Four + One It's All About The Indies for Christopher Daaboul

Today names like Rexhep Rexhepi, Max Büsser, and Denis Flageollet of De Bethune command huge prices for watches that are the result of their indisputable, and covetable, genius. Somewhere in the middle – both in time and space – sits Christopher Daaboul, who fell in love with the stories of indie watchmakers well before their current boom and who now helps those same watchmakers get their pieces in the hands of clients who appreciate their stories as much as he does. Last fall, at his retail space EsperLuxe outside of Boston, Massachusetts, Daaboul and I sat and talked watches, drank coffee, and watched the world cup with a number of watch lovers who were drawn to the more unique watches he offers.

For some of the luckiest in modern watch collecting, their path was laid down by their parents or grandparents who fostered a love of horology and sometimes did their best to embody the Patek Philippe slogan of "looking after watches for the next generation." You could say Daaboul is one of those lucky ones, but the path that he and his family had to travel was harder – and farther – that most in the watch world.

"My dad has been in the watch business for over 30 years, off and on," Daaboul says. "When we lived in Lebanon my dad Maurice started selling watches with Breitling, then Favre-Leuba, and Omega, and eventually got into jewelry manufacturing. But the war there wreaked havoc on the country and the economy. Eventually, it was impossible to work with international companies when our currency had no value and his business was destroyed. He tried to make it work for so long until one day he had to wash his hands of it."

In 1997 the Daaboul family moved to the United States and started over from scratch. To support Daaboul, his sister, mom, and aunt who traveled with them, Maurice worked a few jobs until he was able to start a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that eventually, after ups and downs, grew into a successful business. Throughout all that hardship, Daaboul remembers his dad wearing a Lucien Rochat two-tone watch with a Valjoux 7750 movement, which sparked his love of watches. Whenever his father picked him up from school, Daaboul would hold his left hand and stare at the watch with its illustrated moonphase. 

With his feet firmly under him in the United States, Maurice decided he wanted to get back into the world he truly loved, watches, and started a new small company. After spending some time working in hospitality, Daaboul was eventually coaxed into joining his dad. But for a while, it wasn't quite the fun he had hoped for. But one fateful trip to Switzerland changed everything.

"We had a couple of obscure brands but I wasn't enjoying the wholesale side of the business and talking to retailers with these conversations that were kind of devoid of emotion. But I remember in 2013, we were at Baselworld and I see this like circus tent-looking thing off to the side. So I wander over into 'The Palace' as it was called and that's where everything changed for me."

"In that moment I discovered Max Büsser. I discovered Urwerk. I discovered De Bethune. Philippe Dufour had a setup at one point there. That led to eventually meeting Rexhep Rexhepi. It completely changed my outlook on what I was doing with watches. I couldn't afford any of these watches at the time but I said to myself, 'this is where the creativity is. This is where the innovation is.' You could actually talk to the people behind this stuff. It's not just a business from a number standpoint. I asked myself what I had to do to put myself on the path to create a framework to not only work with these people but bring that feeling to other folks as well, and that's what I've been doing since."

Along the way, those previously out-of-reach watches have also started to make their way into Daaboul's collection, reminding him of all the brands and watchmakers he's met that have changed both the watch world and his career. 

"The 103 is an icon of not just Urwerk as a brand, but it's an icon of independent watchmaking," Daaboul says. "That watch, to me, is really representative of the indie watch movement and its resilience. Those guys [Urwerk co-founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei] were basically going bankrupt, with something like 50 grand left in the bank before they launched the first 103, and then that watch carried them."

The UR-103 is also just an iconic watch from a design perspective. The satellite hours are nearly synonymous with Urwerk despite being pioneered and produced by others before them. But it's also a watch that could easily be released today and look just as relevant as it did 20 years ago. And for Daaboul, it's also a reminder of Urwerk's story of doing what they could to take their business, just like he and his father have.

"I've always said about indie watchmaking: 'Urwerk pioneered it, Max Büsser perpetuated it, Journe validated it.' Without Maximilian Büsser, this independent watchmaking movement that we know of today, doesn't exist. In 50 years I think we're gonna look at Max as someone who has had a bigger impact on watchmaking than we can imagine or understand right now."

And while the Legacy Machines have become popular platforms for Max Büsser and Friends to flex their horological skills, the horological machines are aesthetically so unique and creative that it's no surprise one found a home in Daaboul's collection.

"I've always been attracted to the Horological Machines. The legacy machines are awesome, they're beautiful, and they're really an ode to traditional watchmaking from MB&F's perspective. But the horological machines are where Max taps into that creative beast."

"You look at the machining and how complex it must have been, to do a small run like that, and the cost associated with the engineering, the case, the movement – all of it. How – wha – where –," Daaboul begins to stutter with excitement. "For me, originality is so important with all this stuff. The zirconium case is great, but what sold me was Max telling the story of how they designed it. They didn't want to create just a driver's watch, they wanted to create a driver's watch that's built like a car, with the design language of something like the Lamborghini Miura slant backs."

"I remember the very first time that I saw and put a DB28 on my wrist, sometime either in 2013 or 2014 – I don't remember the date but what I remember was the experience," Daaboul says. "It was in Basel and we visited the brand. I remember seeing the "Kind of Blue" and I had never seen anything like that. I was just totally smitten."

It's hard not to be, and the brand is one I've fallen in love with recently as well. Daaboul points out that no matter what other watches get attention – as the DB25 has recently – the DB28 is quintessential De Bethune. What that means, in addition to the articulating lugs and the interesting case shape, it just has a perfect balance of futuristic design with traditional high-end finishing.

"Even when the brand was almost on its deathbed, basically – they almost went bankrupt – there was still a market for it because the product was just incredible."

"What Denis [Flageollet, co-founder of De Bethune] is doing, you know, is nothing short of amazing. He's a wizard at metallurgy. And when he brings all that experience, all that know-how from his traditional watchmaking days, and he applies it to this avant-garde style of watchmaking today, I don't think anybody else is doing that."

But it's also a special watch for Daaboul for sentimental reasons. De Bethune was one of the first brands to take a flyer on letting EsperLuxe distribute their watches, "I'm living my dream."

When he decided to seek out this watch, he looked for one of the original DB28 models from 2011 that won the GPHG award and when he finally got it in his hand he turned it over and saw it was his lucky number, watch number seven. How's that for fate?

In any other collection, this watch wouldn't be the standout, but Daaboul's recent acquisition of a Breguet ref. 3350 A-Series tourbillon is definitely the most traditional and surprising watch when viewed against the other three. But there's a very smart reason why this watch became something Daaboul saw as an essential part of his collection.

"For a long time I was looking for a great early Daniel Roth," Daaboul says. "But for some reason I kept missing auctions, forgetting what day or time, and missing out on good deals back when prices were reasonable. Then they got out of hand and I started kicking myself."

"Daniel Roth is maybe not as well known in the space today as he deserves to be. He's one of the first, OG, independents. You have Roth, Svend Andersen, Vincent Calabrese, and a few others."

Early in his career, Roth spent 14 years at Breguet to help craft their modern aesthetic and that skill is shown here in full force. Daaboul explained this era of Breguet started with Roth's involvement in creating the initial Lemania movements that formed the cornerstone Breguet's resurgence with the tourbillon, perpetual calendar, and chronograph. Here we have an example of the first 100 tourbillons, with incredible hand engraving and fantastic finishing. But most importantly, it's a monument to the legacy of a master.

"Comparatively, as a physical object this necklace is nothing crazy," Daaboul says. "It's not made from precious metal or anything like that. And it's a simple story, but it means a lot to me."

"I got this on my family's first trip after the pandemic lockdown. We gathered our whole family – my parents, my sister, my brother-in-law, my wife, and our son – and to this little town in Italy called Cortona. We stayed there for about 10 days which was just kind of a reminder of how precious life is and how important it is to take the time to enjoy it together."

"I found this artist in the town that makes jewelry with brass and bronze with Etruscan writing on it and I thought it was a perfect reminder of the trip and the sentiment. I keep it on me because when things get a little difficult, it's a little reminder of what really matters."