Suryaman Shakya has over a hundred watches in his collection and he plans to keep adding to it for as long as he can. He believes adding watches to his ever growing collection adds value to his life as well. “Every watch has a story to tell and brings back fond memories. My collection inspires me to collect more watches and preserve the ones I already have,” says Shakya.
Shakya’s journey of collecting watches started when he was a child. “During those days, you couldn’t easily buy a watch. It was something to aspire for and that made me hope to be a collector of all kinds of watches one day,” he explains. Shakya used to pass by watch stores and be fascinated by all the shiny items on display. He often found himself wondering how it would be to own such fancy items and vowed to buy one as soon as he could.
Today, Shakya calls himself an appreciator more than a collector. Even when he started his collection, he did so for himself rather than to show off as most people would. The watches in his collection are either bought by Shakya from authorized dealers or are gifts from friends who know about his passion.
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“There are also some instances when I told my friends that I would fix their antique watch and return it to them,” he continues, “But the watches that came to me never went back to their owner.” So in a way, he confesses, he tricked his friends into giving him some of their old watches. “But they would have just tossed it away. I, on the other hand, have preserved them,” he says.
Recently, Shakya added an antique Rolex watch to his collection. The process of acquiring old watches in workable condition is tiresome but Shakya is so passionate about expanding his collection that he doesn’t let anything get in his way.
“Sometimes deals don’t come through because of financial disagreements during the final negotiations but I always find a way to get a watch I want,” says the collector who cleans the items in his collection every single day.
Shakya also doesn’t shy away from inviting family members over to showcase his prized collection but of late, he confesses, he is doing less of that because he wants to focus on repairing some items that don’t work. “I don’t just want to keep adding to my collection but also want to look into its utility factor now,” he says adding that a watch is more than just a timekeeper. They are physical reminders of a time and place, and have certain memories attached to them. And that is precious and deserves to be preserved.
