Talking Watches: With Phil Toledano

You don't meet people like Phil Toledano often. In fact, I can't say I've ever met someone quite like Phil Toledano, ever. By name, you might think he's a working-class guy from Jersey. He's not. Born in London to a French-Moroccan mother and American father – an artist himself – Toledano is a conceptual artist of some note. His razor sharp wit and jovial sentiment – that type that produces one-liners by the minute – has made Toledano something of a cult hero in the art world. He'll say things like, "I’m English, so I’m not frightened by death, or the shame of a large urine spot on my trousers," one minute – ever the light spot in any conversation – while simultaneously creating haunting, and truly personal work that reveals a much deeper look at the world around him. He's also a watch, and car, collector.

His projects as an artist include the widely acclaimed Days With My Father, documenting Toledano's relationship with his own father in his final days, and the Absent Portrait, where Toledano sourced Iranian advertising materials in which women's very existence had been censored, and blacked them out to reveal their form. Toledano's work is personal, and powerful, and he was even the subject of a 2015 Tribeca Film Festival short documentary called "The Many Sad Fates Of Mr. Toledano." He his, quite simply, a fascinating living dichotomy of life's simple pleasures – a quick joke, a cool car, an old chronograph – and deep, dark, intrapersonal reflection. He's also a photographer – who, as you'll learn in the video, was on the scene for National Geographic when the Soyuz spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan earlier this month. Oh, and he's a watch collector. Let's get to it. This is your official Talking Watches with conceptual artist Phil Toledano.

Breitling Co-Pilot 765

Phil, ever the contrarian, has taken to vintage Breitling as his primary focus in his vintage collecting. One of his favorites, and indeed a favorite of many 1960s chronographs collectors, is the oversized co-pilot seen here. It is a nuanced design, with luminous application within a sub-dial, a trait that Toledano loves in particular.

Breitling Superocean

Almost the brother to the Co-Pilot, this Superocean chronograph is again one loved by those who aren't the most adament Breitling fans. It is a central-minute chronograph, and the aperture at 6 o'clock indicates when the chronograph is running. Show us another chrono that lacks a seconds hand.

Breitling Navitimer 806

Toledano say he "kind of hates this watch" because it's the obvious choice for a vintage Breitling fan. But he's new to collecting, and it is, and was, a great place to get into the field of pilot's chronographs.

Longines Nonius

The Nonious is absolutely a cult classic in chronograph collecting, and it make sense that it would belong to Toledano. It is very 1970s, and features a running seconds count-down fixed to the center seconds hand found on no other chronograph. Again, this watch was built with a very specific purpose in mind.

Leonidas Military Chronograph

The Leonidas Flyback chronograph is indeed a purpose-built chronograph, with Italian military provenance. Toledano's example is in extremely well preserved condition, and the purity is what attracted him to this specific piece.

Omega Speedmaster Reference 145.022

Ah, the Speedmaster. Toledano is a space-nut in the trust sense of the word. In addition to shooting the re-entry of the Soyuz capsule for National Geographic, he in fact owns an entire space suit! A real one! So, the Speedmaster was a natural fit for him, and it was his first "old watch."

Seiko (x Giugiaro) 7A28 Quartz Chronograph

I would venture to say that very few of the watch nerds out there that own the original Seiko Giugiaro chronograph can say they have an accompanying Giugiaro-designed M1 – but Phil does. And this watch, and his appreciation for the uncommon, is what makes him so interesting as a collector.

Gallery

For more on Phil Toledano and his cars, check out this video from our friends Petrolicious on his Lancia Stratos. For more on Mr. Toledano's art and creative work, check out his official website here.