The Watch Collectors' Roundtable Reconvenes at Aaron Faber Gallery for An Evening of Horlogerie Discourse and Fine Whiskey Tasting
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014, Aaron Faber Gallery will reconvene their annual Watch Collectors' Roundtable to explore what makes a good timepiece worthy of future generations, both from an investment perspective as well as long term valuation. Following The Roundtable will be a fine whiskey presentation hosted by Mahesh Patel, founder of the Universal Whisky Experience.
- New York, NY (1888PressRelease) August 22, 2014 - As an increasing number of people continue to rely on their cell phones to tell time, owning a high end wristwatch has become less about timekeeping and more about collecting a sophisticated timepiece that can be passed through generations. At 5:30pm on Tuesday, September 9, 2014, Aaron Faber Gallery, 666 Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street, New York, NY, will reconvene their annual Watch Collectors' Roundtable to explore what makes a good timepiece worthy of future generations, both from an investment perspective as well as long term valuation.
Moderated by Financial Times jewelry contributor and Forbes.com jewelry and watch correspondent, Anthony Demarco, watch industry insiders Edward Faber, co-owner of Aaron Faber Gallery and author of American Wristwatches: Five Decades of Style and Design, Michael Friedman, Historian for Audemars Piguet, Gary Girdvainis, editor of WristWatch magazine and AboutTime magazine, and Jonathan Snellenburg, Ph. D., Director of Watches and Clocks for Bonhams New York will weigh in on the marketplace preference for vintage vs. contemporary watches, while debating the mystique of vintage watches against technological innovations in modern fine timepieces.
The Roundtable will be immediately followed by a fine whiskey presentation hosted by Mahesh Patel, founder of the Universal Whisky Experience. Patel will share with guests samples of his finest whiskey as he discusses the practice of whiskey collecting as an investment. He will also present one lucky guest with a bottle of fine whiskey.
Watch collectors and whiskey aficionados are invited to attend these events and encouraged to bring questions for the experts. The event will be held at Aaron Faber Gallery, 666 Fifth Avenue at West 53rd Street, New York, NY.
For more information on the Roundtable, please contact The Lilian Raji Agency at (646) 789-4427 ext 701 or lilianraji ( @ ) lmrpr dot com or visit the online press room at http://collectingwatches dot lmrpr dot com dot
ABOUT THE ROUNDTABLE
MODERATOR:
Anthony Demarco
Anthony DeMarco is a freelance writer and editor who travels the world covering the luxury jewelry and watch industry as a lifestyle correspondent and "resident jewelry expert" for Forbes.com; contributor to the Financial Times Watches & Jewellery special reports; U.S. jewelry market for Hong Kong-based JewelryNetAsia, and contributor to the Jewellery Editor website.
DeMarco's blog, Jewelry News Network, is a window into the international jewelry and watch industry. Its primary purpose is to show beautiful objects of adornment, whether from internationally renowned luxury jewelry brands or independent jewelry designers and artists. The blog explains the business behind the beauty by showing the importance of luxury jewelry and watches as an economic engine throughout the world. Readers gain a backstage pass to the glamour, fun, and difficulties that are part of the industry.
Prior to working in the jewelry industry, DeMarco was senior editor for an interior design and architecture magazine, where he received first-hand education and appreciation of how quality, innovative design can make the world a better place.
PANEL:
Edward Faber
Edward Faber is the author of American Wristwatches: Five Decades of Style and Design, now in its third printing and the definitive text on collecting American vintage watches. He founded Aaron Faber Gallery in 1974, now at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City, as a showcase for artist-made jewelry for which the gallery is world-famous.
He began adding 20th century estate jewelry to complement the contemporary work and then, in 1980, Faber began collecting and presenting vintage watches and timepieces. Now this personal passion has grown into a formidable part of the gallery's design collection. In the "Best of New York", New York Magazine noted, "He's a picky curator with a critical eye, and his shop's 1000-or-so offerings range from incredible one-of-a-kind pieces to a huge stash of sought-after brands."
Faber is a founding member of the International Watch and Jewelry Guild, a member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and a member of the American Society of Jewelry Historians and Jewelers of America. He is a frequent lecturer on the history and value of timepieces and jewelry, with appearances on the Today show, as well as numerous cable programs; he has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, numerous watch magazines, the Cigar Aficionado and Departures and recently in blogs relating to the field of watch collecting. For more information, please visit www.aaronfaber.com.
Michael Friedman
Michael L. Friedman is an established horological expert, appraiser, curator, lecturer, auctioneer and producer. He is the Historian and Global Brand Ambassador at Audemars Piguet. Friedman's extensive career in watches and clocks began in 1996 at Willard House & Clock Museum where he served as Assistant Curator and apprenticed to conservator, David Gow. In 1997, he joined The National Watch & Clock Museum as Curator where he co-developed 15,000 square feet of exhibition space devoted to the history of time measurement - from sundials to the atomic clock.
In 1999, Friedman was named VP & Department Head of Watches for Christie's in New York. After successfully growing sales and bringing many new collectors to Christie's, he founded MLF Horology in 2003 which provided consultant and curator services for international collectors and institutions including Sotheby's in 2011. Friedman joined Antiquorum in January, 2012 as Horological Director of the New York office and led the department with several noteworthy and record breaking sales before leaving April of 2013.
Friedman lectures on a wide variety of horological subjects, including watch brand histories; explorations of the history of time measurement; market trends & fluctuations; as well as detailed lectures that focus on particular complications, developments and time periods. He was a featured speaker at Watch Week 2012, Watch Week 2013 and TimeCrafters 2014.
Friedman has also worked on a variety of charity auctions including those benefiting Eric Clapton's Crossroads Centre (2004) and the Stan Lee Foundation (2010).
In addition to horology, Michael is the production partner to documentary filmmaker and television director, Bradley Beesley, and together they founded Roadside Media. Friedman's credits include Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo (HBO), Mr. Hypnotism (SXSW), UnCONventional (Stan Lee's World of Heroes) and Low Movie: How to Quit Smoking. Michael is also the principal songwriter and performer for the band, Chronoserfs.
Gary Girdvainis
Gary Girdvainis entered the watch industry in 1990 through a chance conversation with the owners of PMG Inc (publishers of several exotic automotive themed magazines and hardcover books) about their interests in importing and distributing into the US a new watch magazine. Girdvainis ran with the idea, and soon an independent North American edition known as International Wristwatch USA was born. Under Girdvainis' leadership, the magazine blossomed from an 80-page bi-monthly to the only monthly watch magazine with page counts upwards of 256 pages per issue. Having cemented its place into the hearts and minds of passionate watch aficionados, the magazine is now known simply as iW.
Girdvainis' two decades as Editor-In-Chief of the watch industry's most revered publication gave him an insider perch to deeply explore the heartbeat of many legendary watch brands. He has firsthand accounts of the meticulous steps brands took to regain respect for mechanical watches in the early 90s after decades of the "Japanese invasion" of quartz watches and has seen (and sometimes predicted) the rise and occasional fall of some of the world's finest watch companies.
Girdvainis has jumped out of planes with Breitling's Jet Team; held on for dear life on the aft of Corum's Team Energy catamaran, and raced remote controlled sailboats in Central Park with Baume et Mercier. Through it all, he has gained the respect and admiration of movers and shakers within the watch world, and the loyal following of millions of watch fans.
In June 2011, Girdvainis left iW to form Isochron Media LLC, a company founded to embrace, enhance, promote and develop watch culture in North America and around the world. Through Isochron Media, Girdvainis publishes and editorially directs both WristWatch Magazine and AboutTime. His early success with these two publications has led to international licenses for both magazines, each scheduled for local market launches in Arabic and Chinese in January 2014. Isochron Media also serves as editorial consultant and advertising placement service provider for Wristwatch Annual. For more information, please visit www.isochronmedia.com.
Jonathan Snellenburg
Jonathan Snellenburg studied history and geology at Dartmouth College and received a Ph. D. in Geochemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. This led to a post-doctoral fellowship at the American Museum of Natural History, New York and later, a position as staff gemologist for the Gemological Institute of America.
He then joined Christie's, New York as head of the Jewelry and Silver Departments at their gallery, Christie's East. By the time he left Christie's, as a Senior Vice President and Head of the Watch and Clock Department, he had organized sales in a variety of fields and cataloged numerous items including watches, clocks, jewelry, silver, and scientific instruments.
For many years, he conducted his own business as dealer, consultant and appraiser, as well as serving as a Vice-President of the National Antique & Art Dealers Association of America. He returned to the salerooms, joining Bonhams New York as Director of Watches and Clocks, in 2009.
A Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in London, he is also a member of the Antiquarian Horological Society and the NAWCC.
Since 1996 Dr. Snellenburg has appeared as an appraiser in the PBS television series "The Antiques Roadshow" and has been a member of the Vetting Committees for both the Winter Antiques Show and the International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show, held each year at the Park Avenue Armory, New York City.
Dr. Snellenburg is best known for his expertise in the field of antiquarian horology and has frequently lectured about the influence of science and technology on the European decorative arts from the 16th century to the present. His scholarly contributions include the chapter on 17th and 18th century enamel watches for the Catalogue of European Decorative Arts at the Taft Museum, Cincinnati, and the catalog of Proctor Collection of watches at the Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute, Utica, New York.
ABOUT THE WHISKEY TASTING
Mahesh Patel
Universal Whisky Experience (UWE) was established in the summer of 2010 by the renowned whisky collector and connoisseur Mahesh Patel. His sole aim was to provide the World's most exclusive and luxurious whisky tasting experiences.
Born in Uganda, but dramatically uprooted at the age of six, he and his family were forced to move to the UK as refugees, where he was raised and later became a Civil/ Structural Engineer, and working for a top consulting engineering company in London. Twenty years ago he had the great opportunity to work for a US company and decided to immigrate with his wife to Atlanta. He later went on to form several very successful commercial construction, development and management companies, including franchised hotels in the Southeastern United States.
Mahesh's great passion for whisky began as a student in his university days back in the UK. Since then he has travelled the world including Scotland to enjoy this great "liquid gold" and made lifelong friendships in the industry. He has been able to leverage these relationships to bring these amazing luxurious whisky tasting experiences to life.
ABOUT AARON FABER GALLERY
Aaron Faber Gallery was founded in 1974 to present the work of studio jewelers, those artists creating one-of-a-kind jewels that are inspired by creativity and originality, made in the artist's studio and imbued with the artist's spirit, concept and style.
The gallery, owned by Edward and Patricia Faber is located on West 53rd Street down the block from the Museum of Modern Art, where its contemporary interior is the backdrop for changing exhibitions by studio jewelers as well as permanent collections by the gallery's artist group. For more information, please visit www.aaronfaber.com.
For More Information
Lilian M Raji
The Lilian Raji Agency
(646) 789-4427 ext 701
lilianraji ( @ ) lmrpr dot com
Press Room: http://collectingwatches.lmrpr.com.
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