KAMAL DASWANI
OWNER OF DRAM GOOD STUFF
When did you begin collecting watches?
It would be 1990 and my first collectible, a Patek 5059P perpetual calendar with retrograde date. I’d recently come into a little cash and didn’t want to blow it all, so I figured a Patek Philippe may not be a bad place to park some of it. I still have it and it still makes me smile.
What’s the rarest piece in your collection?
I have a steel Omega pocket watch from the 1950s. It went to Omega for a service and they called me from Switzerland, asking permission to photograph it. It was a piece they’d lost track of and in return they replaced the hands with pink-gold ones, effectively making it unique.
Are there watches in your collection you’ve never worn?
None. I always go to the boutiques with a naked wrist and wear every new piece home. An unworn timepiece is to condemn it to an existence without meaning.
Do you have a favourite watch, because of its intrinsic or sentimental value?
I have two in that category. When my grandfather passed away, my grandmother took his gold Rolex Day Date off his wrist in the hospital and asked my mother to give it to me. I still wear it from time to time. Then one day the gold bracelet simply fell apart and I decided to get a gold GMT as a replacement. When I showed it to my mom, she immediately said, “Let me get that for you. It will also be from your grandfather.” Till now, Rolex is my go-to timepiece.
What makes you covet a watch?
Always design first. If it makes my heart race, then the chase begins!
Do you follow other watch collectors?
There are so many now on Instagram. I follow a few, more to keep with new launches and interesting photography, rather than to emulate anyone. Watch collecting is too personal a journey to copy anyone else.