It's incredible how many people appreciate watches.
To be honest, people don't really need a watch
in terms of checking the time.
I really knew just about nothing about watches before I started here.
Had you worked in the watch industry before Chrono24 or is this your first job
and your first dip into the shallow waters of the industry?
Yeah, this was my first time working in the watch industry.
You know, my background: I started off in
finance earlier in my career, and then I pretty much worked in
startups. I moved here from San Francisco, worked in a variety of roles from
account management, sales, business development, partnerships, and yeah. One
thing led to another, and I got connected with Tim, our CEO, and the rest is history.
Previously, for about seven months, I was
in financial services. So I did that, but this is my first exposure to the
watch industry in general. And then I've always had an affinity for, like,
fashion and luxury goods and stuff like that. So, I think it's a natural fit there.
Yeah, I guess before I just thought of it as something... I guess I really didn't
think too much about it but more as just like a fashion statement. I guess now
that I know a lot more about it and hearing people that are really into
watches speak up about watches, you realize it's so much more than that
there's so much that goes on behind just, like, the visual of the watch,
which I think is really cool, especially when you kind of hear about all
the little specific parts of, like, watchmaking and fixing watches. So, that's
pretty cool. I think that's really unique, and the people that know how to
do that stuff, bravo to them because it looks tough.
It's a crazy world, isn't it?
Yeah, I think I have a lot more appreciation for it now. Before it was just, you know,
like an accessory.
Did you look at the industry, did you follow brands and
stuff before you came to Chrono?
Somewhat, yes. I appreciated watches.
One of my friends is really into watches, and so through him, I grew an appreciation
for them. And so I would follow brands, and I would try to find the ones that I
would like or that I wouldn't like. So, I knew a little bit about watches, and
then I saw Chrono24, and I was like, "That's really cool because I like
watches. I would love to get to know more about them and working with them every
day would be a great way to do it." So, here I am.
Actually, there's nobody else in my family who really has much of an interest in watches.
I don't know really why it came about. And so one day, I was actually just
looking at watches on Chrono24 – kind of in my free time. So there was a career section.
I went there, clicked on it, and within a month I was working at Chrono.
And it's been a really big exposure to watches all at one time. The more time I spend in it,
the more I realize I know nothing about watches. So, it's pretty nice to kind of be
humbled by that, and there's just so many people involved.
So, I always thought watches were really cool, and
I always noticed them, but it was always kind of also this
idea of like, "Why spend so much money on something that you can get for, you know,
like, not even 20 bucks?" But, like, you can get a watch nice watch for $300,
and it works. It does the function. So, it was kind of interesting to come
into it and kind of realize that there's a lot more that goes into it – a lot of
history that goes into it. The fact that there's, like, this thing that can be made
manually that works so efficiently and effectively.
And it's this big.
Right, and it's that small.
So, it's been kind of an interesting journey into seeing how the item
isn't really necessarily functional. Or, like, just functional and just kind
of, like, the same as food and wine.
It's very interesting, you know, to
have front row seats to how watch brands are trying to innovate and adapt in this
day and age when, to be honest, people don't really need a watch in
terms of checking the time.
Mostly, you've seen it from the news
side, right? So, you see it from the brands and from the boutique side
where you're passing by Fifth Avenue or Madison Avenue. You're seeing these
stores. And that's what I grew up doing, is walking by and just kind of perusing
and window shopping. And then, ever since I've started and kind of seeing
how deeply rooted everything is from pre-owned to the vintage,
it's just so many layers that you can never really get your head around it.
It's incredible how many people appreciate watches. It's something that,
if you're not part of it, you don't really see it. It's really quiet, and it
kind of keeps to itself in some cases. And I think it's breaking out of that,
especially with really famous people speaking more about their watches.
John Mayer, like really such an advocate for the watch community,
bringing so many people in. And I think that it's just such a unique thing where people get to
sort of bond over something
when they maybe weren't able to bond over things before.