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Geneva, Switzerland—After several months of activity and adaptation in the context of the pandemic, Silas Walton, the founder of A Collected Man, is relieved to be on vacation. (Image: The Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire, a rare model offered by A Collected Man.)

He explains that, since he founded the platform for selling collectible watches in 2014, he has experienced continuous growth. And this year is no exception. 

Even better, in fact: “Between December and July, we achieved the same turnover as in the whole of 2019,” he says.

It was at the age of 26 that the Briton launched A Collected Man, after completing a law degree at University College London and gaining experience in mergers and acquisitions and luxury distribution. Passionate about horology, he discovered a niche that was still under-exploited: the online sale of pre-owned models from independent watchmakers, such as Philippe Dufour, Roger W. Smith, Kari Voutilainen,  and F.P. Journe, for whom A Collected Man is an international reference.

Silas Walton

The platform stands out in a pre-owned landscape comprising often obscure websites and layouts, with its careful presentation and in-depth content that encourage confidence and credibility. While the segment has gained in transparency and legitimacy in recent years, the growth gap is widening with the modern watch market, which has been stagnating since 2015 due to an over-dependence on Asian customers and shopping tourists.

If the industry is to reconquer the local market—a more-than-necessary development following the pandemic-led horological crisis—we need to see more of this type of platform, which has managed to build up credibility and an audience of connoisseurs in just a few years. Silas Walton firmly believes in an “inevitable collaboration, in the long term, between brands and operators in the secondary market.” In fact, isn’t the fusion of past and present encoded in the genes of the industry that measures time? Here’s our interview.

Click here for the full article, part of the editorial alliance between The Centurion and Europa Star.