Twelve creatives on the art of watchmaking and why horology will stand the test of time
1.
Yorgo Tloupas
Creative director,Yorgo&Co
The watch collection of Paris-based creative director Yorgo Tloupas features more than a few remarkable pieces. There’s the rare “Clack, clack, thud” from 2013, a watch designed by the artist Ryan Gander that is a metal mould of a Rolex, with neither watch face nor mechanism. Then there’s the titanium Space 3 by Bell & Ross from the early 2000s. Perhaps most special of all, however, is a Swatch of his own design, commissioned by Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in 2021 to celebrate the bicentenary of the country’s independence. “Only 200 were made and given to the guests of the commemoration in Athens,” says Tloupas, who as a child spent his summers in Greece, where his father was from. “King Charles III owns one – I’m not sure how often he wears it, however.” The blue-and-white stripes of the Swatch are a reference to the Greek flag, while the watch’s on-show golden mechanism evokes the Mediterranean sun. “I wear mine daily, proudly,” he says.
When did you first start wearing watches?
I had a few Swatches when I was growing up in the 1980s. When I first started earning money as an independent designer, in the late 1990s, I bought myself a basic Tag Heuer. I felt like I had reached the peak of luxury.
Are you often late or early? Or right on time?
In my line of work I’m obviously, like everyone else, constantly dashing from one meeting to the other. I’m always absolutely on time, down to the minute. But that comes from being a cyclist, knowing Paris inside and out – and running a lot of red lights.
What do you wish that you had more time to do?
Surfing. Interestingly, it’s an activity that still requires having a watch as a necessity. I often get asked what time it is by watchless surfers when we’re waiting for waves. Time can stretch dramatically when you’re in the ocean.
2.
Helena Puolakka
Chef-patron, Savoy
Helsinki restaurant with interiors by Alvar Aalto, Helena Puolakka’s uniform of chef whites is not complete without her Oyster Explorer II by Rolex. The Finnish chef acquired the timepiece in 2007 after receiving her first sizable pay cheque. “I had been dreaming of a Rolex for quite some time,” she tells Monocle. “After trying on most of the models in my budget, I knew straight away that the Explorer II was the one. Since then, my slogan has been, ‘My time is Rolex time.’” Puolakka spent 25 years working in kitchens in London and Paris – including at the three-Michelin-starred restaurants La Tante Claire and Pierre Gagnaire. In 2019, she returned to her native Finland to take up the role of chef-patron at Savoy and opened the Café Savoy, a more relaxed counterpart to the original restaurant, in 2022. As one of the most recognised Nordic chefs of her generation, Puolakka operates with the utmost precision – her Rolex ensures that service is seamless.
How does observing time matter in your profession?
Timing is everything in the kitchen. Serving several different dishes to multiple tables takes a lot of practice in timing. To time all the mise en place so that everything is ready before and during service is essential.
Are you often late or early? Or right on time?
In Finland, it is impolite to be late. If you expect to be even five minutes late, you send a message. Though I aim to be on time, I sometimes fail – especially since I have two restaurants across three floors. Unfortunately, there are times when I’m simply at the wrong end of the building.
3.
Tom Chng
Founder, Singapore Watch Club
After three years investigating financial crimes as a forensic accountant, Tom Chng decided to keep watch on horological complications instead. He founded the Singapore Watch Club, a collectors’ community, in 2015. It has since collaborated with leading maisons such as Vacheron Constantin and Cartier, as well as helping to grow the tiny island nation into the sixth-largest market for Swiss watches in the world. Through his work with the club and his collection of vintage Audemars Piguet pieces, Chng hopes to uphold watchmaking as a time-honoured art form. “The watch is a measuring instrument not much different from a weighing scale or ruler,” he says. “But watches hold so much sentiment because they measure a finite resource that is precious to us, one that nobody can buy or sell.”
What is the model of your watch?
My favourite watch in my collection is the Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Grande Sonnerie Openworked. It took watchmakers centuries to miniaturise the clock-tower mechanism into a small gadget and the skeletonised movement is one of the hallmarks of the post-quartz crisis era in the 1990s.
How do you wear your watch in a professional capacity?
As a chiming watch, it acts like a tiny little clock tower on my wrist. It rings every quarter, so I wear it during important meetings to maintain eye contact with others while still knowing the time. The beauty about chiming watches is their ability to go unnoticed even when I’m having a conversation. You would hear it but your counterpart might not.
How do you perceive the value of timekeeping? Is it a lost art in the age of instant messaging?
Nobody needs a watch today. Time is everywhere, digitally. Always accurate. So, more than ever, the value of timekeeping is paramount. The more irrelevant mechanical watchmaking becomes, the more precious it is. Artisans preserve the savoir-faire and patrons buy into it to own a piece of history. It’s a delicate piece of human achievement carefully passed on from one generation to the next.
4.
Alexander Roth
Stylist
In New York-based stylist Alexander Roth’s family, timepieces are passed down as heirlooms. Having inherited his grandmother’s Cartier Tank Mini, he now wears his grandfather’s vintage Patek Philippe Gondolo from the 1920s. “It was originally purchased from Tiffany & Co – they were the first official retailer of Patek Philippe in the US,” says Roth. “The watch was then given to my dad and now it’s mine.” Roth perceives the act of wearing a watch as making something of a fashion statement. “It’s the centrepiece of any outfit,” says Roth. “The right watch can speak for you and speak to your entire look so that you don’t have to.” But he also points to the importance of holding on to a sense of timekeeping in everyday life, especially when working for fashion houses such as Dior, Calvin Klein and Saint Laurent. “Time management is the most important tool I have. If I can master that on set, I can accomplish far more than I had intended.”
When did you first start wearing watches?
I started wearing watches about five years ago when my nana gave me her mini Cartier Tank. She used to wear it every day but when she couldn’t wear jewellery anymore, she handed it to me.
How often do you wear your watch?
I try to reserve it for special occasions. That’s what my grandfather did as well. It’s my party watch.
Are you often late or early? Or right on time?
It depends who you ask. I believe timekeeping is relative to a person – and how important that commitment is to them.
5.
Rita Nakouzi
Head of marketing and content, Nahmad Contemporary
Rita Nakouzi has a predilection for discreet timepieces. “There’s a certain discipline to them,” says the Lebanese-American head of marketing and content for New York art gallery Nahmad Contemporary. These days, her watch of choice is a 1973 Rolex Lady-Datejust with a champagne dial and a two-tone steel-and-yellowgold strap. “Rolexes don’t announce themselves,” she says. “This one disappears and then, occasionally, it might get noticed.” Nakouzi was raised in Beirut. Her watch collection has been shaped by her experience with luxury fashion as creative director at the Realreal, a luxury resale platform for the likes of Chanel, Gucci and Prada. Nakouzi’s Rolex is on her wrist throughout her day, whether she’s attending a gallery opening at Nahmad Contemporary, at a backgammon tournament with her husband or enjoying a games night with her children. “I bought it for myself after closing something I’d been working towards for a long time,” she adds. “It is something that has been earned, not given.”
When did you first start wearing watches?
In high school. But the first watch that truly felt like mine was an Hermès Cape Cod that I purchased in my twenties. At the time I was really into [former Hermès creative director of womenswear Martin] Margiela and owning something even adjacent to that world felt like crossing a threshold.
How does observing time factor into your job?
I work with art, so time is the medium as much as anything else. A work asks you to slow down, to look longer than feels natural. A watch that resists immediacy suits that.
Are you often late or early? Or right on time?
Right on time. It’s a form of respect. Timekeeping has become rarer, which makes it more valuable. To give something your full time now is a statement.
6.
Dominique Paravicini
Swiss ambassador to the UK
Since taking office last summer, Dominique Paravicini has contributed to a diplomatic mission that has been in place since 1891. And as the man responsible for the interests, safety and security of more than 40,000 Swiss citizens based in Britain, he is a figurehead for the nation. It doesn’t hurt, then, to cut a dash: not least on the wrist, given Switzerland’s role as the historic centre of horology. Globally, Switzerland manufactures 95 per cent of all watches sold at a value of more than CHF1,000 (€1,095). When speaking of the international luxury watch industry, it’s almost exclusively a reference to the Swiss timepiece industry.
“The first watch I received was when I was 12,” Paravicini tells Monocle from the Helvetian embassy in Marylebone, with his dog Pasha at his side. “In Switzerland, it’s a common gift.” Being Swiss, it follows that he has a strong repertoire of timepieces. Today, his watch of choice is a gold-trimmed, 1950s Vacheron Constantin that has a sentimental value that goes far beyond national pride.
How did you acquire the watch?
It was my late father’s. I’ve been wearing it ever since he passed away.
How do you wear your watch in a professional capacity?
I like to wear watches. I have a couple of others and the choice depends on the mood, the day, the season. I think the wrist is a space where men can afford to show a little vanity.
How does observing time factor into your job?
Time is of the essence. In any job, you must cope with time restraints – mine is no different. But as a Swiss ambassador, I’m proud to say that I’m on time every time, even if I want to arrive late.
7.
Christopher Anderson
Photographer
The work of Canadian-American photographer Christopher Anderson has taken him across the world. From war photography in Iraq to gaining unfettered access to the Trump administration’s top team for 2025’s explosive Vanity Fair story, his work means that he’s a man on the move. But there is one constant to Anderson’s days: his Omega Speedmaster. Purchased in 2008, it is the only timepiece he has worn in his life and has become a permanent fixture on his wrist, including on shoot days. “I would not call myself a watch person but it has come to mean a lot to me because it’s with me all the time,” says Anderson. “I like it because it’s handsome without being flashy. I think of it as a piece of precision machinery that looks functional and rugged yet is still elegant.”
When did you first start wearing watches? I had never paid attention to watches before but around 2007 to 2008, I had an assistant who had the Omega Speedmaster – and I became obsessed with it. I set about trying to find one and it ended up being the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought for myself.
How do you wear it in a professional capacity?
I’m a photographer so I’m always measuring light and time. When you’re on a shoot with a crew, whether it’s for fashion or celebrity portraits, you have objectives to meet. You’re constantly keeping one eye on the clock so that you know where you are in the day and when the next shot needs to get under way – pulling out a phone on set isn’t the most ideal thing to do.
What do you wish that you had more time to do?
I wish I had more time to take photographs rather than doing my taxes or invoices or other administrative tasks. And I wish there were more hours in the day – to learn another language, cook new recipes and spend more time with my family and friends.
8.
Thomas Chatterton Williams
Author
What struck American author and cultural critic Thomas Chatterton Williams when he first came across a Rolex Milgauss 116400GV was its green glint. “It has a distinctive feature – its green sapphire crystal,” he tells Monocle from his base in Paris, where he spends his time when he’s not in New York. “From certain angles the light catches the face obliquely and it looks like there’s a thin green ring inside the bezel.” Since securing his own model in 2021, Chatterton Williams is rarely seen without it – be it in a professional capacity or at the sauna or on a swim. “This will change if I upgrade to precious metal,” he adds as a caveat. “But it’s a stainless steel model that looks fine in the gym, with jeans or dressed up with a blazer.”
The Milgauss is the writer’s second Rolex. His first model by the Swiss watchmaker was purchased to mark the end of a period of financial anxiety after moving to Paris and becoming a father. “When I had finally turned a corner and achieved a degree of stability, I walked from my apartment to the Place Vendôme and into a Rolex dealer to buy myself an entry-level Oyster Perpetual,” he says. “I loved that watch, which represented having survived here. There is something reassuring about wearing a Rolex. It’s a reminder that I’ve worked hard in the past and can and must do so again in the future.”
How did you acquire your watch?
I bought it for myself before turning 40. I mentioned wanting one to a friend who is something of a collector. One day he called me to say he could take me to the shop where he’d established a relationship and save me the usual two-year wait for a new model.
How do you perceive the value of timekeeping?
Is it a lost art in the age of instant messaging? I like a wristwatch in part for its gratuitousness in the smartphone era. It’s a little piece of perfect craftsmanship to glance at and to pull yourself out of the dizzying speed of the moment.
What do you wish that you had more time to do?
There is not enough time to accomplish everything I want to do or to enjoy slow, unscripted moments with friends and family. I no longer live full-time in Paris, so I’m constantly saying goodbye to the people that I most care about. I love to travel and feel grateful to have the work that makes it possible but I often find myself wishing that I could just stay but a moment longer.
9.
Aljoša Dekleva
Architect, Dekleva Gregoric
Aljoša Dekleva is not fond of complications. That goes for the watch on his wrist as well as the projects that he oversees with Dekleva Gregoric Architects, the Ljubljana-based studio that he and his partner, Tina Gregoric, founded in 2003. It is one of Slovenia’s leading practices, working in the US and across Europe, as well as passing on its philosophy to architecture students at universities in Toronto, Vienna and London. A key theme of Dekleva’s work is that design should serve its user – a principle that also influenced his choice of timepiece. “It’s about communication,” he says, referring to his Mondaine Sport Line Day Date – its layout could hardly be easier to decipher. “Too many watches now are created as jewellery, not design.” Dekleva bought the watch, which is inspired by Swiss railway-station clocks, at the Renzo Piano-designed Fondation Beyeler museum near Basel. The quartz movement is reliable, accurate and maintenance-free – a “tool watch” in every sense. Dekleva even bought a second, identical model.
Why is it important to observe time, as an architect?
We operate in a three-dimensional, spatially defined world filled with materiality, context and people who live in and use architectures and cities. In this already complex setting, the factor of time is often neglected and even overlooked. However, architecture does not become a finished product the moment it is built. In reality, the moment that a building is completed marks the beginning of its life, which is destined to evolve and adapt over time.
How do you perceive the value of timekeeping? Is it a lost art in the age of instant messaging?
Our constant digital availability and the immediacy of communication are intensifying our everyday interactions, and that allows us to do more and say more. However, time spent in effective, instant and direct communication is, in a way, also time lost for self-awareness and reflection on our actions.
What do you wish that you had more time to do?
I’d like to spend more time sailing in the Adriatic Sea or driving a sporty old-timer along winding Alpine roads.
10.
Fredrik Johansson
Diver, Hands 2 Ocean
For Fredrik Johansson, keeping track of time is a matter of life and death. His Mares Puck Pro diving watch, which shines brightly in murky water and calculates his depth, is a crucial tool for tracking pressure and the rate of oxygen expenditure. He co-founded river clean-up non-profit Hands 2 Ocean (H2O, for short) in 2018 and leads its 300 or so volunteer divers and rope-pullers into Sweden’s waterways every week – often in the Fyris river and occasionally in Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. “For me, going beneath the surface is a form of meditation,” he tells Monocle. “To date, we’ve removed 462,000kg of trash from the riverbeds, including nearly 1,600 electric scooters,” he adds, wetsuit on, flippers in hand. “When you’re down there, you’re given time to think – and I often think about time. If the water has taught me anything, it’s about the importance of slowing yourself down, being in the moment and focusing on the task in front of you.”
When did you first start wearing watches?
I’ve been diving for 35 years and wearing versions of these watches for just as long. I have no plans to upgrade but a new watch with a brighter screen for these old eyes might be needed soon.
Do you wear a watch on land?
In my spare time I don’t wear a watch. It’s only in my profession – looking at my wrist, out of the water, would be disorientating now.
What do you wish that you had more time to do?
I wish I had six more hours a day to spend in the rivers. Cleaning these waterways can feel like an uphill battle.
11.
Simon Holloway
Creative director, Dunhill
Simon Holloway has exacting taste. As the creative director of Dunhill, he oversees the British menswear house’s collections of immaculate suiting, suede blousons and accessories for the gentleman on the move (think silver-plated lighters, driving gloves and walking sticks). When it comes to watches, Holloway considers one horological house a cut above the rest. “For me, the most stylish watches in the world are made by Cartier – it’s an art deco dream of elegance,” he tells Monocle from Bourdon House, Dunhill’s headquarters in Mayfair, a Georgian building that comprises a shop, tailoring atelier, restaurant and barbershop.
Today, his timepiece of choice is a yellow-gold Cartier Tortue, in a smaller size that he describes as having an “exquisite” proportion. “The Tortue is one part of the ultra-elegant triumvirate of art deco-era watches: the Tank Louis Cartier, the Tortue and the Tank à Guichets,” says Holloway. “I wear a watch every day,” he adds. “Usually wrapped over the sleeve of a shirt or a piece of knitwear. Just discreetly hidden, or half hidden by the cuff of my jacket.”
How does observing time factor into your work day?
Time is an extremely rare and precious commodity in my professional life. Usually, I have all manner of reminders and alerts to get me from one fitting or meeting to the next.
Are you often late or early? Or right on time?
I love being right on time. I find being early quite frustrating and I hate being late, even though I often am.
How do you perceive the value of timekeeping in the digital age?
Having grown up in a world where timekeeping was analogue, the sequence of events felt more important. I feel that things are left a little more last-minute and are looser now, not always with the best result.
12.
Luca Nichetto
Designer, Nichecraft
Italian-born Luca Nichetto is the founder of Nichecraft, a design platform that creates limited-edition pieces. One of its first was The Four, a watch made in collaboration with Milanese watch brand Unimatic. The timepiece is inspired by children’s educational tools that are intended to instil the value of timekeeping from an early age. “As a designer, there are moments when observing the time is important,” Nichetto tells Monocle from his Stockholm headquarters. “Deadlines and processes can help to achieve a goal: to deliver a project that becomes a product that will be put into production. At other times, when you’re doing research, you never know how much time something might take. You need to merge these realities.”
Are you often late or early? Or right on time?
Quite often late. I am Italian. We’re allowed to be 15 minutes late. But sometimes it’s not 15 minutes, it’s a bit more. In Scandinavia it is not accepted to be late. So I make sure to be on time when I deliver my kids to school.
How do you perceive the value of timekeeping?
It’s becoming the new luxury. Society is accelerating through technology and other things. This is one of the reasons why we designed The Four.
