps, and wondered what the meaning was?

I soon found myself studying the phenomenon of coincidence. In the early 1970′s, spiritual interpretations of everything, were common, so I looked for some deep meaning in the event. I spoke to some friends, older than myself, and they said it was meaningful.

Some say there are no coincidences. I was that way for many years. But like the shifting of the earth on its axis, over time, I began to wonder, what if there is no meaning, and things happen for no reason. Over time I took this perspective, which is that there are only coincidences. Since there are billions of people and billions of moments every day, inevitably some things will happen that are extraordinary. We call these events coincidences. What is a coincidence? A coincidence is when a moment and an event collide.

We tend to think that all coincidences are the same, they are not. After several years of observing very unusual events in my own life I decided to break the idea of coincidence down into some basic groups.

There are two basic types of coincidences, those we manifest and those that occur. The example above is a manifested coincidence. But many coincidences are just occurences. For example, once while on business in New York I met a woman in the morning and chatted with her. In the late afternoon, I took a cab all the way across town, I was going to meet Andy Warhol. I exited my cab and bumped into the same woman on a corner, 8 hours later. I told her that it was our destiny to meet and invited her to join me and meet Andy. She looked at me with surprise and said “no thank you”, she must have thought I was stalking her but I was surprised at her lack of curiosity.

Oddly at the same time I was thinking about the different types of coincidences, I mentioned it to Jennifer, a friend of mine, and discovered that she had also been thinking about different types of coincidences. I found that was an amazing coincidence in itself. One special instance left her looking up the word lemming in the dictionary. It seemed she had missed this word her entire life. However the next day she came upon the same word after having just learned it. Of course we could say that learning that word made it more available to her. We decided to call all coincidences relating to learning and knowledge a Lemming coincidence.

There are thirteen types of coincidences.

  1. Most coincidences are “basic” like bumping into a friend unexpectedly or some are “simple” like thinking about someone then seeing them by accident.
  2. There are coincidences of nature are called “miracles”.
  3. There are coincidences of learning, language and knowledge called “Lemmings”.
  4. There are coincidences we call “synchronicity” which are related to events of music or actions but not about people.
  5. Most coincidences are about people, places and events, they are called “Manya’s”.
  6. There are “complex” coincidences, which come about even though the odds are astronomical.
  7. There are “compound” coincidences, which are in effect a coincidence inside of a coincidence.
  8. There are those coincidences, which are not ours, but we are part of them
  9. The most common coincidence is the “undiscovered” one. Imagine you are wondering about someone and in fact they may actually be in the aisle next to you at the market but you did not notice them.
  10. The most important type of coincidence is the one we call “serendipity”. This is the most important because it is reserved for the area that determines our destiny; who we fall in love with and how we choose our careers.
  11. Luck is the moment of coincidence, but what makes the moment “lucky” is what we do with the opportunity.
  12. Prayers being answered, wishes coming true and manifestations realized are all forms of coincidence depending on how the world occurs to us.
  13. 9/11 is a complex coincidence because thousands of people failed to notice things that could have stopped the bombers at any juncture but failed to notice unusual things around them.

One of my more unusual coincidences happened in the late 1970′s. I was running out the door, late for an auction taking place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. As I ran out the door I picked up the Los Angeles Times and glanced at the front page. The Dalai lama was visiting Los Angeles . I wondered, “What would it be like to meet the Dalai lama”? I jumped into my car and sped away.

I arrived late for the auction and ran up the stairs four steps at a time. When I reached the top I was nearly airborne and realized that there was an imposing looking man in my way. As a matter of fact, he was standing with two robed men on either side of him. And what is going on? Why do they have white gowns and why are they going for their swords? Oh my gosh, it’s the Dalai lama and those are his body guards. OH NO, they think I am an assassin. The Dalia lama had a very concerned look on his face. He probably thought I was sent by the Chinese to do him in. I grabbed the railing as hard as I could and came tumbling down to an abrupt stop at the midway landing. The two guards and the Dalai Lama himself ran down to see if I was OK and they all picked me up. We all had a big laugh and I mumbled “sorry Mr. Lama, I am late for an auction”. It took me a moment to realize that I had actually just met the Dalai lama, just 30 minutes after I asked the question, “What would it be like to meet the Dalai lama?”

I quietly walked into the auction room, but was surprised to learn that the auction had happened the day before.

Another unusual coincidence happened over an insect. One lazy day in Venice Beach California I was sitting outside my neighborhood coffee house. Along came a large aggressive flying Scarab Beetle. It was beautiful, iridescent green and about a half-inch long. It was so aggressive that people were diving underneath their tables. It decided to land on my table and I put a glass over it. I slid a piece of paper over the top and picked it up. It was ferocious. It looked at me through the glass and buzzed its head off. The glass was pulsating. I could almost feel its anger at being caught. Now, you probably do not know this (unless you read my story about bees) but I like to collect bugs. However, I will only collect them when they have died. But this beautiful Scarab Beetle was so exquisite that I wanted it. In the end though I decided to release it. It flew out of the glass, looked right at me with a rage and a glare and flew away.

I lived across the street in a condo complex on the second floor, down an opened hallway, and down a walkway. When I got home that evening I was surprised (more shocked) to find that in the middle of my door mat dead as could be was a beautiful iridescent Scarab Beetle, laying face down. To be sure I was a little surprised, was it the same Scarab Beetle? They are very rare in my town, but it did not really matter. It was a gift and I still have it. It is the centerpiece of by small insect collection.

My last coincidence is perhaps the strangest one, even though all the examples I have shared are unique. It started rather like the Red Carpet story. I was driving to work one day while listening to Dennis Prager, a conservative moralist, on the radio. He would pose a moral dilemma in our society and ask callers to call and voice their opinions. Every now and again he would actually change his position on the radio if someone made a more powerful argument.

Occasionally he would ask his assistant Manya to take down a caller’s number so he could follow up with them later on. I became curious about Manya, I wondered what she looked like and how old she was, and if she was funny? Of course, just like the Red Carpet story it was a silly exercise because I was certain I was never going to meet her.

That evening I left work and went home to my condominium; we were having a homeowners meeting that evening, and it was  a ruckus  event. We were arguing about the termites that had nested in the walls. (See the bee story). I was sitting next to a woman who I had seen for a few years in the building, we always said hello, but had never really spoken. After a while I asked her what she did, she said she worked for a radio station. Then I asked her which one, KABC she said, then I asked whom she worked for, Dennis Prager was her answer. Finally I asked her name, Manya she said. Here she was right next to me, the woman that I had spent my entire morning day-dreaming about. I told her that I had just been thinking about her but I do not think she really understood what I meant. Anyway, that is why I  call events about people Manyas’.

There are nearly 20 million people in the Los Angeles area. She could have lived anywhere. What were the chances that she lived in my building? It occurred to me afterward that I could have sat next to her but never learned her name that would have been the undiscovered coincidence.

The one coincidence that we are all familiar with is Serendipity. Typically, we do not think of them as coincidence but they really are. I consider that they are reserved for two categories in our lives; romance and career. A Serendipitous event sets us on our course for our careers, something happens and we go down a road, it might be a good road or it might be a bad road, but a road it is. Similarly, a serendipitous event introduces us to somebody and we fall in love and have a family, or do not depending on the situation. It determines our destiny.

I have chosen to share only a few of my coincidences, but to be honest, I have many others that are at least as unique as the ones above.

There are things we learn, there are things we are taught and there are things we discover. The things we discover are always sweeter.

I have discovered that when we invest ourselves in an idea or a concept, things occur to us. Discovery is discovering. The longer we think about something, the deeper we go with an idea the more we understand, and the more possibilities we have. What I have learned about coincidence is that by continuously investing myself in curiosity and inquiry the more unusual the things are that will happen to me.

For many years after the red carpet experience I took a very spiritual position to my coincidences. At some time I began to wonder, what if there is no meaning to them? So I started to consider them simply as events that occured because I was day dreaming all the time about things and had a vivid imagination. My pendulum is now swinging in the other direction and I am once again taking a more spiritual view of them. I am beginning to understand that there are mysteries in the universe that we cannot comprehend.

What is the meaning of a coincidence? It is the meaning we give it. For me the meaning of a coincidence is that it has become part of life. I call it my hobby. We are all S.E.E’s, which means self-entertaining entities, so let’s indulge ourselves in thoughts and ideas. The nice thing about it is that I never know when something extraordinary will happen.

A need to consider perspective.

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By Sig Shonholtz

perspective4

I have been trying to bridge a gap of understanding, which seems to define many relationships. For lack of a better phrase (I welcome any better phrase) I am calling it a philosophical anomaly.

I will explain it best in an experience I had with an old girlfriend. I was driving the car and she was my passenger. I was driving in a sort of jerky fashion and she said to “can you drive a little nicer”, which I did.. A week later she was driving and I had to make the same request of her, “can you drive a little nicer, please (hers was a demand, mine a request)?” But instead of changing her driving she argued that I made the request because she had said it to me the week before. I argued (pointed out) that last week I was the driver and this week I am a passenger and my perspective was completely different.

This got me wondering about how many possible perspectives a person could have during any 24 hour period. These perspectives are not points of view, because as many people as there are on earth is as many points of view there are.

After a few months of day dreaming about it I settled on 6 possibilities (permutations). Since driving was the inspiration for the theme I kept it as my model. But we could just as easily use an example of dining in a restaurant.

The First Perspective is driving a car by ourselves. It does not matter so much how we drive (unless we are being unsafe to others). We are alone with our thoughts and awarenesses. Like eating alone and sitting at a table.

The Second Perspective is driving the car with a passenger in the front seat, we need to be more aware and thoughtful of that person sitting next to us. Our driving style and our conversation impacts them. Like eating with a friend and “driving” the conversation, or just doing the talking at that moment.

The Third Perspective is from the passenger in the front seats point of view. The passenger is now sitting at the table. Each time the conversation shifts back and forth one person is either in the second or third perspective.

The Fourth Perspective is that of a passenger in the back seat. They may be participating or not but they are observers. This would, for example be someone in an audience, an observer on an event. Or perhaps a person at a dinner table not really being addressed but watching. Theirs is actually  privileged because they may notice things in the dynamics that others do not see.

The Fifth Perspective is the time we spend sleeping. Since these Six Perspectives take up 24 hours of each day time we spend sleeping must be included. We are not so aware during that time though.

The Sixth Perspective is not really a perspective it is imaginative but it might be most important one although it is very hard to achieve. I am calling it the ultimate perspective. In order to try and have the ultimate Perspective we must try and exit our humanity. We must pretend or imagine that we have not interest in human affairs. So, when I want this insight I imagine I am a science officer on an interstellar space craft. I do not really care about human affairs. I am not myself, an American Jewish man that is 55 years old and from California that likes watches. When I take this Perspective I am free to decide right and wrong good or bad and up and down. Things are much more clear from this position. In fact morality is just a changing concept.

In my case the Second and Third Perspectives are the ones between my former girlfriend and I, and myself and my former girlfriend. I am continuously to exhaustion either the passenger or the driver and cannot seem to explain that our differences are more to do with this simple idea than anything else.

I have noticed this dynamic in another area which I will try and explain. It is something like this. As a child we argue when someone older then us tells us not to do something. We will argue with them that, because they do it, we can do it. It goes something like this, we have all been in this moment. You tell a child not to eat with their mouthful, but inevitably we do the same thing so they argue and say “you do the same thing”. In my case, with my young daughter we sometimes say yah instead of yes. She does not use the word yah and is always correcting us, (this example is almost the opposite of what I am trying to say).

As adults we have the same problem but this time when we say, “you do the same thing” we mean something else. We are accusing the person of not being aware that when they are in the Second Perspective they cannot imagine themselves in the Third and vice versa. This is the problem I have, trying to convey this very simple idea of trying to see oneself as we might be seen.

I do not know if I am clear on the one above. It has been very difficult for me it articulate it. I actually was trying to find a philosophical numeric system or a way to quantify this last one. It is so common between people that it is almost a normal way we react to things.

(the-vu Editor’s note) there has been considerable study of perspective in the field of psychology, but when someone acquires a need to consider perspective due to real and personal circumstances, it brings the concept to practical life.

Artie. It wasn’t about Big Bands, it was about The Big Bang.

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Artie Shaw passed away on December 30th 2004, aged 94. Sig Shonholtz, his friend in later life, spoke at the funeral and his well-received words on that day were almost exactly as written below.

By Sig Shonholtz

My friendship with Artie Shaw began over a business transaction about 8 years ago; he had answered an ad I ran to buy old watches, it started out a little awkward though. I can still remember it, Larry Rose his secretary called me up one day and told me that Mr. Shaw wanted to talk to me, Artie then got on the phone and barked at me about a watch he wanted to sell and when could I come over and look at it and make him an offer. I told him I was too busy and that he would have to come and meet me. Well, this went on for nearly a year, it got so I knew Larry’s voice when I answered the phone. Artie Shaw wants to talk to you he would say in his polite tone. The stand off finally ended. I was too curious. I just had to meet this man.

When I got to his house I realized I was in for an experience. The house was, to be polite, cluttered with the history of the 20th century. To my surprise the gruff old man on the phone was actually rather charming and in a few minutes we had made a deal. But we spent the entire afternoon together discussing the science of metallurgy and the force of springs. It was the kind of a conversation you could only have with someone that truly enjoyed thinking and concepts. That was the moment I realized that I was in the presence of someone unique and I should take advantage of his knowledge. I use the word advantage with the utmost respect because we all have responsibilities in life and one of our main responsibilities is to raise up everybody around us to their highest potential, Artie believed this strongly. If you were paying attention to what Artie quietly had to say you soon realized that he was deeply interested and concerned about the human condition and in making a difference.

We spoke on the phone several times after that first meeting. The next time we met it was on my turf Artie decided that he would come and visit me; I can still remember the moment when he arrived in my antique center. Down the hall I heard a loud gravelly bellowing voice yelling out my name. Where is SIG? he said. I answered, Artie, I am over here. He yelled back Here?.where is here, I thought I was here? Here, is the most subjective word in the English language, the question is, where are you? Well, after all the yelling we finally located each other and laughed about it.

In that moment I realized that this was a man that required precision in language. In fact as time went on I learned that language was his lord. Don’t mince words with Artie Shaw because he has no time to waste. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Don’t try to catch Artie in a trap of phrases either. Phrases like curmudgeon; he was not a curmudgeon..if you engaged him in a meaningful conversation. UNFORTUNATLY, people wasted his time asking about his ex wives and whether he was better then Benny. Artie considered that he had answered those silly questions enough times, ask a foolish question of a brilliant person and they will act like a curmudgeon. It is a variation on Murphy’s Law.

Time went by and we became friends. We had many dinners together, dinner with him was an adventure, he could easily out eat me. Frequently we had three deserts because we could not decide on just two. No subject was too mundane for us, or to lofty. We spoke about the great taste of Vernors Ginger ale, and why would anybody drink Canada dry after tasting the Vernors. We decided that it must be the quality and amount of extract they used. Once we had a conversation about a packet of synthetic sugar, how do they calculate the subjective value of taste we wondered? We spoke about bats and their radar and a butterfly’s ability to navigate. We spoke about the power of adrenaline and the impact it could have in shaping and controlling an individual. We wondered, What were the very first thoughts of the very first person, after “I want food and sex”? Artie said “well, here I am”. Once, he asked a waiter for some more butter. The waiter said “I’ll be right back” Artie took off his watch and said lets see what he means by “right back”. He redefined the concept of “right back”; it means you stop everything you are doing and even ignore a fire in the kitchen if necessary to meet your commitment. How long is “right back”? Well depending on the circumstances up to 5 breaths of air, otherwise you need to use another phase, like “give me two minutes” or “I’ll be back in a few moments”.

Artie had great stories; during the war he learned to play the Japanese national anthem just in case he was taken as a prisoner. He shared a funny story with me once about a musician in one of his bands. Artie told him that he had to stop smoking “that stuff” before each set because he was throwing off the band. The musician argued and told him, “I am on fire, I never sounded so good.” So, Artie agreed that the next day he would do the smoking and the musician would do the listening. After the set Artie looked at him and said, hey, you’re right, I sound great. The musician looked at Artie and said, “Man, you’re nuts you stink”. The lesson: we do not define ourselves, perhaps we are perceived.

Artie and his books are legendary. He had dictionaries in dozens of languages; his tables were stacked with books on ideas and thinking and in addition, books on “cheating death”. His library had 10,000 books in it, on every subject on earth, science, art, architecture, philosophy, history, warfare, astronomy, politics, mathematics, geography, languages, psychology, sociology, medicine, shooting guns and fly fishing. Artie could speak arcane languages; not to impress you but because he knew there were secrets hidden in them.

Artie Shaw was not interested in banal chatter about big bands. He was interested in the Big Bang, in fact his mind was a big bang, but why, what was he searching for? He was looking for the holy grail of ideas, the mother of all answers, the least amount of words that could transform mankind and our planet to be a better place. He was looking for the simplest and noblest of thoughts that everyone could work with; he placed a high value on thinking and beauty. Long ago Artie Shaw decided that there were only three questions which he wanted to have answered; so he went about the task of finding the answers. The three questions were: are we alone in the universe, is there life after death and were we created by a force or did we evolve?

The only way he knew how to answer those three questions was to read hundreds of books (Can these questions actually be answered by reading and organizing millions of words?). First, in order to absorb the information of 10,000 books and process it you need to live a long time, 94 is just about right. You also need to have a very pliant flexible mind to be able to synthesize the information so it is usable. He was very capable of retrieving information from his mind, and would consider everything that could be considered. It would not be uncommon for him to share an obscure idea of Teilhard de Jardin’s or Plutarch within two sentences. Organizing 10,000 books inside of one mind is not an easy task. He tried his best, he made a gallant effort; in fact he has an unpublished manuscript of 1500 pages, his own “big bang” of mankind. Not bad actually, he took the knowledge of 10,000 books, 10,000 years and condensed it into 1500 pages. When I get the chance I am going to take the short cut through the history of humanity and read his abridged edition if and when it comes out.

In conversation Artie expanded and expounded on everything, including the Ten Commandments. He had three extra commandments. They sound like band leaders ideas but they were actually ideas for living a great life. Number 11 was “Show Up”, meaning, you must participate in life. Number 12 was “Get along”, if we don’t all get along then mankind has no future. And number 13 was “Have fun!”. well of course. Have fun! That about sums it up, the answer of all answers, he brought living and life down to just two simple words, whatever it may mean to each of us.

Have Fun Artie, I hope you’re still having fun.

Sig Shonholtz is a master watchmaker and philosopher and is from Los Angeles.

Collecting Portable Time

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By Sig Shonholtz

History of Collecting

Collecting antiques is not a new idea. Historical records indicate that 3000 years ago there were collectors and dealers of coins and artifacts in Egypt. Today, collecting antiques is different then it was in Egyptian times. For one reason collecting antiques today is a matter of semantics. According to Webster’s an antique must be 100 years old. This places many contemporary collectors’ items outside the realm of the antique; the majority of collected items today would be considered vintage collectibles. The word vintage usually refers to wine, specifically a fine or quality vintage from a particular year. The word vintage can however also refer to a year or period; a time that most defines the style, that is how we apply it to the wrist watch, as well as many other collected items. This word is also used to define classic automobiles, they are called vintage. Vintage clothing is a common one. Vintage motorcycles is also quite common, in fact the word vintage in front of these nouns is more common then not if it is about a collectable item.

circa 1915 J.W. Benson, military style wristwatch

circa 1915 J.W. Benson, military style wristwatch

The great architect Le Corbusier suggested that a house was a machine for living in, if it is so then the watch is a machine for living with, and people do live with their watches. They sleep with them, shower with them, and yes they even make love with them, literally and figuratively. Few things have consumed mans creativity more then the perfection of time. History is filled with accounts of great philosophers and scientists who spent years studying time; Henry Ford was a watchmaker and attributes his ideas in automobile manufacturing to modern watch making production. Like most of man’s creations, watches are a clear reflection of the political and historical events of the times, and like so many things in our world the watch’s development had direct military applications. In fact it is difficult to find something man has created, or invented that has not at one time or another been utilized or studied by the military, either offensively or defensively or both. Regarding the watch; one of the more fundamental applications was in the military. For example the ability to launch an attack on two fronts requires each regiment to have synchronized time. Napoleon Bonaparte wore a watch in his pocket produced by the worlds greatest watch maker, Abraham Louis Breguet, in the late 1700′s. Napoleon believed that the difference between him and his opponents was that he understood the value of 5 minutes. He not only knew what could happen in 5 minutes he had the power in his pocket to count it off, watch it pass accurately, and contemplate what he could accomplish in those 5 minutes.

circa 1930's Bulova, Art Deco style wristwatch

circa 1930s Bulova, Art Deco style wristwatch

Why People Collect

Interestingly, one of the reasons people collect has little to do with what they collect. The most powerful drive for most people in their collecting has to do with souvenirs, as a way to remember time. People collect because it reminds them of a time or event in their lives. The item takes them back to the moment, in the case of a watch the machine of time becomes a time machine propelling people back to the moment when they bought it. It evokes all the emotion, feeling and enthusiasm, as well as all the fears and concerns they had at the time. It usually carries with it the memory of who they were with and what their lives were like. This makes collecting a powerful force for evocation as well as a catalyst of thoughts and feelings. The renowned actor Eli Wallach for example made it his habit to wander into a jewelry or local antique store when he was working on a film and make a purchase of a watch or small travel clock. He wanted to buy something that would remind him of the films he had worked on. He recounts the time he bought a beautiful old wrist watch with a blue enamel bezel in Almeria, in Southern Spain while he was filming the Good the Bad and the Ugly. Eli says, During the filming Sergio Leoni allowed a local vendor onto the set to show his wares and Sergio bought me a solid white gold Baume Mercier wrist watch as a gift. Eli remembers Sergio warning the vendor if it is not a genuine Baume Mercier I will have you shot. Eli is not the only famous person that buys time to remember the time.

Art Deco 2-Tone Rectangular Faceted Patek Philippe

Art Deco 2-Tone Rectangular Faceted Patek Philippe

Watches are frequently purchased as gifts, Malcolm McDowell, an actor well known for his role in A Clockwork Orange, and dozens of other impressive films is an avid watch collector. He says It started when I received a watch as gift in 1979 at the opening of a play I was in. After that he says he was hooked, I decided to buy a watch every time I did a play or film, or something. Speaking of time, Malcolm shared the story about the title A Clockwork Orange. He had asked Anthony Burgess, who wrote the original novel, Where did you get the idea for this title? Anthony said he was in a pub in the East end of London, and one of the old guy regulars in there said [in a cockney accent] Yes, e’s as queer as a clockwork orange. And it always stuck with him, this title. Which means he’s as peculiar as a clockwork orange, god knows, your imagination has to do the rest, said Malcolm. Rolex watches made from 1920 through 1940 are Malcolm’s favorite models.

Designed by Sig Shonholtz, Guillermin Mollet

Designed by Sig Shonholtz, Guillermin Mollet

There are some rare collectors that are so ahead of their time that they collect before it happens, almost in anticipation of the future. The writer musician artist Artie Shaw, made it a habit to stop in to the Cartier shop in New York during the 1930′s, just to see what was new he said. I was very successful as a musician and band leader and I bought a watch every few weeks just to confirm my success, to pinch myself. Artie said The entire collection was stolen from me while I was staying in a hotel in the late 1930′s. He said The insurance company would only pay out about $40,000, but I had spent well over that on the items. Artie shares that Their reasoning was that since the stolen watches, were never recovered they were not sure the robbery ever occurred. In today’s world that would be a ridiculous argument. Artie was the kind of collector that bought only what moved him and what was considered at the time the highest level of craftsmanship, he was an artist with an artist’s eye for beauty, and based most of decisions on the esthetic impression the watch made on him.

Designed by Sig Shonholtz, Guillermin Mollet

Designed by Sig Shonholtz, Guillermin Mollet

What Makes Something Rare ?

One of the most exciting aspects about collecting watches is that you have the opportunity to participate in 500 years of scientific experiments, and the entire history of contemporary design spanning, Egyptian revival, Art Nouveau and Art Deco, and Modernism and this for as little as $300 or $400. Now, let’s just take a moment to consider what it means to collect something like a watch that is rare. It might be rare because there were only a few pieces made, but in many cases it’s rare because it’s still here. That might seem a strange idea, but precious metals have been used for thousands of years to finance wars and expansions. That means that exceptional and unique watches as well as jewelry have been destroyed for their precious metal value. Gold and silver has been melted down and turned into jewelry and melted down again and again for thousands of years. It’s true that new gold and silver is still being mined all the time, but old precious metal is also being refined from old jewelry and turned into new jewelry (or bullion to be used for other purposes). The newly mined gold is mixed with old refined gold, so each piece of modern jewelry, as well as old watches and jewelry, have trace elements of ancient gold. Somewhere in every ring, each watch, and every necklace are elements of jewelry that was worn by Cleopatra, Charlemagne, the Medici’s, or even George Washington. So, next time you look at your watch touch it for good luck, because you are linked to the past and the future. Maybe that is why jewelry historically has such a magical and mysterious attraction to us all.
How to Start your Collection

Today’s modern watch collector has a lot of decisions to make. If you are a new collector fascinated by watches and time (hopefully you will be after reading this) you will have to focus in on a category to make your collecting experience as rich as possible. It does not really matter what you are collecting in fact, watches, cars, clothing, or furniture the same decision will have to be made. You will also need to define your own personal style since wearing a vintage or antique watch is part of the fun of collecting them. Many types of collections, for example stamps and coins, do not relate to peoples lives, they can not be practically used, but still require safe keeping. A vintage watch can be used and surprisingly, in these modern times, actually be depended upon. The best way to start is to decide what kind of a budget you have and where your interests are.

There are many directions you can take; some people collect a particular brand by name or period. Some collect by style or country, for example American watches made before World War One, commonly called trench watches or military styles. Some collectors only buy chronograph or calendar watches. There are collectors who only purchase ‘new old stock’ watches and do not care if it is a humble Bulova for $400 or a very expensive Patek Philippe for $10,000. You might like to collect every model made by a particular house during an era. This gets harder as your collection gets larger, but you can refine your collection by selling off the less perfect duplicates. Many collectors are in fact investors, they collect for value and some have done very well.

two-tone gold Gruen

two-tone gold Gruen

Personally I like to collect watches that represent an idea or a theme. I have watches in my collection of modest value worth $200 or $300, but they accurately represent a theme or idea. For example I have several watches that are excellent examples of Art Deco design, and some that represent the shapes that they are called, for instance a simple tortoise shaped watch called a tortue. I have several watches that are very valuable high quality copies of famous designer’s ideas. I also like to collect commemorative pieces; these are not necessarily expensive but define an era, or highlight an event. I have a few early examples of waterproof watches which were produced during Word War One. I also like to collect watches with great engravings, and historical provenance. I have a watch in my collection which was owned by Commander Richard E. Byrd. The Longines chronograph he wore on his expedition to the North Pole. And I have many watches owned by famous people which were given to them by famous people. I also have a small collection of very old wrist watches, really antique pieces, some as old as 200 years.

Having been in the watch field my entire life I finally decided to try my hand at watch manufacturing. This has proven to be more difficult then I imagined, producing my own watch required that I work with nearly 30 different companies in many languages on individual aspects of manufacturing and packaging. It has taken several years but I am proud to offer the premier edition of the Guillermin Mollet watch. At under $6000 it is probably one of the most sophisticated watches being produced today. It was inspired by a design originally produced for Patek Philippe in 1951 this striking watch is available in 3 colors of gold with a variety of dial designs. The high-grade automatic movement has a power reserve of nearly 40 hours! The house of Guillermin Mollet was located in the historic Place Vendome in Paris. They designed exquisite jewelry and watches for international film stars and European royalty.

There are still some bargains out there but you will have to look carefully, I think that the Omega line offers a lot of great styling and affordability, as well as Longines, and Le Coultre, and of course Gruens. In addition the Bulova watch company made excellent watches with hundreds of models, all very dependable and very sophisticated. These lines are all accurate, high quality, and serviceable, and are all affordable. As a beginner collector it is very important to be patient, and stay within your budget, try and buy watches in good condition from a reputable dealer who will give you an opportunity to have the watch checked out with a refund policy of one week. My last piece of advice is; buy what you like and what you will enjoy wearing, and always spend a little bit more for the piece you really want, do not compromise, after a month or two the extra bit of money you would have saved will not matter but wearing a watch that does not move you will, and remember collecting should be fun, if it is not fun then it is not worth it.

Author Sig Shonholtz is a watchmaker and a jeweler. In 1898, Sig’s grandfather, Sigmund Shonholtz, a respected watchmaker and jeweler, opened a small, but exclusive jewelry store in Philadelphia. The firm relocated to Los Angeles in 1918 and soon became the jeweler of choice to many of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Sig is a third generation watchmaker and his collection is admired by watch dealers and collectors worldwide. As the above article explains, Sig has recently designed his own watch, the Guillermin Mollet, which is creating quite a stir in the world of watches. Sig is also an appraiser of timepieces on television’s Antiques Roadshow.