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This week in PostMag: collection obsessions for rare vinyl, vintage watches and bespoke furniture
Why do collectors collect? What fires their passion for that rare timepiece, that limited edition record, that work of art, or that piece of furniture?
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Welcome to our first collecting issue.
What drives someone to build a collection? That’s the question, in part, we set out to answer. I am, admittedly and decidedly, an amasser of things but not a collector. I’ve got half of the equation (sentimentality) but lack the intentionality required in curating a set of objects. I open the door and let it all in.
But the people in our stories have a much more deliberate approach. We spoke with vinyl obsessives, watch nerds and furniture fanatics – I say this all with the utmost affection, impressed by their passion.
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One recent evening at the Rosewood Hong Kong’s private members’ club, Carlyle & Co, Sumnima Kandangwa and I sat down with some of the city’s most passionate watch aficionados. I left newly able to fling around terms such as “wrist shot” and “Chronomètre Bleu”. Yes, me, someone with only a passing interest in timepieces. That’s one of the best things about this job: you get to borrow someone else’s obsession for a while.
Lauren James dives into the city’s growing vinyl scene. Some are deep in it, trading hot stampers while others are just beginning, picking up albums before they even have a turntable. If you care about high-fidelity, this one’s for you.
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In a story that traipses across the globe, Fionnuala McHugh enters the world of mid-century furniture with Ross Urwin, who hunts for treasure in freezing Brussels markets, sources for Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and outfits a home in Australia.
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