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This is lifted from today's Straits Times at page E17. If interested, go grab a copy to read .. 
Happy reading!
Happy reading!
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woo...famous russian watch collector!!!Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak
Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen
Quoted from Sir Winston Churchill -
Full story here to share;
Ticker his fancy
Mark Gordon's Soviet-era timepieces are estimated to be worth a million dollars
*Life!*|*Updated today at 06:00 AM
By Nicholas Yong
It is often said that the best timepieces are made in Switzerland, but for marketing consultant Mark Gordon, 62, it is a case of from Russia, with love.
The Singapore citizen - born in New York of Russian extraction - has amassed 1,500 Soviet- era timepieces dating from 1917 to 1991. He stores them in folders and wooden and tin boxes, arranged according to the factories where they were made.
Placed in a room in his Upper Thomson house with a dehumidifier that is switched on 24 hours a day, many are one-of-a-kind or extremely rare.
For example, his most recent buy is a giant 'hard hat' diver's watch made of nickel steel and manufactured sometime between the 1950s and 1960s.
In the days before modern diving equipment, 'hard hat' divers dressed in thick, waterproof suits and steel helmets, and these were filled with oxygen via a tube from the surface. The watch had to be large enough to be strapped on over the suit.
While Mr Gordon declines to disclose how much that particular piece cost, he estimates that vintage pieces from the 1970s and 1980s sell for between €600 (S$1,030) and €1,000, while those from the 1950s are 'priceless'.
Besides pocket watches, wristwatches and stopwatches, his collection includes clocks that were used in fighter jets and on board Soviet Navy ships.
'My collection tells a very interesting story of Soviet society, and is a microcosm of the Soviet experience,' says Mr Gordon, whose grandparents were from Minsk in modern-day Belarus, once a part of the Soviet Union.
His interest started 12 years ago when he was surfing eBay and stumbled on a wrist chronograph with a case apparently made from the recycled titanium skin of an SS-20 missile. Having bought it on a whim, he was impressed by the quality of the piece when it arrived in the mail: 'It just didn't sync at all with the American propaganda I had been fed when I was growing up about shoddy communist goods.'
He then started educating himself about Soviet timepieces by 'lurking around a Russian watch forum' and contacting a handful of knowledgeable collectors via e-mail, given that there are, even now, no collector guides nor dedicated dealers for such items.
His decision to start collecting became an educational experience. 'I learnt that Soviet engineering was quite good and adhered to certain socialist principles by making products that were as utilitarian and simple as possible.'
He notes that where Swiss and German technology emphasised complexity, Russian engineers stressed dependability and practicality. Perhaps this is why almost all the pieces in his collection are still in working condition.
He estimates that the entire collection, which is maintained by a watchmaker friend on a piece- by-piece basis, would easily fetch a million dollars.
He now relies on trusted sellers in Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Germany. Those with special items also seek him out as he is on the lookout for rare and iconic items.
The excitement of collecting, he says, 'lies more in the quest than the ownership'. For example, he tracked down one of his more recent pieces through a 'scrap of information' from a Soviet technical journal.
He worked with friends in Russia, Germany and Ukraine, who helped put him on the trail of a retired Soviet metrologist. The retiree then helped lead him to a one-of-a-kind prototype transistorised chronometer, made in 1960 as part of a military project.
'When I finally tracked it down, the owner said, 'I don't know how much to charge you for it',' recalls Mr Gordon with a laugh. He says it would likely fetch between €15,000 and €30,000 at auction.
But the hobby has become a responsibility, says Mr Gordon, who is divorced. While the watches will be passed on to his daughter Jessica, 23, and his son-in-law, his will stipulates that they are to work with trusted associates in Switzerland to eventually find a worthy museum for the collection.
He says: 'The collection is much better than anything you can find in a museum. I have preserved the Russian heritage and it should be kept alive after I am gone.'
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there is 1 article on Sg collector as well. cant rmb the exact date but its from Sundays time.Comment
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