The Watch Editor’s Pick – Kristian Haagen

Chronos24.pl and Fratellowatches.com are proud to present you this new, special, bi-weekly section dedicated to our fellow watch journalists and bloggers. Ever wondered what they really like? – read on.

Without going into the long-lasting dispute about who is a journalist, who is a blogger, and which of this two is better (like it matters) we tried to find out about a  more interesting topic: what are the personal favorite watches of watch editors and which timepieces would they purchase when having unlimited resources. In the next coming weeks (every other Monday) we will bring you some of the biggest names from the world of watch editors, both acclaimed authors with an impressive track-record and new-age digital-world bloggers, who re-shape(d) journalism as we know it today.

So without further ado, here is the second “Watch Editor’s Picks”, featuring watch journalist Kristian Haagen.

Who are you?

Kristian Haagen, 43 years old. Watch enthusiast, collector, writer, author, lecturer, estimater at Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers and daydreamer. I write for several magazines and newspapers in Scandinavia, Benelux, UK and Japan and recently became National Editor for the Mercedes-Benz magazine.

I recently published my fifth book on watches and will release my first foreign-language book in 2014 (hopefully).

Additionally I write online articles on Timegeeks.dk and Worldtempus.com, publish my own monthly e-magazine on watches and spend way too much time Instagram’ing. Should I mention I like dogs, tan-lines and cars too?

What’s your ordinary writer’s day?

Busy. Way too busy. Besides from writing articles, books, hosting lecturers and estimating watches in the auction world I also write and layout three retailer magazines in Denmark and Norway.

Admittedly, I get writer´s block once in a while. But that is when Instagram kicks in and saves it all. You can tell a lot with a sexy horological picture. Hail Instagram!

Three or three times a month I travel abroad to visit manufacturers, do interviews or shoot pictures from press events around the world. I prefer to do my own pictures and you´ll always see me with at least one camera dangling from my shoulders.

What’s your favorite watch to wear (and why)?

The watch I wear most frequent is my Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph ref. 5980. I bought it in 2009 and I never tire from looking at that gorgeous blue dial and listen to that wonderful “ding” when activating the chronograph. Also it has a perfect size for my wrist. Looks great on a tanned arm on the sea in the summertime and slides easily underneath the shirt cuff when dressed formal or in need of hiding for street muggers.

What’s your holy horology grail?

I am very proud of my current collection of my illustrious Patek Philippe’s, IWC, Audemars Piguet’s, Linde Werdelin’s as well vintage Rolex’s, Seiko and Breitling sportswatches. But I really need (yes, need. Not want) to add an A. Lange & Söhne Datograph of platinum to my collection and right now I would have to say that is my grail watch. I know this is not at all the most expensive nor rare watch in the world. Nonetheless I consider this very model as not only stunning but also a milestone in modern horology as it was offered with an inhouse chronograph movement when it was launched in 1999. The year before Patek Philippe had introduced a long awaited chronograph, however machined by a Lemania movement, only making the launch of the DatoGraph even more impressive. Mind you, A. Lange & Söhne was only five years old in 1999 (the German watch brand was revived in 1994). Alas, this very model is no longer in production, which means I have to trawl the secondary markets as well as upcoming auctions to get this watch.

What is your best advice for a beginner collector with a 1500 Euro budget?

Get an Omega Speedmaster from your birth year (unless you were born in 1957 which would mean that your budget should instead be 15.000+ Euro). The Speedmaster Moonwatch is not only a fantastic watch with a perfect dial layout and useful functions. It is also an iconic timepiece with a pedigree that will make you the human source of horological storytelling for years to come.

Another alternative would be older Seiko chronographs. I have a soft spot for Seiko and their older pieces especially. And if you´re lucky you’ll not only get a cool critter from back-when on your wrist, but even have money left for beer.