Purist of the Month: Alkiro1's Horology Journey

Ares501 introduces Alkiro1 as the Purist of the Month for July, celebrating his prolific contributions and engaging presence within the WatchProSite community. Alkiro1 shares his personal journey into watch collecting, his professional background in finance, and his unique experience of taking a sabbatical to study horology. This feature offers a deep dive into the life and passions of a respected community member.

         1. Please introduce yourself!

Well, I could begin like in a W.A.A. (Watch Alcoholic Anonymous) meeting: “Hello, my (nick)name is Alkiro and I’m a watch addict” and the gathering would reply “Hello Alkiro, welcome here” ;-)

No, I’m just a French guy very close to make his mid-life crisis who previously worked in Finance as a Derivatives Strategist (I know, nobody’s perfect!) in Paris and now lives in Geneva after following his wife last year. I’ve been living in couple for almost 8 years with a really sweet and understanding woman (really important for our passion in my opinion) and we have a 4.5 years old son.

Many of you already know my “own story”. I’ve had the chance to take a sabbatical year to experience, at first hand, my passion for watches by studying horology. After I passed my exams last December and April, I will now go back working in Finance (I know “boring” but it’s my other passion… which helps me to finance the first one!).

       2. How did you discover WatchProSite and what it means for you to be one of PuristS?

I discovered WatchProSite around 6 years ago. At first sight, it was a forum about watches like other ones and I just watched pictures and read posts in order to learn more about brands/watches in particular and horology in general. At this time, I didn’t want to post because my English was far to be good (not really better today I agree) and my watch collection was, by far, not as important as today (I know that was stupid!).

But, more than one year ago (after a costly misfortune which was not the best starting point to be honest with you), I decided to actively participate and I discovered very enthusiast and experienced people.

Beyond a “classic” watch forum, I think the true strength of this one is to offer the possibility to meet “real” people from everywhere in the world. Create a link between a virtual world and the real one is, from my point of view, the best aspect of WatchProSite. Generally speaking, when you use social networks like Facebook, the starting point is that you know people/friends from real life and, then, you enter into a virtual one. WatchProSite is the opposite, in my opinion, which is its true advantage.

In general, virtual world drives people away. WatchProSite is the opposite, it becomes closer to people. This element is what “PuristS” wants to mean for me.

        3. What watch are you wearing today and how you choose watch “of the day”?

 Today, I’m wearing my Royal Oak Fondation Time for the Trees (second limited edition) in steel.

I try to change of watch every week and I mainly choose the ones with a steel bracelet when the weather is warm outside or for summer holidays or a long weekend for instance. Otherwise, it’s more “Oh yes this one let’s go”.

        4. What is your favorite watch/brand/complication?

Really hard to answer to this question. Impossible for me to choose only one watch even if I have to confess that I have a big big weakness for my A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk. This timepiece is so amazing. You can easily wait for each ending minute just to see the slight move of the right minute disc at 55 seconds and then, at 60 exactly, its jump. A pure marvel for me.

Regarding the brand, I won’t surprise anyone by saying that I really love A. Lange & Söhne. This German brand makes so nice timepieces. The finish, technical level and poetry of their timepieces is just a pure pleasure for me. In addition, behind a possible little “austerity”, they always offer a “plot twist” to their owner like a good thriller.

Regarding my favourite complication it’s, without any doubt, the minute repeating. Here you combine technique, savoir-faire and poetry. The possibility to hear and not simply read the time is pure happiness for me.

       5. When and how you discovered horology?

I started to be interested in watches and horology when I was a teenager. At that time, more than watches themselves, I’ve always been admiring people who were able to design and assemble such little elements.

For me, before the emergence of computers and sophisticated tools, watchmakers such as Breguet were true magicians. Trying to imagine making a timepiece from A to Z without our today’s technology is just something almost unbelievable in my opinion. It was more than patience but a true calling.

I would say that I really discovered horology when my parents offered me a Breitling Naviter Spatiograph Montbrillant for my 20^th birthday. As you probably already understood, I’ve been owing this timepiece for 20 years already. Yes, half of my lifetime. I really hope I’ll pass it on to my son one day.

       6. What element of the watch is for you make it or break it factor?

Beyond technical aspects, I clearly love poetic timepieces and the ones which offer “something else” impossible to really determine and that I call “this little twist effect”. If they can mix technical aspects with poetry, it’s almost without fail a watch I’ll love.

 To give you an example (and it’s clearly not a men watch in this livery or I missed something!), I particularly love the Van Cleef & Arpels “Le Pont des Amoureux”. A couple which can only meet twice per day at noon and midnight with a double minutes and hours retrograde function. My wife told me “it’s wishy-washy” but, I don’t know why, I really love this timepiece.

Credit: Van Cleef & Arpels

In another style, my Emil Lange in rose gold clearly enters in this category of technical timepiece with its incredible moon phase accuracy but also with a poetry side with the Great Bear constellation.

Regarding the “break it factors”, I would say that a non historical or logical excessiveness case size is absolutely unacceptable for me.

        7. If you could design your own watch what would it be and what it would look like?

Again a very hard question. To be coherent with myself, I would say a simple (3 hands? Not a chrono for sure) and very well finished (everything by hands) timepiece with this little supplementary touch of soul (the possibility to personalize it and makes it unique for instance). A discrete, dressy and elegant timepiece which could only reveal to its owner a distinctive characteristic too (hunter engraved case back or an animation for example). Clearly a watch which helps your heart to beat faster as I use to say.

        8. What is the watch that will last leave your collection and why?

Without any doubt my Breitling, mentioned previously, due to its important emotional charge and a lot of good and sweet memories.

        9. What do you love and hate about watch industry today?

I love the creativity and, at the same time, I hate the excess or badly managed creativity. Sometimes, it can be “too much” (patchwork of colors, 12 tourbillons in the same timepiece, new strange complications which bring nothing…) but, may be, it’s just my tastes and nothing else.

The huge diversity we have today is also something really noticeable because every watch collectors can find what they are looking for. In addition, I really appreciate to see more and more little brands / independent watchmakers which bring fresh air and are not in a profitability or productivity race. I don’t know if listed companies which own multiple brands will be the best candidates over the next 10 years to maintain a “diversity of species”. We’ll see!

       10. What was the evolution of your collection and how do you see it in next decade?

May be my collection grew too fast over the last years and I didn’t took the right decisions. I’m not sure my tastes have changed (I think they’re very eclectic) but, more probably, evolved. Instead of being into a compulsive way, I’m much more into a selective one today.

As I really appreciate German watches, I think my collection will evolve in this way over the next decade. But I prefer not to make ambitious plans and let my heart talk. Of course, I have a Grail list but it’s not an obsession. I know that I’ll keep some of my current watches and others not.

In addition, I would like to own timepieces from independent brands/watchmakers such as MB&F (Legacy Machine 101), Romain Gauthier (Logical One) or Laurent Ferrier (Galet Micro-Rotor) for instance.

Credit: MB&F

Credit: Romain Gauthier

Credit: Laurent Ferrier

       11. What other hobbies do you have?

 I love food and restaurants. I love to cook for my family or friends just because I really love these sharing moments.

One of my favorite dish: sweetbreads

I love to pick mushrooms too (it really helps me to decompress) but I didn’t discover yet the right places around Geneva

Credit:… just one little harvest from my parents this year ;-)

       12. Your life motto and life philosophy is…

 “Enjoy all these sweet little moments. Life is too short”