I love Santa Laura because he collects watches with his heart. On a visit to his house, I marveled at his collection, which ranged from Rainbow Daytonas, Journe, De Bethune, Vianney Halter and Max Büsser, to name just a few. And while every one of these watches has proven to be staggeringly epic investments, he has assembled his collection by militating against the idea of watches as an asset class. He intentionally eschewed the investment algorithms and chasing of hype watches that has changed watch collecting from a nice hobby to a global phenomenon. And he has always bought based on passion, courage and his innate capacity to discern beauty. Indeed, when he bought his first Rainbow Daytona, the watches were hugely unpopular.
He recalled with a laugh, “They actually thanked me for buying it. When I first bought the Leopard Daytona, everyone thought I was crazy, but I didn’t care — I loved the creativity and use of color in this watch. That’s the way I’ve always collected.” Santa Laura has, of course, since proven himself to be remarkably prescient, as almost every single timepiece he selected has become hugely desirable years later. He explained, “Yes, but that’s never the objective. I never buy a
