Perched right on Christopher Street in the West Village, you’ll find J. Mueser, the namesake bespoke tailor that’s been featured in GQ, Vogue, and WM Brown Magazine, just to name a few. We chat a lot about the usual suspects, like his vinyl and watch collection, but we also talk about the nuance behind collecting and how it relates to bespoke tailoring, and J. Mueser specifically. Jake touches on how the design process and collecting share a lot of the same attributes, and in this case, all in g...
Nov 22, 2023•30 min•Ep 41•Transcript available on Metacast Jeff Stein is my guest today and I think we all owe this guy a big thank you for his scholarship and efforts he’s put forth for the watch community. An attorney by day and collector at heart, Jeff is attributed with starting and running the vintage Heuer compendium known as Onthedash. After discovering a Heuer dash clock back in the day, Jeff went down the same rabbit hole a lot of us do and started collecting. But after getting a sense that the community needed a place to go and have resources ...
Nov 15, 2023•54 min•Ep 40•Transcript available on Metacast Today's guest is Charlie Dunne, someone we all got to know under the moniker Books On Time. Passionate about watches, Charlie's that type of collection who took his affection a step further by not only collecting books, but mainly collecting research on the brands and watches that he loves the most. Needless to say, the word got out pretty darn quick about Books On Time and Charlie began writing a lot more in depth content for other friends mediums, like Rescapement. Eventually, our good friend ...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 39•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is none other than Ben Clymer, Chairman & Founder of Hodinkee. As someone whose background and company need no introduction, I figured we could dive right into all things collecting, both watches and cars. See, Ben’s been around the block a few times and it’s easy to not get jaded. So what’s keeping Ben interested these days is what I really wanted to know. We talk about the grail Talking Watches guests and why it’s not just about being a collector, but having the passion to do...
Sep 20, 2023•54 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast Today I’m chatting with the founder of Collectors Corner NY, Wes Wynne. Wes and I have been buddies for a few years now and while his business has grown significantly, his collecting and dealing philosophies have remained unchanged. What I love about CCNY is that you always get an eclectic offering, from LL Bean signed Hamilton’s to rare white gold Rolex day-dates. Wes’ background actually is in music and tech, but his analytical and technical prowess translates perfectly into his watch business...
Sep 06, 2023•42 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast Alex Steven’s is a watch dealer and collector who, while just recently started his business a few years ago, has a collecting history that predates this. Alex and I got to know each other over the last several years, aside from our love of watches, but more specifically by sharing similar tastes. As young as he is, there’s a lot to learn from Alex as the London watch market is a completely different beast than its counterparts. Geographically, it comes with its own trials and tribulations, but A...
Aug 16, 2023•53 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is my friend Rob Staky, a watch collector most of you know by the moniker Bazamu. We took this one from my kitchen table as Rob was in town for business and decided to come by so we could record in person. A long time collector, Rob’s passion for watches is evident in the condition driven, heavy hitters he brought along with him. In the company of a true connoisseur, Rob’s collection is the definition of history intertwined with craftsmanship and elegance converging with innovation...
Aug 02, 2023•53 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast Eric Wind is joining me for his second episode of Collectors Gene Radio today and as you could imagine, we’re chatting all things watches and Wind Vintage. Since our last chat, Eric’s had a countless list of exciting things going on for him and his brand, such as his partnership with Kith, the several Rowing Blazers collaborations, a Volume 2 of his HSNY talk, his podcast Significant Watches, and a lot more. Most notably, the incredible selection of vintage watches you can shop on his website, w...
Jul 12, 2023•1 hr•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode is one that came together a tad last minute. My guest had to reschedule and so my lovely wife, Madelaine, so badly wanted me to put an episode out this week that she decided to interview me. So, she locked herself in our bedroom and decided to write down some questions to blindside me with. We poured some wine, cozied up in our new home and she hit me with some tough ones. Needless to say, she’s a natural. Back to regular programming next week, but for now, this is Madelaine Stei...
Jul 05, 2023•42 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode is a recap of some of my favorite responses from the Collectors Gene Rundown. As you can imagine, it was more than difficult to choose my picks from each question so I figured I would give you all a heavy poured cocktail of a few gems. You’ll hear from writer and director Paul Feig on what he’s got his eye on next, Auro Montanari aka John Goldberger’s perfect one watch collection, celebrity and award winning interior designer Nate Berkus on starting over and collecting diamonds a...
Jun 21, 2023•48 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is the proprietor of J. Earl & Sons, a company that celebrates vintage barware, collecting, and the home bar. As for it’s founder, Jeff Parrott has been collecting vintage barware for quite some time. So when 2020 rolled around, Jeff decided to take a tangent where he’s Brand Cultivator at Blade and Bow and started J. Earl & Sons doing exactly the aforementioned. Jeff travels just about everywhere hunting for goods, both vintage and new, to add to his personal collection an...
Jun 07, 2023•35 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast Yolanda Edwards should come as no surprise to all of you as my guest today. She, like her husband Matt Hranek, is the epitome of a collector. She cut her cloth working for Martha Stewart and eventually became the creative director for Conde Nast Traveler, but it’s safe to say her magazine, Yolo Journal, is exactly where she’s supposed to be. Yolanda and Matt have become the go to for a lot of things, but traveling advice has always been paramount. Whether it’s her writing or the photographers te...
May 31, 2023•49 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast Known as the last great rattan dealer, Harvey Schwartz is getting ready to relaunch his infamous rattan company, Tropical Sun. So why is Harvey the last great rattan dealer? Well, at 80 years old he’s still running the show and grabbing up all the great rattan known, even if it means going to a swap meet at 5am. To say he loves this stuff is an understatement. His collection spans over 2500pcs, and the best part? It’s all for sale. Harvey actually started as an aerospace engineer which has surpr...
May 24, 2023•28 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast Today I’m chatting with Malaika Crawford, style editor at Hodinkee. Our chat is a bit different than the usual you’re used to here, as I really wanted to get Malaika’s thoughts on styling, diversification, and what all of this means for us collectors. After moving to New York in 2014, Malaika started working for Mel Ottenberg, you know, Rhianna’s stylist. Getting an early exposure to all things luxury has propelled the trajectory of her career and here we are. But all of this had to start somewh...
May 10, 2023•47 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast Aaron Sigmond, or as a lot of you may know him, Sig, is one of the more well known authors in the luxury space. You know that $1200 book from Assouline, The Impossible Collection of Cigars, well that’s Sig. Or the Drive, Sea, and Air Time series, also Sig. Nonetheless, you’ve seen his books and if you know him, his love for cigars doesn’t stop at writing about them. But as an author and collector, you can imagine being a bibliophile takes precedence. We talk about his upbringing and how collecti...
May 03, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is one I’ve been excited about for quite some time now. Mary Randolph Carter, or Carter as she prefers, is the author of many books on collecting what she likes to call, “junk” and finds some time to be the creative director at Ralph Lauren. But this isn’t a new hobby for Carter as she has been collecting for as long as she can remember and has mastered the art of clutter, or the perfectly imperfect. She’s got stuff in the empty space under the desk, the walls are filled with artwo...
Apr 26, 2023•42 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re chatting with a friend of mine who's been a collector for as long as he can remember. James Lamdin, founder of Analog/Shift, is no stranger to the watch and car community. Fresh off a sale to Watches of Switzerland, we talk about how he got into collecting from an early age and how things have changed since running a successful business. Not only a collector of the aforementioned, but James is after rare movie posters, vinyls, coffee table books, and just about anything else he can g...
Apr 19, 2023•54 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast As small as the watch world is, there’s a lot more collectors out there than you would think. But not all of them stand out or impress, subjective of your taste. And then there’s Jaclyn. Jaclyn is a collector who took the community for a loop when she popped up on the scene in 2020. Since then, she’s taken us along with her as she ebbs and flows through her collection. But as an Ivy League student, how does she find time to collect, co-host her watch podcast, The Waiting List, and make sure she’...
Apr 05, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Joining me today is Editor in Chief of Robb Report, Paul Croughton. Paul reached out to me as a fan of the podcast, which was truly humbling as I’ve been a fan of Robb Report for quite some time. Without knowing him too well, I figured he had to be a collector. In fact, Paul’s been collecting his whole life. His father was a collector and he subsequently caught the bug early on. From action figures and magazines, to vinyls and record decks, Paul’s collecting has since evolved into vintage barwar...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re chatting with a collector that’s owned some of the rarest gems in the world and has created some of the most sought after jewelry. Glenn Spiro, based in London, is calling in today from the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, where he has an outpost that he opens for just two weeks out of the year. G has created some of the most magnificent pieces utilizing the highest of quality and rarest stones in the world, from diamonds to emeralds. He’s created pieces for some of the most exclusi...
Mar 15, 2023•40 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re chatting with the Men’s Fashion Director for Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, Bruce Pask. Bruce has had an amazing trajectory in menswear over the last 30 years, especially for someone who grew up in Southern Arizona. Today’s conversation on collecting is a little different than something I have done in the past. As a Fashion Director of two of the biggest names in the industry, Bruce’s role is really curating collections for well, all of us. Curating for multiple brands has becom...
Mar 08, 2023•41 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast Celebrity and award winning interior designer, Nate Berkus, is our guest today and I couldn’t be more excited about this one. Nate’s been on the block for quite some time, but it seems that with each year, he gets more and more relevant. He’s a master at mixing vintage and new, and when I need some home inspiration, he’s the first person I go to. Nate and his partner Jeremiah have just started their second season of their HGTV show, The Nate and Jeremiah Home Project, and Nate has also just laun...
Mar 01, 2023•40 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast Every collector has their own style. And that couldn’t be more relevant with today’s guest, Roni Madhvani. When it comes to double signed watches from the holy trinity, or piece uniques from Cartier, Roni has found a way to differentiate himself amongst all the other collectors out there. He’s got a deliberate focus on odd case shapes and double signed dials, especially from defunct retailers. He’s been featured in numerous publications from Hodinkee, Revolution, Robb Report, and I’m thrilled to...
Feb 22, 2023•44 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is none other than Brynn Wallner, founder of Dimepiece, a platform dedicated to all things women and watches. Now, Brynn’s pretty new to the watch world, but she can be accredited for putting women and watches on the map. Dimepiece came about after a stint at Sotheby’s whenBrynn found herself sitting at home, falling more in love with watches, like we all do, and started documenting some photos on her new instagram account, like one of Rhianna wearing a Patek Philippe. And to say D...
Feb 15, 2023•55 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Summary Written By Rich Fordon @ Hodinkee: Auro Montanari, aka John Goldberger truly is the consummate collector you see on TV (see Hodinkee Talking Watches), yet he is so much more than a guy with a bunch of cool watches no one else has. A scholar first and, importantly, passionate about sharing that knowledge, his contribution to the world of watches in immeasurable. Talking Watches w/ John Goldberger Part 1 - https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/talking-watches-with-john-goldberger Talking Watch...
Feb 08, 2023•43 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast For someone who is the founder of one of the most well known rare, pre-owned, independent, and vintage watch platforms, you would think that all their energy goes towards watches. And while the majority does, founder Silas Walton has an affinity for arguably the most luxurious brand there is, Hermes. The brand history for Hermes dates back to 1837, when they made luxury saddles and harnesses for noblemen, but around the 1950’s they started to create home goods crafted out of silver. These object...
Feb 01, 2023•1 hr•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re chatting with Nick, the proprietor of AdPatina – a company that sources, sells, and frames vintage advertisements, ranging from watches, cars, to Eames chairs. I’ve been following Nick for a few years now, watching his business grow, and getting hooked on vintage advertisements myself. Nick’s a watch and ad collector as well, and while he can’t keep everything being that this is his business, he has immense passion for what he does and will tell you first hand that these pieces invok...
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast When it comes to American Menswear, a few names stick out, like Ralph Lauren & J. Crew. But those two brands can’t be mentioned without naming Todd Snyder, who is truly at the helm of American Menswear as we know it today. An Alumni of both brands previously mentioned, Todd decided to start an eponymous menswear company at the age 40 and has taken everything he has learned from his previous endeavors, and combined it with his personal taste to create a brand that everyone should be aware of ...
Jan 18, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re talking to a car collector whose built a business around his passions. George Bamford, founder of Bamford Watch Department has always loved mechanical things from an early age. When the time came to join his family’s business, he decided to not rest on his laurels and started his own. George has an amazing collection ranging from Ferraris to Land Rovers and drives them all up and down the country roads, just outside of London. He’s got a strict rule with all of his cars, and that’s t...
Jan 11, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest today is someone you probably know from the movies and TV series Bridesmaids, The Office, Freaks & Geeks, The Heat, Spy, Heavyweights, Welcome To Flatch, The School For Good and Evil, A Simple Favor, the list goes on. But what you might not know about director and actor Paul Feig, is that he’s got an extensive suit and walking stick collection. In fact, he’s one of the few left in Hollywood that still dresses up for work everyday, no matter what the movie set looks like. On the hee...
Jan 04, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast 
