GQ: Eric Wind Quoted on Celebrity Watches on The Red Carpet

Annie Brown recently wrote for GQ Australia ‘Why celebs are going vintage with their watches on the red carpet’. Within the article, Eric Wind is quoted.

At the same Globes, Walton Goggins paired a vintage Cartier Tonneau in yellow gold with his gold blouse. It’s a trend reflected in the watch market, too. Eric Wind, owner of Wind Vintage—curator of vintage and modern watches—says the mode for retro watches might be a response to the paid placements we are used to on many red carpets. “People are beginning to see right through this,” Winds says of endorsements that can come off as inauthentic. “The cool people are buying and picking out their own watches to wear on the red carpet and showing taste and style in the process.” Paris-based vintage dealer Arthur Pfister thinks it is linked to shifts in the culture, too.

“For me it’s much more about the provenance now,” he says, adding that the brand has built an archive of more than 4000 timepieces and is always on the hunt for watches in excellent condition. “When we can find something with a great story, this is always something that’s exciting for me.” It’s something that Wind is seeing among his clients and collectors, too.

“Since this transformation largely transpired in and through social media, it has also meant that collecting has largely become trend-driven in search of immediate gratification,” he says. “In an environment where social media-generated hype revolves around three or four new releases from three or four major brands, a carefully curated vintage piece allows collectors to express discernment and taste that has been cultivated and refined over time”. Condition is another thing collectors are paying more attention to, says Wind, including unpolished cases and watches with some worn-in patina.