Talking Watches With Bill Higgins, The Man Who Collects Timepieces In Pairs

And on his own time, he collects watches. In pairs. That's right; Higgins has developed a collecting philosophy where he pairs watches together to have a "conversation" with each other, and that allows him to appreciate each one on its own with more clarity.

 Higgins thinks of his collection the way he thinks of a city: there are major monuments, neighborhoods, thoroughfares, and dozens of little interesting alleyways. On the table in front of us are about 50 pairs of watches that make up Higginsville (my name, not his). Press play for a city tour. 

We explore how watches change over time, and this Rolex pairing is the perfect duo to illustrate the conversation. On the left is a Datejust that was worn hard in Saudi Arabia after a 30-year career. On the right is an example from a few years later that's almost perfectly preserved. There's something to appreciate in each watch. The pairing adds something to the discussion around beautiful patina vs. egregious wear. 

These watches are tied to the moment when Higgins developed a sense of wonder and appreciation for the world beyond the small town in upstate New York where he grew up. It's fitting, as the Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic celebrates the International Geophysical Year, a year when both the U.S. and the Soviet Union launched satellites for the first time, and the entire world co-operated to make progress in earth science. 

These watches represent two very different ways of tracking multiple time zones, and neither of them involve a bezel. Higgins finds the Hamilton's usefulness is only matched by its elegance. They really don't make them like they used to. I can't name a modern GMT or worldtimer watch that works like either of these. 

Both of these watches are connected to the most significant era in aviation. The Longines Weems watch is tied to the Golden Age of aviation while the Omega was actually used in WWII and then decommissioned and sold to a civilian. Their caseback engravings tell a story, and Higgins fills us in. 

As Higgins explains, a watch equipped with a tourbillon isn't always associated with elegance and refinement. Here, Higgins explores two expressions of the complication. 

The usefulness of these complications varies greatly, but Higgins is charmed by both equally. Even after a bit of research, I still can't understand the science behind the biorhythm theory.  

To Higgins, there's something "proto-space age" about these watches. They're sculptural, and they both feature outlandish lug designs that Higgins admires. 

The only watches on the table that aren't mechanical are these Bulova Accutron models. Even though they're visually distinct from each other, Higgins sees a similarity in their aspirational aesthetics. 

Sometimes on Talking Watches we only concentrate on the watches in front of us on the table, but this time we didn't forget the watch on Higgins' wrist!