How Vintage Grail is Nurturing the Country's Community of Luxury Watch Enthusiasts and Collectors

With Vintage Grail and Tatler Philippines almost sharing the same community of discerning sophisticates, Nograles meanwhile became deeply immersed into this mysterious world of watch collecting through one of the events hosted by Tatler. “I will always be grateful,” Nograles says. “I remember that one event when I first met them; I called Paolo right away the day after, again asking a hundred and one questions.”

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Like most women who are into jewellery and accessories, Nograles admits that she is not a big collector of fine watches but is nevertheless a “fan” who is eager to learn more. “I am all for investment pieces that I can leave with my children and my children’s children,” she says. However, it is a different narrative for Eduardo, who, being in the often male-dominated construction industry, has developed a penchant for equipment, machines and so-called “toys for the big boys”. “Very early on, I started to collect Richard Mille watches, which made me feel empowered when wearing them. It is like wearing an engine on my wrist, while some watches like Patek Philippe give a feeling that you are wearing art,” Eduardo enthuses.

As for Kho, one of the reasons that lured him into collecting watches is to celebrate milestones in his life, which adds some sense of sentimentality to every piece he collects. “When I graduated from medical school, I bought a Breitling. It was a symbol of my achievement and a miniature piece of art that is constantly physically attached to me,” he recalls. Nograles shares the same sentiment, preferring pieces that remind her of meaningful people and events in her life. “Most of my watches are gifts either from my grandfather, dad, mum, in-laws and of course my husband,” Nograles says.

Eduardo, meanwhile, buys watches that express her personality. “I go for rare timepieces of superior quality. An additional bonus is the investment aspect, which
even outperforms most of my other investments in terms of percentages,” she explains. “I used to view them as a pure luxury that filled my passion. Now they are great investment tools that I truly enjoy wearing and can pass on to my children,” she says. This view on watches as a good investment also resonates with Kho, sharing that his timepiece collection is performing a lot better than the stock market. He has developed over time his own strategy for acquiring elusive pieces, which involves establishing relationships with other collectors. He clarifies that, like Eduardo, he believes that “the appreciation value is secondary”, reiterating the importance of buying watches that express your style and those that will make you feel good when you wear them. “I think it’s still much better to collect the pieces that you love rather than the ones you hope will make money,” says Kho.

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Over the years, the watch scene in the country has grown. Eduardo shares that thanks to Vintage Grail, many of her friends, both male and female of all ages, are now very much into watches. Meanwhile, Nograles points to her community of watch enthusiast friends, which was created organically since Vintage Grail was founded, influencing her to build a collection. Similarly, through social media, Kho has noticed an increasing awareness, knowledge and appreciation of watches. “Even during the pandemic, watch collecting continued to thrive,” says Kho. “However, I noticed that collectors became less adventurous in their selection of timepieces to purchase. Design and features are still important, but given the environment of uncertainty and ambiguity, collectors looked for pieces that really hold their value.”

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Vintage Grail has been instrumental in building and strengthening this community of watch enthusiasts and collectors in the country. Nograles recommends the company to her friends who are just starting their watch collections. Kho, meanwhile, finds Vintage Grail’s sound advice to collectors a commendable asset of the company. Meanwhile, Eduardo weaves the company’s success in business to that of her personal collection of timepieces. Their stories of being immersed in the art of collecting, of finding their treasured and most desired models, as well as having a community that shares the passion for rare and vintage watches are just some of the reasons why Vintage Grail is at the top of its game and is here to stay.

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