Auro Montanari On Five Golden Rules Of Watch Collecting

Much like the fashion industry, the watch world has its fair share of tastemakers and trendsetters. Both aforementioned labels are easy to attach but are incredibly difficult to live up to, and yet, Auro Montanari takes both monikers within his stride. Auro is also known as John Goldberger, the author of many incredible tomes on watches, watchmaking and associated fields such as motor racing. His watch collection, which he has shared in different contexts over the years, is the stuff of dreams and whenever he shares an unknown or forgotten treasure from his vault, the collecting industry takes note and the trends he sets light up!

Auro is in most people’s minds the essence of a collector. But what, in his mind, defines a collector? “Someone whose job is to collect something”, he says without hesitation, as if the compulsion to acquire is mandatory in some people. “Or it can equally be someone who collects objects for fun. I think it is important for every collector to reflect and think about what kind of collector they are. I don’t buy watches to make money, this is not my primary objective. I would like to build a collection of rare and not common or banal timepieces.”

A Lesson From The Master

Auro began buying watches at the end of the 1970s. It didn’t, however, take long for him to realize that this was more than casual buying. He knew that he had ‘the bug’ and, maybe, it was always meant to be. “My parents were collectors, so I guess it was in my genes. I was collecting coins at the age of 11; collecting is a significant part of my life!” Does he have a way of defining his collecting style? “My personal style is grounded in the past, but I am always looking forward to it. I love research. For me the discovery is the most important thing, more than owning the watch.”

When it comes to important watches, Auro’s collection comprises pieces that could fill many Important Watches sales catalogues. If he had to pinpoint one, that transcends all others, which would it be? “That’s difficult, but I believe it is probably the stainless steel Rolex chronograph with split seconds, ref. 4113, manufactured in only 12 examples in 1943 by the Geneva-based company.”  It cannot be underestimated how rare and important these watches are. Rolex has made only a handful of complicated references over the years, but these super-sized 44mm watches are the holy grail of Rolex collecting. They hardly ever appear for sale, but when they do they command incredible results.

Is there one watch that Auro owns that would surprise people? “Yes. A rare 18k gold Patek Philippe chronograph, perpetual with moon phases, Ref. 2499 from 1951. A few years ago, I found it at a Phillips auction in New York. This model is very rare because the case was manufactured by Emile Vichet in only three examples. The present example, featured elongated and downturned lugs with a fat case back. In time, the design changed and Ed Wenger manufactured cases with more compact lugs with less downturn and a domed case back”.

Auro is regarded as one of the industry's leading scholars. His research on brands such as Cartier and Longines is well known as well as raising people’s awareness of left-field watches such as the Pierre Cardin Espace watches. What horological avenues is he currently enjoying exploring and learning about? “I am studying the early Grand Seiko wristwatches and I currently own just a stainless steel example of the very Fine Adjusted (VFA). I would like to find a white gold, platinum or palladium Grand Seiko from the '60s or ‘70s to add to my collection.”

As adventurous as Auro is, he isn’t one to undertake insane global journeys to buy watches. He prefers a more civilised approach to amassing his tickers. “I always bought watches in my comfort zone from good dealers and auction houses. I never made crazy journeys to purchase watches!” Very sensible too! 

Auro Montanari’s five golden rules of collecting:

1. Try to collect what you like; do not follow the current trends!

2. No compromises! You need dedication and discipline, only buy watches with correct configurations and in perfect condition.

3. Buy the seller, not the watch! Anybody with an iPhone and an Instagram account can be a dealer now, but a reputable and established dealer will always stand behind the watches they sell.

4. Be humble, lower your ego and don’t be in competition with other collectors.

5. Read books, look on the Internet, browse auction catalogues, visit museums, have good relationships with the entire watch community (dealers, auction’s houses and other collectors).

The Final Five

Asking such a dedicated life-long collector like Auro to pick out his favorites is like asking a parent to choose their favorite child. But I did it anyway! If Auro had to narrow his collection down to five pieces, what would they be?

“It is very hard! But if I had to I would select these:

1. Unique white gold rectangular Breguet perpetual retrograde from 1938.

2. Stainless steel Rolex chronograph split seconds, ref. 4113 from 1943.

3. White gold Cartier London Pebble with unique grey dial with white Roman numerals from 1970.

4. The first stainless steel Rolex Day-Date, ref. 6511 with black dial from 1955.

5. A unique rectangular white gold world time by Golay Fils & Stahl with an early Louis Cottier mechanism from 1939."

Follow Auro’s collecting journey on Instagram @montanariauro and @goldberger