John Cote has been collecting watches since the 1990s. He learned from his dad, who collected pocket watches while John was growing up in Manhattan. He’s one of the guys that’s still out there hunting watches every single week. In addition to collecting, he’s written for Hodinkee, Fratello, in addition to being a prolific contributor on the NAWCC forums. He’s been the president of his local NAWCC chapter and served as a board member until 2025.
John says his collecting philosophy is that “a collection should tell a story. He’s got a different approach to acquisition—he buys watches, usually mid-century chronographs, in pairs. He looks to pair the steel tool watch with its dressier counterpart.
We talk about what you learn that you might not otherwise by hunting pairs; why John loves these boomer chronographs; how he’s seen watch collecting evolve over 30+ years; what he thinks about all these little dress watches; and a whole lot more. John’s from my hometown of Indianapolis, so it was a pleasure to have him on to talk watches.
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I’m going to continue publishing these shorter ‘collector conversations’ in between full podcast episodes—let me know if you’re enjoying them, and what other topics you’d like to see covered.
Show Notes
The Boomer Watch Is On Sale, Unpolished
American Pocket Watches: A Primer For The Wristwatch Collector, John’s article on Hodinkee
A Very American Way to Lose an Industry, Unpolished
John’s Wittnauer chronograph pair—he wore the black dial when we chatted:
