Many years ago, I started collecting Swiss watches. I always aspired to own a Yellow Dial Breitling Emergency Ref: E76321. It was truly an iconic watch by Breitling and still is today. These watches were mainly aimed at the air force. In the event of an emergency, the pilot could activate a distress signal from the watch. This would transmit on all emergency frequencies—land, air, and sea—to assist in a life-threatening event. But I only recently found out they have a 100-mile radius.

The Emergency was a great talking piece about pulling the antenna out in an emergency. In turn, the air force came to the rescue, and possibly got fined up to £10,000 for a false alarm.  But sadly, at the time, I settled for the Breitling Aerospace, the more toned down dress version of the emergency, which was very similar, smaller, 36mm in size, not the same presence, mind you, same Super quartz movement, but without the capabilities of the rescue function. The aerospace was a lot cheaper and much easier to purchase pre-owned.
A few years later, I was in a fortunate position to purchase the iconic non-date Rolex Submariner 14060 – quality, precision, perfection, with Rolex’s highly regarded reputation for innovation, there was no deliberating in owning such a diver’s iconic watch, plus it’s a Rolex!! Had to have it; never took the watch off, to be fair, so I purchased the Submariner and can honestly say I was captivated with Rolex from then on. It became an addiction, an expensive one. I soon realized my love for watches of all kinds, 18k gold, stainless steel, DLC coated, chronographs, perpetual calendar, bi metals, and ceramics. So eventually got a small collection which slowly grew and grew, and along the way, sold some with regrets.
I have been lucky to be able to buy some of these pieces. I have thoroughly enjoyed wearing all the variants—from classic to modern, rare to vintage, and a daily wearer. Vintage watches only grew on me in the last 5 years. As I got older, I started to understand how beautiful vintage watches are, with their aged patina and old-style look. Over the years, I have gained a lot of knowledge about wristwatches, brands, movements, and materials. In particular, Rolex is my true love and my most esteemed number one watch brand. Rolex watches are tried and tested, going from strength to strength. I have purchased quite a few over the years—some kept and worn daily up to the present day. It is such a pleasure to own an exquisite timepiece from the world’s finest watchmakers in Switzerland, who began fine watchmaking as far back as the 16th century. Many years later, The Watch-Collector Leeds website was founded as I wished to continue with my passion.