What would you go for?
The material would be platinum, the movement would be a perpetual calendar but opened up…Ultra-thin case, limited to 24 pieces.
Had any offers to collaborate with a brand?
Collabs are definitely something that I would want to do, but not many brands do them. Richard Mille does… there’s Nadal’s. There are a few.
How fast can you get hold of a new release that’s caught your eye?
When you work in the industry and there’s a new release, your phone is like a pizza shop and everyone says, “I want this, I want this, I want this.” For me, it depends on the brand and my relationship. I’ve probably been the first person in the UK to get a number of watches. Most of it is about trust, because dealers want watches going to good homes. For brands, one of the hardest things is to give someone a valuable watch that they sell for double – but they know I’m not in it for that.
What’s your take on custom?
I would never dismantle a watch or get customisation. As much as I respect the concept, I wouldn’t get anything unless it was factory made. I feel like a lot of people abuse watches, and most of the time it’s for money. People like to buy and flip, which is like everything in life, but not me. I’ve given a couple to friends and family and I always say to them, “Never sell. If you’re in need, bring it back to me. I’ll buy it back off you, even when you didn’t pay for it.”
Are watches going to be your vice forever?
It’s funny because some people wear watches to prove something to people. Probably 80 per cent of the time, I don’t have anything on – because I have nothing to prove. But I don’t see a way of getting out. Something else comes out every year, so it just starts again, the cycle repeats.
Shoot wrapped, James and his watches need to skedaddle. All safely packed up and secure, he heads one way in a black cab, I head the other on a Lime bike. Later that evening, when I open up Instagram, I notice Reece has accepted my request to follow his watch account. “Welcome to my museum…” the bio starts. I flick to my newsfeed and at the top sits a recently uploaded image of James’ watch box from the shoot. “If I had to live my life again I’d make the same mistakes,” reads the caption, “but sooner.”
Photographs by Elliott Morgan
Styling by Itunu Oke
Grooming by Venner James
GQ Watch is out on November 28 as part of GQ’s special Men of the Year issue
