I got my first real watch when I was about 10—a Casio F-91W that was a gift from my father. It was my introduction to ‘real’ watches as opposed to the cheap knockoffs I had worn before. It was only in my 20s that I bought a watch with my own money, a Tissot PR100 that required a serious squeeze from my wallet. But it was worth every penny.
It turns out that story isn’t unique, with Gen Z collectors beginning their careers today and finding themselves in the same boat. Having been introduced to the watch world at a young age by the adults in their lives—or discovering it through its adjacency with their other interests—they are now beginning to build collections of their own.
“The beginning of my obsession started when my grandfather passed on a Citizen Signature chronograph to me,” says 23-year-old Nirek Dembla, a student of business analytics. He adds, “I was instantly fascinated with its engineering and proportions; the dial taught me about the elegance of smaller dial sizes.” Archana Ajith, a 28-year-old journalist from Mumbai, credits her father for shaping her interest. “He has an extensive watch collection and began building it when he was around my age. Growing up, I watched him carefully choose each piece with a deep appreciation for its craftsmanship.”
Twenty-eight-year-old Gladwin Menezes, however, developed his obsession independently. “[It’s] something I cultivated by watching tennis matches and sporting events where athletes would wear cool watches. Eventually, I grew curious about why their watches cost so much; despite the jokes about ‘time toh same hi dikhata hai’, I wanted to understand the craft, history and also a little about the mechanics.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: vogue.in
