The enduring appeal of the luxury watch and five worth investing in
Robbie Henshaw with his rugby inspired 'Magon Watch' created by Stephen McGonigle
âThereâs a certain mystery in a mechanical watch â smart technology will never take that awayâ
The humble wristwatch is having a moment. Sought after watches from Rolex and Patek Philippe often have ten-year wait-lists, and routinely sell for several multiples of their retail price on the grey market. At the other end of the scale in April 2022, police had to be called to several Swatch stores to control crowds for the launch of the âMoonSwatchââ such was the hype and enthusiasm.
The âMoonSwatchâ pays tribute to the Omega Speedmaster worn by the Apollo 11 crew that landed on the moon and on subsequent NASA missions. At âŹ250, it may be made of plastic, but it is considerably more affordable than the mechanical Omega version which costs around âŹ7,000.
The MoonSwatch is a chance to capture some of the magic spacedust that surrounds the legendary Speedmaster that passed the most stringent tests to be chosen by NASA for the likes of Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong â it also saved the lives of the Apollo 13 crew who used its stopwatch feature to precision time their re-entry to earthâs atmosphere.
And there is something magical about the wrist watch. Iâm a self confessed watch geek or âwatch collectorâ as I would prefer to be called. I love them for their beating mechanical hearts, for their beauty and for their intricacy - âwhere art, design, engineering, fashion and history intersectâ to quote âWatch Gringaâ, one of my favourite watch YouTubers (there are dozens and dozens of them).
This weekend the Waterford International Festival of Time takes place in the Irish Museum of Time in Waterford City, and I will be there to see some of the most remarkable watches ever made, and better still to meet the watchmakers that created them. Their names might be unfamiliar but in my world the likes of Vianney Halter, Bernard Lederer and Stepehen and John McGonigle are living legends.
Stephen and John are originally from Athlone but have spent most of their working life in Switzerland. The two brothers trained in the Irish/Swiss Institute of Horology (sadly now closed), and after qualifying Stephen got a job working with Cristophe Claret whose watches these days start at over âŹ100,000 (yes, you read that correctly).
âI was only a year out of college so I was really really lucky to get a job with Claret, and to work on minute repeaters, tourbillon minute-repeaters and incredible complications for watches later released by Girard-Perregaux, Franck Muller and other big brands,â he says.
After a number of years working for Claret, Stephen set himself up as an independent watchmaker and took on similar contract work while founding McGonigle Watches, initially with his brother. Their first watch had an intricate but stripped down tourbillon movement â a tourbillon improves accuracy in a watch by eliminating the effects of gravity by containing the balance and escapement in a rotating cage â it is also extraordinarily beautiful to look at.
Stephenâs watches take months to create and do not come cheap â after the Tourbillon came the Tuscar and then the McGonigle âCeolâ Minute Repeater which costs over âŹ200,000. The Ceol chimes the time more accurately than Big Ben despite being just 41mm in diameter â âyou donât even need to look at it to tell the time,â says McGonigle.
âMy clients are not well known people as the watch collecting community is small and specialised - however if (noted collector) Ed Sheeran wants to buy one Iâm sure I can fit him into my schedule...â
In 2021 Stephen launched Magon Watches (www.magonwatches.com) which are considerably more affordable. The first watch is a sport themed chronograph costing âŹ9,800, which is less than an Omega chronograph in the same metal. The FĂłrsa Titanium Chronograph has some subtle nods to Stephenâs love of rugby and if you spot Robbie Henshaw out and about he is likely wearing his one.
The chronograph movement is from the highly reputed Swiss manufacture La Joux-Perret but has been modified and decorated to fit into Stephenâs vision for Magon â a time only Magon is on the cards next.
"My clients have cars and luxury goods that cost more than my watches but they value the watches more they tell me because they appreciate this legacy factor.â
Sidereus Watches are another new Irish watch brand causing a bit of a stir in the watch geek world. Created by Bryan Leech who trained as a Product Designer and has worked all over the world creating everything from ceramics and silverware to telephones and Apple keyboards.
âAs part of the Product Design Course I teach at South East Technical University in Carlow I began setting a fourth year project to have my students design watches as I had always been interested in horology,â says Leech.
âBut what led to the creation of Sidereus was a lecture at (luxury watch show) Salon QP entitled âHorology: A Child of Astronomyâ which focused on Newgrange, a neolithic monument that has marked time for over 5,000 years â that was the spark.â
âSidereusâ references Galileoâs famous treatise on astronomy âSidereus Nunciusâ (starry messenger), and the watches draw on Newgrange and astronomy throughout their design â they are hand built to order and limited to 50 pieces per model. Detail is everything for Bryan â âwe have branded the crown (winder) and the buckle and are keeping it Irish where possible with leather straps from Irish Dexter cattle or the option of a Magee Tweed strap - our oak presentation cases are created in Clonmel by Master Cabinet maker Philippe HĂ©tier.â
Inside is a highly accurate Swiss Selita automatic movement and somehow Siderus watches manage to look sporty, dressy and functional all at the same time.
A quality mechanical watch with dozens of moving parts isnât cheap, but what else do you own that can be passed to your grandchildren? A watch is functional jewellery, art on your wrist, a conversation piece, a means of self expression and part of you legacy - my dadâs 1952 Fortis is ticking on my wrist as I write this. All these watches will survive into the 22nd century.
Everyone needs a Seiko in their collection and the remarkable Seiko 5 has been around since 1963 - this is a horological classic. The â5â refers to five innovative elements - an unbreakable mainspring, superior shock resistance, automatic winding, water-resistance and a date function.
Stainless Steel Sports watches on a metal bracelet are the hottest item in the watch world - a Patek Philippe Nautilus will cost you âŹ130,000 but this 2021 little mechanical beauty from Tissot has a very similar look for a tiny fraction o the price.
Sidereus Moon Phase Automatic watch in polished stainless steel, limited to 50 pieces, hand built to order - regulated and tested in Ireland. I canât think of another watch that manages to look sporty and dressy at this price point - suitable for a suit or a tracksuit.
In fashionable olive green with a âteakâ pattern on the dial reminiscent of wooden sailboats this is stunning, and contains the famed Omega Co-Axial movement and Master Chronometer testing proving it is accurate to within 5 seconds per day.
The striking sporty FĂłrsa Titanium Chronograph from Irish Master Watchmaker Stephen McGonigle. With a decorated customised La Joux-Perret movement and subtle nods to Stephenâs love of Rugby this is available in silver and black and looks like no other watch on the market (at least none that cost less than six figures).
When my SSIA money came into my bank account in 2005 I decided I needed a good watch. Soon I descended into a rabbit hole and I now own around 15 mechanical watches including brands such as Longines, Zenith and Omega. My most worn watch is my Art-Deco Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Clasique in 18k Gold, a watch designed in 1931 for Polo players - the case is reversible to protect the dial.
I bought my Reverso from a good friend Tracey Sheeran who had purchased it new in Geneva when working for Patek Philippe in 1998. Tracey died far too young a year later and I will never sell it - I am full sure she would come back to haunt me if I did!
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