In March while attending Baselworld, I first started hearing of a very young watch blogger who was writing about watches and covering the watch shows. This past week at Timecrafters, I met him for the first time. His name is Luke Rottman. He is a freshman in high school, and he collects and writes about mechanical wristwatches in his spare time.
1- What sparked your interest to start collecting mechanical watches?
My interest in mechanical watches was sparked when I found my grandfather’s 1962 Explorer-Dial Omega Seamaster 30 when I was rummaging through a junk-drawer at my grandparents’ home on a rainy day. In the following weeks, I researched the watch and, after learning that there was an entire market based on vintage watches, I was hooked.
2- How did you come up with idea to start your own website about watches, and what is your goal in doing so? Did you do it to educate younger kids from your generation?
I came up with the idea to start my own website about watches after reading many print magazines about watches (at the time I wasn’t even aware that there were online watch magazines and publications). My goal for my website is to not only educate my generation, but also all generations. My hope is to share my love for watches with the rest of the world and to show to people that technology is not everything. I believe that true craftsmanship comes from people, not robots.
1962 Omega Seamaster 30 Explorer-Dial
3- Where did you learn so much about vintage reference numbers and mechanical watches in general?
I learned so much about vintage reference numbers and mechanical watches completely by seeing and listening. For roughly four years, I have been trading watches in order to learn as much as possible. Just by being around experts and collectors educates you on watches.
4- What is your level of education, age and future plans for college, career and so on?
I am in ninth grade and I am fourteen years old. I plan on going to school somewhere in NYC, either NYU or Columbia. I am not yet sure about attending graduate school, but if I do it will be either for business or journalism.
5- What is your grail watch?
I probably have one hundred different answers to this question, so I’ll give a two part answer. I would have to say that my vintage grail watch would be a Heuer 1133 1970 Monaco with a slate/grey dial. My new or newer grail watch would be an FP Journe Chronometre Bleu or a Patek Philippe 3940. Sorry, but it’s impossible for me to give only one answer.
Visit Luke’s site www.thewatchadviser.com.
