Introducing
@lunavintatewatch
Watch collecting and all activities which stem from it reaches far and wide to all four corners of the earth. Anywhere we can find a budding watch enthusiast or seasoned collector and we are all linked to each other by our shared passion for these instruments that measure time. Like blackholes that create highways between two galaxies (at least that’s how it’s explained in Interstellar but don’t quote me on it) horology creates shortcuts between people. Between those who adore various types of watches, who see them as tools we humans use to keep track of time and be organized but also as objects through which we can express ourselves. And more importantly, perhaps, as vehicles to tell stories about ourselves and us people, us humans. That’s how many see watches and that is definitely how today’s protagonist sees them.
Thanks to Instagram I got to virtually meet Thuy a.k.a. @lunavintagewatch. Thuy is Vietnamese and an avid collector of vintage watches as well as being a creative and skilled photographer, although she wouldn’t describe herself as being the latter. (I invite you to already take a look at her Instagram so that we can agree that she’s very good at it.) Thus far the stories from Women in Horology have taken us to the United States, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Through Thuy’s story we’re going to take the longest trip yet, geographically speaking, from where I’m based in France. As we will see, her story is one of connection, history, and of being resilient, three qualities which transpire through her photography and storytelling and which prompted me to want to write about her.
So thank you my new friend for accepting to speak with me and for allowing me to write this article about you.
Thuy a.k.a. @lunavintagewatch
It All Began with a Singing Clock
Having written several profile stories on women watch enthusiasts, content creators, and professionals, and on male ones as well, more often than not the hero of our story got into the hobby by way of a parent, close or distant, who was into watch collecting or who wore them on a daily basis. And it was seeing the watches on that person’s wrist which prompted her or him to ask questions and to want to learn more about these small mechanical timekeeping devices. For Thuy, it all began when she was very young with a vintage table-top singing clock her parents had. A small chicken would chime (sing) on the hour in a glorious melody which mesmerized her. She used to sit in front of it to study it and continue to be marveled by the small spectacle and the sound that filled the room around her.
Her next contact with watches came from an aunt who, for a time, lived and worked in Russia. There she bought a watch, as many people did many years ago in order to get things done and be organized. However, upon her return to Vietnam, she stopped wearing the watch so she gifted it to Thuy. The watch in question was a tiny hand-winding mechanical masterpiece, who the latter enjoyed winding every morning at the same hour. Already back then she liked the fact that this watch was linked to someone she knew and that it already had a few stories to tell. But Thuy was curious about the mechanics inside which she would diligently interact with everyday, so her father opened the case-back to show her what was inside. That is when, according to Thuy, she fell in love with watches. However, for a long time she didn’t have the means to buy watches.
For future collector Thuy, the watches she received were quartz as the latter technology was deemed more reliable and easier to use than mechanical ones. (For women, maybe?) Fast forward many years, things changed dramatically when Thuy met an expat who goes by the name Gabriele (a.k.a.@gabe_watch on Instagram.) Thuy and Gabriele worked together (more on that later) and the latter, not speaking good enough Vietnamese at the time, asked the former to help him find a watchmaker to repair his watch. She obliged and together they went to a friendly repair shop which not only fixed Gabriele’s watch but also showed them the workshop and the insides of watches. The shop had many vintage models and they became hooked. Together they started to regularly look for vintage watches and Gabriele eventually became a reseller.
Thuy Collects Vintage Watches and This is Why
As we know, most watches Thuy owned at first were quartz. She never clicked with battery-operated timekeeping devices and so started to buy mechanical ones. The first one she bought for herself is a small lady’s watch from 1974, a Seiko 2208-0520 which she cherished but one which did not set the pace for her future watch collecting habits. Indeed, of her now 30-ish watch collection most of them are men's vintage watches. Why? Because most vintage watches she finds were for men and because they show a greater variety of style and functionality compared to the few which were made for women. Even though one might think that things have changed a lot in the past few years in terms of how women watch enthusiasts are perceived by their male counterparts, the truth is that things haven’t changed as much as they should have. Thuy is one of the few women she knows of in Vietnam who collects watches and vintage ones at that.
More importantly, Thuy chose to collect vintage watches because of their potential for telling stories. Stories about people and time periods which were not always grand and worth celebrating, but stories nevertheless and some which we ought to remember. Thuy indicated that many shops take apart old watches to recycle precious metals, for example gold, which were used for the movements and cases. And the idea of destroying beautiful watches—and the stories they could have told someone—saddens her. For Thuy, old items should be reused, watches included of course, so that we can learn their stories and which past events or people they are connected to, and to see that they can continue on living regardless of their past. Like people who go through difficult and challenging times, we need to heal on and move on, to continue living and to create new stories.
One such story and one which is perhaps the most meaningful to Thuy is that of her vintage Seiko Willard. As we know, Thuy is Vietnamese and her family lived through the tragic Vietnam War. The Willard was issued to many American soldiers on account of being robust enough to withstand the hot and humid climate of Vietnam and the intensity of combat. And while American soldiers were issued one of several models—from Seiko, Bulova, Benrus, Tornek-Rayville and Glycine—there is no litterature pertaining to the watches worn by Vietnamese soldiers. So owning a Willard from that time period is extremely meaningful to Thuy. Moreover, vintage watches come with scratches, dings, and heavy patina’d dials which she sees not as something that should disappear or be made anew, but as beautiful marks from well-lived lives.
And again, just like we humans should keep on living despite our physical and emotional scars, so should watches.
Her Work and the Watch Community
As promised, we are circling back to what Thuy does for a living as it contributes to painting a full picture of who she is. When she is not shopping for vintage watches or photographing them, Thuy is a full-time language teacher. She teaches Vietnamese to foreigners and English to Vietnamese people, mostly children. Her pupils have taken an interest in her vintage watches which she wears daily at work to keep track of the unfolding of each lesson (instead of pulling out a smartphone). Each lesson lasts between 30 and 40 minutes and she found it easier to keep track of time by taking a quick glance at her wrist rather than a cumbersome phone. Sometimes she lets her students wear her watches and she has taken the habit of drawing watches on the wrists of her pupils. (By doing so Thuy is most likely creating the next generation of watch collectors in Vietnam)
Speaking of watch collecting, unfortunately there isn’t much happening in terms of a watch community in Vietnam. Thuy told me that there are a few groups of enthusiasts who get together and swap watches, but these groups are mostly made up of men and so she hasn’t found her crowd, at least not at home. A few of her colleagues wear watches but they are mostly quartz and fashion ones to match their outfits and not to be used as tools to keep track of time or, as we’ve seen to be important to Thuy, as vehicles to tell stories. But she did find her community through Instagram and the international and virtual watch fam we all cherish so much.
Instagram and Thuy's Photography
For many years Thuy wore watches but didn’t photograph them. However, as an avid watch collector she turned to Facebook and Instagram to expand her knowledge of horology and while doing so, noticed something that we could all have naturally expected and which is very typical. Most people who posted photos of watches were men wearing watches made for them, rarely did she see women sharing their passion for horology, except for one whose posts had an impact on Thuy. She thought it would be nice to see a woman wear watches, especially vintage watches made for men. She felt inspired and motivated to create an Instagram account and to start posting about her expansive vintage watch collections, showcasing her favorite Seiko’s, Rado’s, and Omega’s. Her drive for doing so and to get her Instagram debut was to spread her love for watches and to show other women that they should do the same.
When she first got started photographing her watches, Thuy used an old Samsung smartphone which took subpar photos. Then she switched to a modern iPhone and she started to get attention from other collectors and Instagramers. Her process is simple yet yields amazing results combining better technology and her natural creative instinct and distinct personality. She shoots stills and videos using a tripod on portrait mode and does so only a couple of times a week. She edits the photos and videos directly through the built-in iPhone app to do some minor color corrections and cropping. (I have a similar process.) Through Instagram she has been learning to better her photography through the work of others, by asking questions and by receiving positive comments and words of encouragement on her work. Moreover, thanks to Instagram she is able to expand her circle of friend watch enthusiasts and to not only tell stories about her vintage watches but also to learn the stories of people’s watches and what they mean to them.
Conclusion: Connecting and Inspiring
Thuy’s mission to spread her love for vintage watches is working. More and more often she receives messages from people who got into vintage watch collecting after seeing her posts. Thuy takes outstanding photos of outstanding vintage watches but she also has her own ways of reviving said watches by presenting them in a new light—her light—and by wearing them everyday regardless of what she’s up to. Thuy shared how happy she is to wear vintage watches, some of which are twice as old as she is, and to see that they keep on ticking. By being their new guardian, by taking good care of them, Thuy not only honors the stories of the people who owned them before her and the events the watches are connected to, but she also perpetuates their raison d’être by adding new stories of her own.
Vintage watches are beautiful to Thuy, whether they were made for men or women, as she simply enjoys wearing “vintage watches.” Nothing more, nothing else. Before I go shopping for vintage watches, I again encourage you to check out her Instagram account @lunavintagewatch to discover her work and the fabulous watches she has as well as to discover the many stories they have to tell.
Thanks for reading.