Iconic timepieces are more than just their complications. Behind the manufacturer and model is the man who wore the watch and the story that they tell together. In his debut book, A Man and His Watch: Iconic Watches and Stories from the Men Who Wore Them, New York-based writer Matt Hranek explores the link between watch and wearer through interviews with some of the most notable horology enthusiasts to date.
Inspired by his own watch story — Hranek wears his father’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust — the author delves into it what influential men’s watches mean to them in a collection of stories and firsthand accounts. Hranek’s research took him to the archives of leading brands from Cartier, to TAG Heuer to Omega, culminating in a book that begins with a photograph of the legendary Paul Newman Rolex Daytona. Along with Newman’s important Rolex timepiece, the book features James Bond’s ‘Buzz Saw’ Rolex from Live and Let Die, John F Kennedy’s Presidential Inauguration Omega, chef Eric Ripert’s Vacheron Constantin Historiques and racing driver Mario Andretti’s 1967 Heuer. Kikuo Ibe, creator of the classic Casio G-Shock, speaks on his innovative timepiece, while fashion mogul Ralph Lauren opens up about his Cartier Tank Cintrée, uniting the stories of men from across the globe in this ode to horology.
A Man and His Watch comprises 100 original color photographs of more than 75 one-of-a-kind timepieces alongside their respective tales of emotional significance and humorous anecdotes. Spanning archival pieces as well as watches from photographers, artists, writers, entrepreneurs and beyond, the stories Hranek has gathered in the pages of this new book will delight collectors and history buffs alike.
A Man and His Watch: Iconic Watches and Stories from the Men Who Wore Them by Matt Hranek is available online at workman.com, priced at $35 for a hardback edition.
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