Article: Origin Episode 1: Why I Was Captivated by Vintage Watches at 15
Origin Episode 1: Why I Was Captivated by Vintage Watches at 15
I was about 15 when I became fascinated with watches.
My grandfather took me to a watch shop.
I had always been interested in wristwatches, but that day was the first time I encountered the world of "vintage watches."
As a high school student, I was looking for my first mechanical watch with a budget of about 50,000 yen.
However, it wasn't a wristwatch that captivated me at that shop, but a Waltham hunter case pocket watch.
The shop owner kindly explained the structure of the hunter case, designed to protect the dial, and the historical background of when the watch was created.
To me, who had only ever thought of watches as "tools for telling time," his story was incredibly fresh.
What further caught my eye was the delicate hand-engraving covering the entire case.
A three-dimensional quality that mass production today cannot replicate.
An expression born only because each piece was handcrafted by an artisan.
There was a warmth that machines could never reproduce.
As I gazed at the watch, I naturally began to wonder.
What eras had this watch witnessed?
Who had worn it, and what lives had it shared?
I felt as though a single watch didn't just contain the artisan's skill, but also the time spent by its owners.
At that moment, watches ceased to be mere "objects" for me.
A watch is something that reflects its era, inherits culture, and connects emotions from person to person.
For the first time, I understood that a watch, to me, was not an industrial product, but "art" and "culture."
This value has not changed even after more than 20 years.
Back then, the price of gold was not as high as it is now, and that Waltham pocket watch was on sale for 40,000 yen.
That might be an unimaginable price today.
Nevertheless, for me as a high school student, 40,000 yen was by no means a small sum, and it was one of the biggest purchases of my life.
I had doubts.
But even more so, the desire to "keep this watch by my side" won out.
If I hadn't encountered that watch on that day, I don't think I would be who I am today.
Looking back, that day was the origin of my watch journey.
Since then, I've started collecting watches, learning about them, and experiencing watches from around the world.
My criteria for viewing watches also gradually changed.
Not just the brand name or price, but how it was made, and in what condition it was passed down.
I began to approach each watch, including its background and story.
Currently, at Ante, we primarily feature vintage Cartiers.
This isn't just because of their popularity or rarity.
It's because I genuinely feel that these watches have a design that is loved for a long time, inherited quality, and value that allows them to be used for decades to come.
That's why we carefully assess the condition of each watch, make no compromises on maintenance, and only introduce watches that we are truly satisfied with.
On that day when I was 15, a single pocket watch taught me something.
A watch is not merely a tool for telling time.
It is culture itself, inheriting the artisan's skill, the atmosphere of the era, and people's emotions, passing them on to the next generation.
The feelings I had then are still my criteria for choosing watches, and the origin of Ante.
