Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Professional Watch Collecting with Claude Sfeir

Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Professional Watch Collecting with Claude Sfeir | WatchBox Talks

Рет қаралды 33,147

The 1916 Company

2 жыл бұрын

Tim Mosso sat down with collector extraordinaire Claude Sfeir to discuss the ins-and-outs of watch collecting over the years. Claude chronicles the beginning of his watch-collecting journey in the Middle East and his rise to prominence. He discusses meeting F.P. Journe and his partnership with Philippe Dufour, including the ideas behind the Simplicity watch lottery system.
Of course, a collector is nothing without his watches, and Claude brings some serious pieces to the table. From his unique vintage Rolex Cosmograph with an Arabic dial, to his titanium Patek Philippe watches, or a 1-of-1 F.P. Journe Grande Sonnerie, Mr. Sfeir's collection is astounding. He gives Tim a deep dive into each piece and explains how he was able to get his hands on such extraordinary watches.
See the full interview for all the details and don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe!
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Пікірлер: 89

@charlesnasr8824 2 жыл бұрын

Let me tell you the coolest story, that took place because of this interview: I am in Beirut on vacation and today I was driving next to the FP Journe Boutique so I felt like stopping by. I rang the bell and guess who opened the door? Mr Sfeir himself! I told him how much I enjoyed the interview with you Tim and he invited me to have a cup of coffee in his personal office. We spent like 40 minutes talking watches and life... One of the friendliest and nicest persons I've ever met! Thank you Tim for this interview and thank you Claude for the espresso and the lovely encounter today.

@1916company 2 жыл бұрын

What an amazing story! Glad that we are able to bring the watch community closer together. Happy New Year!

@namelessrace9803 2 жыл бұрын

Gotta hand it to Tim: very competent, knowlegeable and patient interviewer who steers the conversation based on the replies of the interviewee. Good stuff 💯

@antepara1629 2 жыл бұрын

Tim is the best

@tbd1613 2 жыл бұрын

Great interview Tim. When you interview someone, you let them talk and let them lead the conversation. Best interview from a true collector.

@LM-sc2xc 2 жыл бұрын

Well done, Tim. Thanks for this amazing opportunity of knowing and listening to someone who’s been around our passion for so many years at the highest level. True privilege. 🥂

@Eric_Nielsen 2 жыл бұрын

Claude's story about smashing watches to melt down the gold sounds about right. Having spent time in the old Dubai gold souk in 1991-92, i can confirm that almost everything was sold at or just above its gold value. The high-level craftsmanship of creating the jewelry cost you almost nothing at all.

@8ttiknio8 Жыл бұрын

I have been collecting for 40 years. Mr Sfeir's synopses of the market over that period reads pretty true to me. Like Mr Sfeir, I never sold any... I have given some away. The early days of ebay were really great. I was buying around 100 watches a year.

@WonderfulFunky 2 жыл бұрын

This was absolutely fantastic, loved every minute of it. What an interesting guy. And Tim is a national treasure.

@bobbysebastian3709 2 жыл бұрын

That was just awesome 👏 interviewing. Claude Sfeir is a collector par excellence with a good sense of humor & knowledge on the art 🖼 of watch collecting

@pavanbharteey7269 2 жыл бұрын

Tim - the jack of all trades when it comes to watches… walking encyclopedia, master interviewer, etc. and thanks for leaving the sunglasses at home!

@jolness1 2 жыл бұрын

Great interview. So cool to see someone with such a collection yet a humility and love for the watches.

@loevhagen6984 2 жыл бұрын

I've so far only watch 17 min. of this 36 min. video, but I can already testify that this video should get a "Best watch related video of 2021" award. 😀👌 OK, back to watching the rest...and then...after watching the rest of the video; we're back to investments, prices, etc. Sad. Anyway, the first 15-20 minutes was the best video ever in 2021. :)

@watchusiast1400 2 жыл бұрын

Yet another excellent interview by Tim. Claude is so candid and open it’s so enlightening and fresh to hear his comments on the market and insights into how some of this epic watches came about. Great work guys, looking forward to seeing the upcoming videos as well!

@miroslavrnjakovic8850 2 жыл бұрын

What a true gentleman, and an expert. Wonderfull interview.

@luxuryliving3082 2 жыл бұрын

Fantastic interview! Claude is one of the most profound collectors with watches we won’t see! Tim delivered the interview perfectly!

@dominickcolasanto6582 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing journey from smashing Rolex's with a hammer to owing Swiss watch companies. Tim Fantastic interview!!!

@zetoch 2 жыл бұрын

Huge kudos to Tim and Watchbox for scoring that interview. Fascinating discussion. Better than any Talking Watches episode from Hodinkee…

@kresimirpleic 3 ай бұрын

I'm two years late to this interview, but this was awesome!

@ShimnazNazeer 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing !!!!!! Respect ✊🏽 to both of you! Great vid Tim

@shamaldass241 2 жыл бұрын

Great interview Tim...you need to tell us all what it was like being in the presence of those amazing pieces!!! And what was on your wrist?

@vicks.7377 2 жыл бұрын

One of best interviews you’ve done. Thanks for sharing.

@jons6280 2 жыл бұрын

That was fantastic. Many thanks M. Sfeir and Tim.

@roberthiers5606 2 жыл бұрын

Great video. But what Claude says between 20:10 and 20:40 is priceless. I hope I have the honor of being seen this way.

@stevesmith7997 2 жыл бұрын

what a fantastic interview ! Claude you are a star ! Tim you are the best !

@greaterbayareahero1401 2 жыл бұрын

I love listening to Claude. So passionate.

@MrPolowu 2 жыл бұрын

Fantastic. More of this please Tim and team

@robertschmidt9584 2 жыл бұрын

Tim, wonderful interview and even a privilege to watch and listen to the conversation over quite possibly some of the most rare timepieces.

@stickshifter8 2 жыл бұрын

Wow, that was really top notch! Congrats Tim!

@tockingwatches2377 2 жыл бұрын

Did I hear correctly that Claude started the bidding on the Journe and Patek at Only Watch at $2M and $3M respectively?

@user-fi5fr9us2t 2 жыл бұрын

Now this was a great conversation, wish to hear more! Such knowledge and expertise...!

@amintaslneto 2 жыл бұрын

Great interview Tim!💯 Claude Sfeir is a living legend in the watch collecting world. So nice to see Watchbox connecting the community with him. Hope we can hear more from him in the future. Thx

@jimgreene4248 2 жыл бұрын

Wow what an awesome interview! He is an absolute gentleman who’s knowledge is incredible!

@danysaliby9951 2 жыл бұрын

Great interview, humble man Mr. Sfeir

@derekfox6752 2 жыл бұрын

Great interview, it's great to see great watch collectors for the first time.

@bronsonsmith7692 2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely amazing great content Tim please do more of these Absolutely stunning 😍

@simmysharma6845 2 жыл бұрын

very Interesting interview. Claude has shared some very interesting stories. Thanks Tim

@randotooming2433 2 жыл бұрын

Superb interview and knowledge! Thank you, sirs!

@byunjoe 2 жыл бұрын

This makes me think. There will never be a time again like the 80s - 00s where you could buy now coveted watches almost wholesale. With the internet, most people are informed, most have access to records and data, most will be aware of the value beyond materials cost. In addition, with the hypebeast mentality of people "investing" in watches and the brand recognition Rolex and Patek command, I doubt there will be another time where pieces trade for materials cost. Anyway, fascinating interview and insight.

@kittenfan 2 жыл бұрын

your logic makes sense. but if i may add. there are many things you just cant predict. you can go back too all the things you thought 5 years ago and see your prediction today, you will realize how wrong they are. people cant tell whats gonna happen. i ve seen many predictions and only a few come true. the market can collapse tomorrow , who knows. but all i know is we are not in normal time. but yes, it can get crazier from here.

@SAGHAJAR 2 жыл бұрын

Very interesting, thanks for sharing.

@CQ_TheWatchGuy 2 жыл бұрын

Great Job as always Tim! Two legends here.

@nramalho 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing interview. Congrats on the content folks!

@uptheorg 2 жыл бұрын

Great stuff, Tim. Thanks.

@JCM8800 Жыл бұрын

I love the amazing account of how he used to scrap Rolexes and Pateks for gold !;) It was a time when products were worth their actual value !;) without the effects of marketing and speculation of the present day .

@travelman158 2 жыл бұрын

Tim your interview skills are superb. Keep up the excellent work and bringing to us amazing content.

@andrewjames9963 2 жыл бұрын

Really enjoyed that, could listen to him all night

@artaudcharles 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing stories!

@salmana4239 2 жыл бұрын

Greetings from Dubai Thank you for an amazing and insightful interview. The work a master watchmaker puts in is in par with fine arts so why shouldn’t the watches be as much valuable

@fa5234 2 жыл бұрын

Great format and great guest. 👍

@sivakumarsathiamoorthy6583 2 жыл бұрын

fascinating guy. a good storyteller.

@MrBeard-et1yi 2 жыл бұрын

Great interview Tim! What are you wearing?

@steelmember6326 2 жыл бұрын

great interview.

@mahirhaque1801 2 жыл бұрын

He started of with saying he was smashing gold daytonas... ended with a piece unique FPJ.. there are obviosuly levels to this.. and does it get any bigger?

@gonzalorojo6815 2 жыл бұрын

this was awesome

@roycedot 2 жыл бұрын

How did Tim not react at all when Claude described hammering such works of art? haha

@Joe-xo3xy 2 жыл бұрын

@Tim Mosso and Mr. Sfeir- I am Joey Fadel from Lebanon, a watch enthusiast and You guys moved me to speak out; Before I say what is on my mind, thank you for restoring my faith in the fact that there are still a few people out there that truly love watches. The internet and certain parties have built a new flock of collectors and I do not want to call them collectors who are just in the hobby to diversify their portfolio of assets. You guys must know of the KZfaq channels and there must be many figures involved in the entire process of inflating watch prices. I have no more respect for this new age of watch collectors. I may even go as far as to say that Ben Climer is involved in instigating this new form of collectors. I have always compared watch collecting to similar hobbies like collecting stamps or baseball card, ppl will always pay more for something this is beautiful and not so common, there is no need to think of money, it will naturally follow. I have sort of isolated myself from so many watch media outlets and their followeres

@porscheoscar 2 жыл бұрын

My takeaway here from his reflecting on the Patek crash in BOTH modern and vintage was that market bubbles are determined by the durability of the wealth of the buyers and sellers. If crypto millions are propping up current prices then the brands with the greatest supply are the most at risk. But everyone but the micro volume producers like FP and RM are at a considerable risk. But of course crypto will never ever crash....

@chaosad4508 2 жыл бұрын

Interesting story and scary too.

@allenmf9808 2 жыл бұрын

,,...more expensive by the meter than fine art." -Claude Sfeir

@papricep6248 2 жыл бұрын

I'm going to form a similar partnership with Gruebel Forsey.

@watchman6141 2 жыл бұрын

Tim, what kind of watch are you wearing in this video?

@ronp4737 2 жыл бұрын

Tim great interview this is what watch collecting is all about....keep up the great work!! What's on your wrist? Looks like blue dial tourbillon? Let us know!!

@Matter-of-Time 2 жыл бұрын

Same question. Tried playing the home game to figure it out.

@Matter-of-Time 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Tim. Beautiful watch. Will you be reviewing it on the show? I’d love to learn more about it.

@Matter-of-Time 2 жыл бұрын

Just saw a review from a month ago. Looks fantastic!

@herbmerced7780 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent! What is Tim wearing?? Hmmmm….LOL

@dgb6355 2 жыл бұрын

A great interview with a great collector, Mr Sfeir should open a watch museum showing his collection.

@BarisPalabiyik 2 жыл бұрын

Claude is not a regular watch collector, stuff he has is insane, he can have the things only a watchmaker can have for themselves pretty much. Titanium pateks and unique grande sonnerie. Also he owns the piece unique tourbillon souverain blue.

@DonLee1980 2 жыл бұрын

"buy the best quality" There's an old saying, buy cheap, and you buy twice. This is the reality of saving longer, waiting longer but going straight to the prize of the watches you truly want. If you factor in market value appreciation, buying an AP, a Rolex, and PP watch, is cheaper than buying any Omega, or JLC.

@Translation-in-Malaysia 2 жыл бұрын

Please look into open a store in Bangkok, people love luxury watches here and bigger population than Singapore.

@1916company 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Matt - We have lots of great customers in Thailand and it has been harder to reach them with the Hong Kong lockdown. Hopefully we'll have a local presence in Bankok one day!

@Translation-in-Malaysia 2 жыл бұрын

@@1916company Thank you so much :-)

@carlosoruna7174 2 жыл бұрын

Ahh lebanese love of life applied to watches.

@ElderPinto254 Жыл бұрын

The pain Tim felt wen he said yeah patek rolex i crushed them with hammer

@jgc3434 2 жыл бұрын

Tim cringing during his hammer story, classic.

@Tone_Jammer 2 жыл бұрын

He's right, no real collectors anymore, just flippers. Very sad

@davidjb3671 2 жыл бұрын

Interesting interview, but his advice to collectors seems hardly relevant to the vast majority of people who don't receive free or piece unique watches from FPJ and Phillipe Dufour. And his advice "if you collect Calatravas, collect only Calatravas etc" flies in the face of his own eclectic collecting habits. Still, I think we can all agree that hammering gold Rolexes to extract the precious metal is a sign of good taste and judgement 😏

@TheJonCruise 2 жыл бұрын

No sunglasses on the head? 🤣

@SP-pn7xx 2 жыл бұрын

I really enjoyed this interview and guest, but I'm getting sick of the discussion...

@dannysimenauer5745 2 жыл бұрын

I winced when Claude broke Rolex watches for the gold.

@gelmibson883 2 жыл бұрын

Professional collecting = being rich

@user-qp1sx2bc7e 2 жыл бұрын

No gold Nautilus, RM, Royal oak or Liberace Rolexes?? This legit watch guy will never be in the clique of Anthony and the rest of the squad from "planet-look-at-me."

@porscheoscar 2 жыл бұрын

Okay an actual watch collecting expert like John Goldberger. Not a watch accumulator like ..uh everyone right now.