Michael Kalb and Brian Govberg Discuss Patek Philippe Nautilus, A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk, and More

Good to see you as always.

Fine watches is probably the closest passion to my heart right now. Love it.

Sure. I've got a 5960P, 1A stainless steel bracelet, only produced for a year with the black dial. This is probably one of my most worn Pateks on a daily basis. I just absolutely love this watch: the case, the feel, the fit, the complications. It's a great watch.

Look, this watch from a collector standpoint is very personal to me. I purchased this in 2007 when I first moved to London. It was a move that I made to run my former firm's business. It was a critical point in my career. I walked down in the city of London, went into a boutique, saw this Patek. It was the first Patek that I've ever purchased. It was platinum. I absolutely loved it. And two years later, it was stolen. Only after a 30-year period was I able to find another one just like it to purchase to maintain in my collection.

No, I mean it's absolutely magnificent. I would say I hope the tech in the future actually really focuses more on the whole Gondolo line towards the men's side. I know recently they've shrunk it, but I love the Gondolo line. I think there's tremendous opportunity in it, and I'd like to see more of those coming.

I think you're classic.

Sure. Well, let me just take a step back and comment on the fact that I look for watches that I'm going to wear. I'm not looking for watches that my father was going to wear. I'm not looking for watches that my grandfather is going to wear. I want contemporary timepieces that really speak to me and that are really differentiated in the market. When you look at the Chanel Monsieur, this piece on the face of it, why would a Chanel watch be in somebody's watch collection? The reality is this watch actually contains a movement by Romain Gauthier, who designs it, who actually produces the components for it. It is just an absolute hidden gem which I love to wear regularly.

I actually think the watch industry has moved on from the Holy Trinity. I'll get a lot of debate, I'll get a lot of heat from that. But I think when you look at all the independent brands that have come out into the market that are so differentiated, it really has moved the watch industry completely forward. Chanel has actually been a major player in helping that happen. They have a vested interest in Journe, they have a vested interest in Romain Gauthier, B Ross. But they really are focused on the future of the watch industry and where it's going.

I missed the boat on FPJ. I have over a dozen Patek watches in my collection, as you are well aware. As I've gone down the independent journey, Journe was one that I continued to watch from afar. But when I finally jumped in, I wanted to jump in in a very special, unique way. With the Dubai edition, the green dial, the green strap, it really spoke to me. It's reflective of the decade that I spent living abroad, traveling throughout the Middle East. Whenever I put that on my wrist, it just constantly reminds me of how beautiful of a watch it is that Journe produced, but also my time abroad for 10 years.

Well, I have another Sovereign, but a white dial one which is more simple, more basic. And I've yet to decide on which direction that goes after that.

Yeah, the De Bethune I just recently purchased about two months ago. I've been trying different ones on for over a year. I've been studying the brand for over a year. When I look at watches that I purchase, I'm very focused on the brand, the heritage, the history, the engineering, the in-house movements. I've become just fascinated by De Bethune, and this was the first perfect entree into the De Bethune market for me.

The articulating lugs really make it. At first when you look at the watch, it seems oversized. When you put it on the wrist, it actually fits beautifully. I could travel with this watch anywhere in the world, and it's just an incredible timepiece on my wrist.

Another independent there right to the right: H. Moser. Another brand that I know that you just love.

One of the things that I think they've done such an amazing job doing is taking traditional watchmaking and making it a little bit easier to understand. But also they've been trendsetters. Even as far down as you take a watch like this, you look at it and you're like, okay, pretty classic in terms of appearance, but you've got the fumé blue-black dial, which is something that you now see as being more prevalent amongst many watch brands. But for a while, it was just them doing it. I think that you can sort of see how when something really great catches on, other brands start following suit. But they were the first ones really to start doing that process. It's actually one of the reasons why I think collectors come to the brand. You know you're sort of, they're the ones that started it. I also think their recent announced partnership with Agenhor is going to do some tremendous things for the brand. Obviously they have the Agenhor chronograph movement inside their Streamliner chronograph, which is a phenomenal timepiece. I think the fact that they have the rotor inverted so that it looks like a manual wind watch but it's automatic, it's the best of both worlds. The dial is something that once I learned about that feature, I didn't understand why everybody didn't do that because it's remarkable. You look at it and you're like, wow, that's like a complex looking chronograph but really it's self-winding. It is a phenomenal timepiece, and I've got high expectations for what they're going to be able to come out with in the future.

So the Lange Zeitwerk date. This watch, the basic Zeitwerk was launched in 2009. I remember way back when I first saw the Zeitwerk date, I was just amazed. Here is a jumping hour, digital watch in a mechanical form, which to me was just incredibly impressive. The date itself has a more recent movement in it. It takes so much power to drive this watch. It's got a remontoir, double barrel. It is an unbelievable engineering feat that they've been able to accomplish with this.

I think this is clearly part of it. I think the chronographs are certainly part of it. I have one of the Datograph up and downs, which is also one of my favorite watches. I think the Richard Lange Pour le Mérite, which has a chain and fusée transmission constant force mechanism, they're doing some incredible things from a mechanical standpoint.

I was a lot of people's first call when they launched this watch. This watch fits me like a glove. The white gold precious metal, as you said, the 41mm size. I love the new blue dial on it, the aesthetics of it. This is to me what the Nautilus should have always been. I'm a big fan of white metals. But what I also love about this watch is the new micro adjustment on the bracelet, which I think just makes it that much easier to wear and self-adjusting over time. Especially for a sports watch, just necessary in this day and age. You could wear this watch in shorts, you could wear it in a tuxedo. It suits all purposes. Beach to tux, as we like to say. Just not in the water. I'm not putting that on the beach.

Well, beautiful.

It's a great question. I think when you're making a decision on a watch and a watch that you want in your collection, you're looking at everything from the brand to the design ethos to the movement to the heritage. All those come into play. For me, I start with the brands. That's the place to start. What is the heritage? What is the history? What is the level of innovation, which I think is still required even today to drive brands forward? Once I get a knowledge base of that, then I look at the individual timepieces. What are the movements made out of? What are the design ethos of the individual movements? That's how I decide what brands I get into and which watches I want to have.

What's interesting is I think innovation is also something that Patek doesn't get enough credit for. I think that they sort of have that image of being your dad's watch. But they're responsible for modern day technology in watches. I mean, they're responsible for the annual calendar. There's a lot of things that they've done that have pushed watchmaking forward. I buy watches that I want to wear. I don't buy watches that my father will wear. I don't buy watches that my grandfather will wear. The vast majority of my collection is in Patek. I would actually argue the vast majority of my collection is Patek, but it's not the watch that I think my father would wear and it's not the watch that I think my grandfather would wear. They are actually moving with the market, with innovation, with the design ethos, and I think they continue to do so.

A Greubel Forsey is probably definitely on the list that we've had much discussion about. At some point, we'll find the right one that I think I'd like to see in my collection. But I think after that, with the existing portfolio of brands that I have, I would stick to maintain with those brands and just build upon them unless something exceptional comes out.

I think we were talking about The Lure number one. That is just a great way for 50 people to get involved in creating a watch that is an incredible movement, timeless timepiece, that probably would have been unattainable otherwise for that group. That being said, there's others coming down the pipeline which are even going to be more creative than the first one. Very enthusiastic to be able to participate with that. But seeing an independent watch grow and blossom in the process that is required to go through there and the complexity of it, that for me is what the real joy has been.

In the first point, many of these watches can be considered grail watches. There's no question about that. Clearly I have some orders coming that will certainly be some grail watches as well. But a grail watch to me is one where the watch speaks to me in every single facet and form. That's what's considered a grail. I have many grails, and I wear each one of these watches whether it's a grail watch or more basic watch. I probably switch watches two times a day, regardless of where I am, whether I'm in Central America, whether I'm in Europe, whether in the States. I'm always got a couple pieces with me in my collection. It doesn't matter whether it's a grail watch or a more moderate watch. Nomos I love as a brand for a more value oriented brand. I think they're doing a fantastic job. The fact that I have a few pieces with Vaucher movements, I think they're incredible watches. But it's all based on what I perceive as a true collector's piece, not what other people perceive.

Michael, thank you so much for bringing your collection today. It's always amazing getting to hang out in person, and I really appreciate you bringing these remarkable pieces onto our channel.