Going by Marianne in real life, @MissDateJust is a twenty-something-year-old from Sweden, who loves travel, meeting new people, and watches (like, a lot).
Hi Marianne, what’s your daily watch and why?
I think my handle says it all, Andy — my Rolex Datejust 178274. It’s my daily watch because it’s versatile, it works great at the office and in my spare time. And it doesn’t draw too much attention to it due to it being midsized.
It was the first real watch I got myself before I used to wear a watch every day. Nowadays, when I look down on my naked wrist, I get a panic attack thinking I lost my watch … I guess it’s the same feeling as losing your kid at a store.
What else is in your collection? Have you got a favourite?
I don’t have a big collection, yet. So, besides the Datejust, I have my newest love — a Patek Philippe Nautilus 3900. I couldn’t choose a favourite between my Datejust and Nautilus; I love them both, but in separate ways.
I also have an old gold-plated Citizen Watch with a green croc strap that I got from my grandmother years ago. Sadly, it never gets any wrist time since I can’t stand leather straps.
What’s that next piece you’re looking to buy?
Great question. Right now I’m looking for a much-needed beater! Since I sold my Rolex Submariner 14060, I’m missing a sporty watch in my collection. I think it’s going to be something with a rubber strap.
In terms of criteria, what do you look for when buying a watch?
I’m an efficient person, so I think about when and where I would wear the piece. I’m quite OCD when it comes to dressing too many colours at the same time, so the dial has to suit my style and be in a black-white-grey kind of tone. Also, I tend to look for a watch with a story behind it, like the Datejust.
Tell us about your most recent purchase, the Patek.
I fell in love with a Patek Philippe Nautilus 3900 from the ’90s. It’s a grail watch, yet so elegant and straightforward. It’s also exhilarating to finally have an iconic watch designed by Gérald Genta. Everyone knows of brands like Rolex and so on, but with the Patek, I find that the ones who know, they know — and my friends and colleagues don’t have a clue. It’s nice with a piece that kind of flies under the radar, at least in my part of Sweden.
As a female watch collector, what do you think of the current offerings from the big brands? Is there anything they could be doing differently to be more appealing to women?
Well, they could stop producing ridiculously small watches, and stop putting so many diamonds on them. It’s still a man’s world when it comes to watches, and it seems to be just men who buy ladies watches as a gift to their significant other. I mean, how many ads have we seen where a man is selling his wife’s watch because she’s not wearing it? I guess that most ladies watches don’t appeal to the new, modern woman. Most of us female watch collectors are being forced to wear men’s watches to have something exciting on our wrists. In my opinion, brands like Rolex and Omega seem to get it right, they have a wide variety of timepieces. Sadly, other brands seem to think fewer complications, just quartz movements and diamonds.
To me, this is confirmed when you see brands getting female brand ambassadors, modelling male watches.
In a hobby primarily dominated by men, what would you say to encourage women to get into collecting watches?
I visited Tokyo in October and had a rather fun conversation with a female sales associate at Audemars Piguet. She had never experienced a woman coming into the store by herself wanting to try on watches. She wondered if it was common in Europe for women to know about watches, and we ended up talking for an hour about it. Of course, it has to do with culture, but I find it funny that an AP boutique, in the biggest city in the world, never had a woman come in by herself. I wish more women would get out there and explore the world of watches. It can be scary to get an account at a watch forum where it’s like 99 per cent men, but there’s no need to feel scared or uncomfortable, since most men welcome it. I’ve had the pleasure to meet some fantastic female watch collectors. We meet up a few times a year to have dinner and talk about watches. There’s also a lot of laughs and champagne involved!
Besides watches, what other hobbies do you have?
I’m also a bag lady — I love bags. I have a pretty good collection at the moment, so now my full focus is on watches. I also like cars and whisky.
How do you unwind?
If I’m at work and I have five minutes to spare, I tend to log on to the Swedish watch forum Klocksnack, to see what some fellow watch lovers are up to. And after a long day at the office, I just love to get home, make some dinner and then I research things about my next project. I always have a plan in my head, and it might be anything from buying a new watch to repainting my kitchen or making travel arrangements. And I LOVE to research things, preferably down to an absurd level where I know everything.
Sundays are a pretty special day for you – why is that?
Well, Andy, the Bible says: “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day.” Somehow they left out the part about not wearing pants … strange, isn’t it? I try to take a picture every Sunday of me resting, on my holy day, not wearing any pants. It’s as easy as ABC guys: #nopantssunday is for everyone!
Finally, living in Sweden, you’re well positioned to travel a lot, which you do. What is the perfect travel watch in your opinion?
Yes, I love to travel! Oh, that depends, for a city trip somewhere I would bring my Datejust. But on a sunny holiday, I would go for a more sporty watch, a daily beater that works well by the pool and while exploring new places.
