Sylvain Berneron is my guest today and I am not sure there is a watch or a brand that has received this much attention in a long time, and it’s well deserved. A designer at heart, Sylvian worked for brands like BMW & Porsche before starting his own firm, and eventually becoming the Chief Product Officer at Breitling. But as a creative, Sylvain was taught by his mother, an artist herself, to turn a constraint or restriction into an opportunity, and that’s exactly what he did with the Mirage w...
May 22, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep 57•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is the most optimistic guy I know in watches, Mr. Justin Hast. He’s a journalist, consultant, and creative in many facets of the watch industry and he’s got the collection to prove it. His passion has led him down many paths, ultimately carving out a niche for himself as a trusted source, not only from collectors, but from some of the biggest brands in the industry. He cherishes not only the emotions and experiences that watches bring, but also the memories and relationships that h...
May 15, 2024•40 min•Ep 56•Transcript available on Metacast You might recognize today's guest from the ever popular show Antiques Roadshow. Nicholas Lowry isn’t just the vintage poster appraisal for the hit show, he’s also the President, Principal Auctioneer, and Director of Vintage Posters at Swann Auction Galleries and for all intents and purposes, he’s a collector. Nicho grew up around collectors, and his family still runs one of the oldest books shops in New York to this day. After a stint in Prague, he found himself falling in love with vintage Czec...
May 08, 2024•40 min•Ep 55•Transcript available on Metacast Nadine Ghosn joined me on Collectors Gene Radio today and I am not sure there is someone who is making as much noise as she is in fine jewelry. After a stint at Hermes, Nadine found herself yearning for a creativity spark and man did she get it right. Her designs are all about creating a sense of nostalgia from the things we recognize most and using luxurious materials and stones to turn them into functional jewelry pieces. Like her stackable burger ring, or her rose gold pencil bracelet, or her...
May 01, 2024•38 min•Ep 54•Transcript available on Metacast Yoni Ben-Yehuda is my guest today and we’re chatting about what it’s like to be the Head of Watches for Material Good, one of the most curated jewelry stores around. With a star-studded clientele and friend list, Yoni may just be everyone's confidant in watches. His energy and knowledge for this stuff is immense, and he’s got a pulse on it all. I wanted to find out what it’s like to have a direct partnership with Audemars Piguet, how everyone at Material Good either joins the team as a collector...
Apr 24, 2024•43 min•Ep 53•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is what you can consider a jack of all trades in the watch industry, Mr. Eric Ku. Eric can be best known as a dealer, collector extraordinaire, and entrepreneur, all within the world of watches. It’s not too often that a collector and dealer finds other ways to become successful in this industry, but leave it up to Eric to take care of that. His businesses stem far beyond just being a dealer, since having founded LA Watch Works, a well known restoration and servicing center, and Lo...
Apr 17, 2024•33 min•Ep 52•Transcript available on Metacast Today I sat down with Cameron Barr, founder of Craft & Tailored to discuss watches, cars, and our newest obsession Native American link bracelets. Cam’s been in the watch game for a bit now, but he’s always done it his way. Although watches are what’s for sale, Craft & Tailored has their own image and brand that sets them apart because it’s not just about that. Cam’s love for watches is just an extension of his collections and it all creates a cohesive case study in sticking to what you ...
Apr 12, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep 51•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is none other than the racing legend Mario Andretti, widely regarded as the greatest race car driver in the history of the sport. Mario Andretti was born in Italy and didn't emigrate to the United States until age fifteen. At 19, he began racing stock cars in Pennsylvania and that was the start of an illustrious career that saw him compete and win in every discipline he entered. He won races in sports cars, sprint cars and stock cars – on ovals, road courses, drag strips, on dirt a...
Apr 03, 2024•45 min•Ep 50•Transcript available on Metacast Sometimes you can look at a collector and just know that they have the gene. And that couldn’t be more true than with today’s guest, Justin Gruenberg. The last name rings through Beverly Hills as his family has been in the business for years and Justin is no exception as his two brands The Keystone and LoupeThis happen to be some of the most influential in the watch industry. As cofounder of both, Justin’s collecting philosophies render right through the ethos behind both platforms. Aside from r...
Mar 20, 2024•37 min•Ep 49•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is Rory Tait, one of the earliest employees at the company Rally. Rally is revolutionizing the way people invest in collectible assets, offering a platform where investors can buy and sell equity shares in items ranging from classic cars, rare books, and even dinosaur skulls. While all of those items seem terribly expensive to collect, that’s where Rally takes the wheel. Everyday investors like you and I are able to go onto Rally’s platform and buy and sell shares of all of these c...
Mar 13, 2024•47 min•Ep 48•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is Susan Feldman, founder of One Kings Lane & In The Groove. She’s a born collector with retail blood and when it comes to collecting, she loves nothing more. After starting One Kings Lane in her early 50’s, she got exposed to working with some of the best designers around who opened her eyes to the beauty of traveling and vintage sourcing. A host and an entertainer, she’s collect a closet full of napkins, and dish sets, and boxes, and the list goes on. But these days, she’s do...
Feb 14, 2024•33 min•Ep 47•Transcript available on Metacast Michael Chow may not sound familiar to you, but what may sound familiar is Mr. Chow, the name of his highly luxurious and booming restaurant chain. Mr. Chow is a collector of art, art deco furniture and objet, and just about anything that is part of his day to day, all the way down to his thoughts and expressions. Name the first shot of any movie and he can tell you everything. He’s as sharp as it gets. Everything he does he relates back to art and theater, it’s truly a piece of who he is. He is...
Jan 31, 2024•39 min•Ep 46•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is serial entrepreneur and collector Jonathan Sposato. After starting companies like Geekwire, PicMonkey, Joysauce, and selling a few others as well, Jonathan is at a stage in his career where collecting has truly never been more important. Of course this ties into his multifaceted collections like old fighter pilot jackets, Saville Row Suits, cars, watches, back to apparel from brands like Ralph Lauren and even rare hand painted leather punk rock jackets. But when it comes to his ...
Jan 24, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep 45•Transcript available on Metacast It’s not often that a collector starts a company within the hobby they love the most. Although it seems commonplace, for many of us, collecting is what we love to do when we have some free time. But that hobby turned business couldn’t be more true than with my guest today, Chase Pion, co-founder of Bezel, the online watch marketplace that secured investment from the likes of John Legend, Kevin Hart, Steve Aoki, Michael Rubin, and many more. But as a lot of entrepreneurs do, Bezel started out of ...
Dec 13, 2023•32 min•Ep 44•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is Lori Hirshleifer, and if the name sounds familiar, that’s because her and her family run Hirshleifers, which has been in business for over 100 years. Hirshleifers has been described as the “last great department store” and that’s because it is. There’s something different about Hirshleifers when you walk through the front doors, and maybe it’s the Kith Treats outpost, or the fact that they have the only non-Chanel owned boutique in the US, or maybe it’s the vintage watch drops m...
Dec 06, 2023•24 min•Ep 43•Transcript available on Metacast Tristan Walker may be new to the collecting scene, but if the name sounds familiar, well, that’s because he sold company Walker & Company (makers of the grooming brand Bevel) to Procter & Gamble and sits on the board of companies like Shake Shack and Footlocker. Tristan’s approach to collecting is very similar to the way he runs his companies, and consistency is the name of the game. His passion for collecting is ever growing and he’s making the right relationships along the way. Our tex...
Nov 29, 2023•54 min•Ep 42•Transcript available on Metacast 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 
