I am an engineering student and the founder of an online media dedicated to rare watches. I also contribute to other publications and magazines, mainly writing about technical watchmaking topics, while also exploring broader stories around objects, design and culture.
Eliot Aviat
Oh yes, very clearly. My parents gave me an Ice-Watch with a blue dial, a date window, and a white rubber strap. I still have it, sitting next to my other watches. I received my first “real” watch for my 18th birthday: a Seiko Presage Cocktail with a power reserve indicator. I still wear it from time to time.
Without hesitation: the Royal Oak. It is a true icon of watchmaking, and I especially love the bracelet and octagonal bezel.
Another mention would be the Reverso, with its unmistakable Art Deco style and design that has transcended eras while retaining its identity.
Finally, I would say the Casio G-Shock. While it may seem an unusual choice for a traditional watchmaking discussion, to me it is a real icon: instantly recognisable, almost indestructible and affordable to nearly everyone. Watchmaking is also about sharing objects, not just admiring inaccessible ones.
The last watch I am about to buy is a Seiko Lassale Centennial, which I will be bidding on at auction in a few days. It is a very special and little-known piece, produced in 1981 for the centenary of K. Hattori & Co., the company founded by Kintaro Hattori before becoming Seiko.
According to the information currently available, it may have been a non-catalogue watch, possibly offered to selected retailers or partners rather than sold through the regular commercial network.
It has an ultra-thin profile, an octagonal two-tone case, and Kintaro Hattori’s signature on the caseback. A fascinating and largely overlooked piece of Seiko history.
Yes, I don’t own many vintage watches, but the idea of an object carrying a story is one of the reasons why I originally became interested in watches.
I like it when an object feels as if it has a history.
I think I have a very similar passion for cars.
Living things have always fascinated me. I am also deeply interested in science, particularly mathematics and physics. However, I decided to pursue this interest academically rather than keeping it to myself.
Without a doubt, it’s my earphones.
I can leave home without a watch, but I can’t live without music.
One day, I met a TV host who had presented a famous car show for years — a show that I used to watch as a child. I was wearing a Swatch Metrica, as was he. Someone came up to me just to say, “You’re wearing the same watch as him.” That’s how the conversation started. It may sound simple, but I still find it quite incredible. You don’t realise the encounters a watch can create until it happens to you for the first time.
A few pieces immediately come to mind. I would love to own a pink gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tourbillon from the 1990s — one of those extraordinary, complicated Reversos created to celebrate the model’s 60th anniversary. Of course, I would wear it with the tourbillon side facing up.
I have also always loved astronomical complications, so a Van Cleef & Arpels Planetarium would also be very high on the list. The movement, developed in collaboration with Christiaan van der Klaauw, combined with Van Cleef & Arpels’ design, makes it one of the most beautiful contemporary watches in my opinion. As you can probably tell, I don’t really wear watches to tell the time.
I would also add an F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance. It’s an ultra-collectible piece, of course, but what fascinates me most is the physical phenomenon behind it. Using resonance to synchronise two balance wheels is a concept that elevates watchmaking to the level of scientific poetry.
Today, I am wearing a Louis Erard Regulator with an aventurine dial and a denim strap.
It is comfortable to wear and the dial has a subtle sparkle that makes it feel special without being ostentatious.
I would say the Schlumpf Museum in Alsace. It is, of course, an extraordinary place if you love cars, but what moves me most is that it was built up over a lifetime by two brothers, Hans and Fritz Schlumpf.
Beyond the cars’ aesthetic and historical value, you can learn a lot about people from what they choose to collect and preserve. To me, collections are never just about the objects themselves. They also represent commitment, taste, memory, and the way someone tries to create a world around what they love.
I would spend the day with a collector in its own world, whether he collects watches, cars or something completely different. Those are often the best moments: understanding how collectors built their collection, hearing the stories behind the objects, learning and sharing.
When the passion is real, 24 hours can pass in the blink of an eye.
I need something that allows me to listen to music.
Ideally, it would be an old iPod filled with albums. A desert island without music would be far worse than one without watches.
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