THE ANALOGUE WRIST
Despite being an avid watch enthusiast and collector, I have never really been a ‘Rolex’ guy. Those that can afford and have bought into the contemporary Rolex brand only for its lauded name and investment potential have diminished the overall appeal (for me).
So it’s refreshing to meet Graeme Goldman, former MD of The Swatch Group Australia and now the co-owner of a direct to consumer online watch brand called THE 5TH. A fellow enthusiast and eclectic watch collector, he bought his first Rolex only because the person he saw wearing one was 'the coolest-looking guy'.
‘When I was in my 20s, I used to admire this cool guy who worked in a clothing store wearing a Rolex – he reminded me of the singer Lenny Kravitz. He was so damn cool – the fact that he wore a chronograph rather than a more common timeonly watch made me want to own one’.
The watch in question was the now iconic Rolex Cosmograph Daytona.
After becoming the official timekeeper of the Daytona International Speedway in 1962, Rolex launched a new chronograph, the Cosmograph Reference 6239, nicknamed ‘Daytona’. Unlike their existing watches for divers (Submariner), outdoorsmen (Explorer) and pilots (GMT), the Daytona was aimed as a tool watch for motor racing enthusiasts, with a chronograph function (stopwatch).
The Daytona was a flop at first, and there was a time when Rolex dealers almost had to give them away. However, a fortuitous association with Hollywood actor turned racer Paul Newman changed everything – making the Daytona one of the most sought-after watches in the world, with collectors referring to the model 6239 ‘exotic dial’ as the Paul Newman Daytona. The watch which was owned by the late movie star, sold at auction for a record-breaking $17.8m (AUD25.3M) in October 2017, making it one of the most expensive watches in the world.
Graeme’s Daytona is a second series Cosmograph released in 1988 (Reference 16520). Unlike the original Daytona 6239 which housed a manual wound movement manufactured by Valjoux, the second series utilised an updated self-winding automatic movement, produced by Zenith.
‘The workings of a mechanical watch had always fascinated me, and I wanted to learn more about watches. It was particularly difficult during apartheid times in South Africa (where I was living at the time). With the country under sanctions, we rarely received any information from overseas. Being pre-internet days, I used to search for magazines with any watch-related content I could find. Then, in 1994, I came across an Esquire magazine which had an article (which I have kept to this day, pictured) that featured a Rolex Daytona!’. Graeme was fortunate enough finally to purchase a Daytona in 1995. He was walking past the Rolex dealer in Durban South Africa – just as the shopkeeper was about to display the exact piece in the shop window. At that time, these watches had a seven-year waiting list according to Graeme, so he immediately walked in, negotiated a discount (which is unheard of these days), and purchased his dream watch.
‘I wanted a black dial like in the Esquire feature, but this one was a white dial. I bought it anyway’. ‘My late father at one time owned a Rolex GMT. I loved the robustness and manliness of a Rolex. It seemed to be indestructible and looked like it would last forever’.
‘He was also into cars, and I grew up driving around in them. For my very first car, my dad let me drive his ‘spare’ 1969 Jaguar E-type. I hated it because it had a manual transmission and no air-conditioning – all I wanted was a Volkswagen Golf GTI’.
‘I think my passion for both watches and cars has something to do with a reminder of times past, one’s childhood and a reminder of happy times’. ‘Driving my 1966 (T5) Mustang brings me joy and happiness and reminds me of my late father and his convertible Mustang. I felt like I could conquer the world driving that car’.
Graeme’s Daytona sits in a safe these days – since he became the MD of The Swatch Group, he felt it was wrong to wear a Rolex when the company did not make or sell them.
‘I just love it, and it (still) gives me such joy and pleasure whenever I visit the safe to see it’.
Today is one of those joyous days as Graeme delivers his pride and joy to my studio to have it photographed – it was the first time it had left his safe in 20 years.
Graeme is one of the most interesting (cool) characters I have met in recent times. It just happens that he unknowingly bought a future icon which is now a collector’s item – now that’s cool.