A lesson in luxury watches
If you’re someone who doesn’t wear a watch you look to your phone for the time, but if you wear a watch every day, you can’t leave the house without one. So, when is the right time to look for something to wear on your wrist? For me, that might be now.
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Outfit pictured above: ARMAND FEATHER DOUBLE CASHMERE COAT by JOSEPH FASHION, LAMBSWOOL JUMPER and CAMP COLLAR SHIRT by SUNSPEL, CLASSIC WIDE LEG TROUSERS by SCOTT FRASER COLLECTION and TRIPLE WELT PERCY by GRENSON. Tom is wearing: vintage and CLASSIC WIDE LEG TROUSERS by SCOTT FRASER COLLECTION.
Photography by JACK MUNSCH
Walking around the corner, I see he’s on his phone and gesturing that he’ll only be a couple minutes. It’s been a busy morning for Tom O’Dell. No sooner after ending his call, another one comes in. Before we begin to exchange words, Tom is already on coffee number two and full of stories from the night before. Ones that involve Sir Paul McCartney and Damon Albarn, so I almost felt the need to apologise that his social circle has went from dream like heights to myself. But that’s his story to tell, not mine. We meet up at an Italian cafe just a short walk away from Vauxhall train station, sadly too early for the deli to be open. Tom is many things alongside being a good friend of mine, he’s also an Art Director, Stylist and Film Costumier meaning I often catch him between jobs before he’s off again on another six-week stint.
The reason for our meet up this time, beyond just catching up before the year is over, is to talk watches. You could say he’s a bit of a collector. Days before meeting up he was sending across photos on WhatsApp of watches to bring with him. ‘I could bring this one, or this one, actually this one is really lovely’ was the nature of our back and forth online. Eventually I narrowed him down to four out of a collection of 21. Not an excessive amount, but all carefully curated over the years. Ranging from the obscure to the coveted, Tom looks for watches that not only look nice on his “tiny wrists,” his words not mine, but have a story to them. So when we’re sat together outside the cafe and the phones are facing screen side down, Tom doesn’t waste no time at all in pointing out nuances in the straps, explaining hand movements and everything else a collector of watches would like to talk about. Vintage watches from the 40s, all the way through to the 70s. His first Omega Seamaster, a Seamaster ‘66, arrived in his collection in 2011 and purchased as a reminder of his grandad and bought using his own pay packet when working for a menswear brand. Tom now owns up to five Omegas as they continue to build up overtime.
Now, he has a contact in Poland who helps him source watches he’s after. The brief? Watches that suit Tom’s personal style that can be considered day and evening watches. Ones for suits, jeans, a watch for the right occasion. And while, we’d all like to have a contact like that, sometimes it’s not that simple.
Watches can often be purchases that need extra reassurance and confidence when buying. eBay have recently launched their eBay authenticity guarantee service where they inspect all watches sold for listings above £2,000 before arriving with you. So, when we’re looking at watches that have been pre-owned and with that story attached to them, you can hit buy now knowing everything has been ticked off. With Tom’s guidance and eBay’s new service, I feel like I’m in pretty good hands to start looking into a first watch. I’ve been looking on eBay’s luxury watches section and there seems to be some pretty enticing listings. I mean, it’s very easy to get carried away imagining a Bell&Ross automatic watch on my wrist, or even something like a Rolex Oysterdate , which after some reading seems like an interesting entry point watch for the market. Then if we’re really thinking about watches I’d like to own, the Cartier Tank has always been something I feel would suit. All three are relatively discreet and whether it’s from meeting Tom or not, I can picture a leather strap or steel strap would work well with my wardrobe.
My crash course with Tom has put me in good stead to start browsing and maybe next year I’ll be the guy someone calls to get watch advice after brushing shoulders with the music elite.jbicon
Could 2023 be the ultimate year of sustainability for fashion? Probably not, but there are some positive things happening if you look for them.