Investing In Time: Leeds expert watch dealer on 'rabbit hole' world of watch collecting and how interest has skyrocketed

We spoke with Leeds watch dealer Jonathan Scatchard from 'Investing in Time' to find out about his time in the industry.

Jonathan Scatchard said: “I've been in the business now, it scares me to think, but over 40 years so I've seen quite a lot of changes in that business.

“In the late 70s, there was virtually no interest in what we now call pre-owned or second-hand watches. Back then, you tended to get a watch for your 21st, and that was it.

“By chance, we had an Italian dealer in Harrogate, where I worked, and he would say ‘don't scrap them’, ‘don't melt them down’ because that's literally what we were doing. We weren't even looking at the brands. I learned an awful lot from him about what was desirable, why it was desirable.

“We often say that when you're going into collecting vintage watches, there's so many different versions, so many different ways you can go, it is literally like going down a rabbit hole. They're not like stamps or coins that you just put in the safe. They are practical. You can wear these every day, and you can change them, and I think that's a massive part of the appeal.

“The watch that started it for me with that Italian dealer was this beautiful Art Deco Rolex Prince. Art Deco was so huge and popular. Humphrey Bogart wore this model. But now, how many people really know who Bogart are and would be influenced by him? But that was, by far and away, the most expensive watch, the most desirable watch.

“We come through to another generation, probably my own generation, that remember the cars of the early 70s. Steve McQueen's films, he was the king of cool. And he wore this, which is a bit of a monstrosity to some people. It's a big square. It was radical. It was out there in the day in 1971.

“So, while that was a £10,000 watch, this, even in the middle 80s, was probably a £500 watch. It's now £10,000 plus. It's going past the Prince, because they've learned how few of these were actually made. And that's the way the market's gone, and I still see now there's another generation coming through.

“Probably the most famous and the best story would be the Omega Speedmaster. Originally, it was designed for rally drivers.

“Unknown to Omega, in the mid-60s, NASA did a test on certain watches, which were the best to work in outer space because of the space program, and the Speedmaster turned out to be that watch. So, it's now known as the Moonwatch.

“This one's particularly valuable because it's what we call a tropical dial. The sun's got onto the dial and turned it from black to brown. And that's really rare, and that puts probably an extra £10,000, believe it or not. And back in the day, we'd have just replaced that. Got Omega to send us a new black dial.”

Leeds watch dealer gives advice

Jonathan also shared his advice on getting started in watch dealing.

He said: “If you're thinking of starting, just have a really good look through whether it's auction catalogues or whatever, not necessarily at the prices, but find what you like, and then try and become as best of an expert in that area.”

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