I recently came across an incredible website – a kind of paradise if, like me, you are passionate about vintage watches. Timeline.Watch, started as the virtual catalog of experienced watch enthusiast Dan Henry after 30 years of collecting. It's an incredible project: an interactive timeline covering a period of a hundred years, and not only that: Henry has made it possible for other passionate collectors to add their watches to the timeline. I had the chance to learn more about Dan's ambitious project, his hopes, and how he had chased all those gorgeous pieces in the first place. Get ready for some good insights and a TON of beautiful watches.
The Origin Of Timeline.Watch
Louis Westphalen
So how did Timeline.Watch come to life?
Dan Henry
It is very simple, it all started after a bad experience with a watch. I had just found an unpolished Rolex 1530 on eBay, it was in a perfect condition – a bit of context here, the Rolex 1530 has the angular case of an Oysterquartz but featured a more traditional self-winding movement. I won the bidding, but this watch got lost in the shipping. You can imagine how rare it is to find this reference in such a crazy condition so this loss really saddened me. It also forced me to reflect back on the watches I had been collecting, and I realized that after some 30 years of watch hunting I actually wanted to catalog all the pieces that I had been fortunate to find.
Louis Westphalen
How did you start this process? What did you have in mind at this stage?
Dan Henry
At the beginning, it was a very selfish endeavor – I just wanted to understand what I had in my collection. So I put together a very simple Excel file with the model, the reference number, and what I could remember about my findings. After a while, I realized I wanted to do more: add pictures, but also share everything with other collectors. I looked around but could not find any database that allowed me to upload and share pictures of my watches, at least at a much larger scale than an individual forum thread.
Louis Westphalen
Why did you decide on launching a dedicated website, and how long did it take you?
Dan Henry
First, I set up an Instagram account – it is still active, you can check it out here. But I quickly realized that Instagram didn't allow for the information sharing that I was hoping for. So I designed a simple website, using Wordpress. This was three years ago, and since I have spent my free time taking and uploading pictures, and writing the bios for each of the watches. I went through half of my collection already; on the site you can already find hundreds of watches. I have organized them in a chronological manner; you can also sort them by category, brands, or simply go straight to my favorites. Timeline.Watch is a bit of a crazy dream, it is a Herculean task, but I am really excited about its development.
What's Next For The Site?
Louis Westphalen
One obvious question: are the watches displayed for sale?
Dan Henry
No, absolutely not! I am definitely not letting go of my collection. My sole purpose is to share my passion for the watches, and allow aspiring collectors to know more about the brands, the references, the designs. This is the reason why I would like to expand the scope of this site way beyond my collection. I have put a page where other collectors can upload their own watches, which will be added to the timeline – the link is here. You can think of this site as a collaborative encyclopedia for vintage watches.
You can think of Timeline.Watch as a collaborative encyclopedia for vintage watches.
Louis Westphalen
In your dreams, which watches would you like other collectors to add on the site?
Dan Henry
Anything they wish, really! I know my collection is lacking in dressy watches so that would be a good start. And if I had to choose a particular brand? Patek, for sure. I never collected them, and I would love to see the Ricochet collection on the site – those watches have the coolest design ever. I would like to see more Rolex there, especially the gilt 5513s and the early Daytonas.
Louis Westphalen
Long term, how many vintage watches would you like to see featured there?
Dan Henry
To be frank, I just fell in love with the idea behind this site. It is exactly what I longed for as a collector: seeing pictures and learning more about vintage watches. So there is no limit, the more the merrier. I am really committed to this and would love to see an insane amount of watches up there. With the quality of modern cameras the outside additions could be outstanding, making nice pictures takes a bit of time but we owe that to our watches!
On Collecting Vintage Watches
Louis Westphalen
Let's rewind; how did you start collecting vintage watches?
Dan Henry
I received an Omega Dynamic when I was 12. I think this sparkled my passion for wristwatches. I became really dedicated, you know, going to flea markets early in the morning, digging for watches and finding incredible things there. And, of course the beginning of auctions on the Internet played a big role – those were crazy times! At the time, I spent way too much time on eBay but discovered some real gems there. Now, I am still looking, as I constantly wish to improve my collection. I hate selling, so only a similar piece in a better condition can convince me to let go of one of my watches.
Louis Westphalen
Looking at your collection, it seems you have very eclectic tastes; did those evolve over time?
Dan Henry
I never hunted for a specific watch, or focused on any particular brand. Over time I just bought what I liked in what I could find. Often, I would see a cool chrono and there was something that convinced me to purchase it, irrespective of the maker or the period it was made in. I just got to know where to find the nice things, and I would go there with an open mind. In the end, I have a lot of different looking watches, and I find this diversity refreshing. One thing that has remained constant: I can't stand over-polished cases – it destroys the look and feel of the watch.
Louis Westphalen
If there is any, what is your absolute favorite watch in your collection?
Dan Henry
If I could find again a truly unpolished 1530, a really mint one, this might de facto become my favorite. The watch I wear the most nowadays is a vintage Rolex Explorer, the reference 1016. It looks super good, it wears well and it is very versatile. If you remove the Oyster bracelet, no one would actually know it is a Rolex. I also have a fondness for Universal Geneve: my grandfather had a Polerouter in gold with a chocolate dial, so I have a special attachment to the brand. They made some crazy good looking chronos too.
With hundreds of entries already up, Timeline.Watch is already one of the most phenomenal single watch collections – vintage or modern – that you can view online; if the collector community starts populating it as well, it could become one of the most encyclopedically informative – and just plain fun – vintage watch resources out there.
Dan Henry is an internationally active watch enthusiast and collector, and the founder of Timeline.watch. With the exception of his activities as a member of the watch collector community, he prefers to maintain his privacy.
To see more beautiful watches – vintage or not – download the HODINKEE App, free on iOS.
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