APPLEBY’S EXPERT GIVES HIS VERDICT ON THE U2 STAR’S ECLECTIC COLLECTION
NICHOLAS Appleby is a third-generation member of the famous family of jewellers. He has been working at Appleby’s famed Grafton Street shop since the early Noughties. As part of the company’s gemmology team, he specialises in buying and selling diamonds and also chooses suites of stones for jewellery. He gives his take on Clayton’s impressive collection: “Adam’s collection is quite unique. He says himself that he is not really a collector so isn’t looking for all the ‘usual’ pieces you might expect from a rock star’s watch collection. It’s a real reflection of his personality, and I get the impression they all mean a lot to him. Going from a small 1950s Omega to a superrare H Moser & Cie, it shows Clayton has a broad palette when it comes to watches.” Nicholas: “Clayton’s Omega comes with a great story, which is one of the great appeals of these vintage watches. This one has a beautiful shape, less common than the roundfaced Omegas that populate the vintage market. You could pick one up for around €3k, but you could be a while looking for it.” Nicholas: “The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso he has is an evolution of the original Reverso, one of the world’s first ‘sports’ watches with a reversible dial. In the market, this would be worth in the region of €8-9k.” Nicholas: “Patek Philippe are the byword for highend watch-making, and as Clayton said, they have a reputation for being delicate and complicated, but as you can see from the wear on his own watch, he doesn’t keep it in a glass case. A watch like this would be in the region of €30k.” Nicholas: “H Moser & Co are a real watch-nerd’s watch. Made in minimal quantities in a small workshop, they are best known for their very minimal style watches. Clayton’s watch is a great example of this style, but I’d say you might never see one come up for sale given they were limited to 17 pieces.
“If you had a spare €15k rattling around in your pocket, you could certainly pick up one with a similar look. One for the real purists.”