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“At the beginning no one knew about the brand, you could easily get [a watch],” Chan reminisces. “But Richard Mille was a master of marketing and a phenomenal leader. I learned the most with Richard and am proud to have been a part of the brand as it took off. We still see each other every once in a while – he’s very humble, if you go to him he’s always happy to help.”

“Whatever brand is selling their watches based on functionality is out of touch with reality,” Chan puts it bluntly. “Any function you name, my phone can do it better, more accurately, more inexpensively. The need for a watch no longer exists and one should look at mechanical wristwatches as art pieces.”

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“Between 2005-15, big watches were in vogue, coming up to 47mm,” Chan explains. “If you wore a watch [like the Pebble] that was closer to 34mm it would be frowned upon, but the original [Rolex Day-Date President] in 1972 was 36mm. Without the market acceptance of smaller watches, why would you relaunch the Pebble or the [Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222, at 37mm]? This could be the beginning of another decade or even two where smaller watches are in vogue for men.”

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For Chan, who was one of the first to buy the Pebble and received it in November, the value and the significance of the relaunch lies in the design more so than its mechanical function or time-telling precision: “The Pebble brings back a heavy focus on aesthetics and design. We’ve seen the frenzy after the relaunch, but if you Google ‘Cartier Pebble’ you won’t find anyone talking about the movement so much as about the design and rarity of the watch or how the square-in-circle is a very Cartier thing. I think the person who plans to buy a watch should know what they are buying and why.”

Knowledge is the key variable according to Chan: “You can win the lottery and then throw a bunch of money at it, but without knowledge it’s not going to be fun. A good collection should have a theme, it will reflect your creativity with your budget. Limitless budgets help, but I know people with those budgets whose collections are not that interesting because they lack direction or theme.”

“The best collectors,” Chan concludes, “have a collection that is more than the sum of the individual pieces. The collection must become more valuable because of your input.”

Separate from his efforts with the FHH, Chan is keen to tap into digital means to engage with the growing watch-collecting population. He plans to build the WatchProfessor Academy, an extension of his @watchprofessor daily Instagram quizzes, where visitors attempt to guess a watch’s brand based on its design. Competitors can join a leader board, and answers are supplemented by interactive information that tells them more about the watch they are trying to guess.

“I think it’s important,” Chan says, “that the information is accessible or out there in order for the industry to grow. These platforms are not trying to sell you a watch but should help you gain the tools to appreciate it more.”

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“It’s rare to have a watch that has not changed since its inception, which says something about the style and design. The attraction of the watch goes beyond accuracy and finishing because it’s closed, and the value is in how a historic design can still be relevant today.”

XXIV hours in Carson Chan’s day

Morning

“I go to the gym first thing at around 7.30am. When gyms were locked down, I went hiking. I do a lot of community work, chiefly with the Swiss Chamber of Commerce, so meetings and work for that take up most of my morning. Otherwise, if the day revolves around watch brands, I visit them to understand, photograph, see, touch and feel the pieces. I believe that you have to physically hold and operate it to see what a watch is like for you.”

Afternoon

“Lunch is usually a business lunch, sometimes with the brands or others in the industry. Afternoons I get on conference calls with Switzerland around 3pm to 5pm as that’s their morning.”

Evening

“I try to be home for dinner with my family when I can but there are [now] weeks [with endless events since] Covid-19 restrictions [came down to 0+3 in October]. ”

Night

“Afterward, I’ll come back to work on my vintage bike. Weekends too, because in my workshop there’s coffee, music and air conditioning.”