You can tell a lot about a man from the watch that he’s wearing. Luckily for us, the gents on the following pages know what to choose when it comes to the best wrist candy out there.
Sasha Lytvyn, Photographer
Which watch are you currently wearing?
I have a few variations of vintage tanks, mostly from the ’70s and ’80s, but my everyday winner is a vintage Paris Dial Tank Louis Cartier from the ’60s.
What made you want this watch?
I don’t want to repeat the obvious but it’s the most iconic watch in history. Obviously it’s been engraved into our minds by the media over the course of a hundred years but, putting all judgments aside, it is the most elegant yet simple design out there. And the best design, as we all know, is minimal and distilled to the bare bones. It’s light and simply beautiful. So yes, if something is as relevant as it was almost 65 years ago, I think the description “iconic” is well deserved.
How did you come to acquire it?
It’s a very long story, but I like to think the watch found its way to me. It was acquired from an auction house in the UK, and after a long month that seemed to last a century it finally made its way here to New York. If any of you have had to deal with auction houses in Europe and the UK postal service you will know what I mean.
Sasha wears vintage Paris Dial Tank Louis Cartier
Is there a story behind this particular watch?
Yes, it used to belong to Richard Avedon. In 1971 he gifted it to his studio manager and darkroom printer Peter Waldman, who worked with Avedon from 1967 to 1971. The watch isengraved “To Peter On Graduation Day, with Love Dick. Dec 22, 1971. Apparently Richard liked to throw big celebrations when someone from the studio was leaving to go on their own, and he liked to call it Graduation Day. Based on the research I did, you can spot the Tank Louis on Avedon’s wrist in the majority of photos dated before 1971, and he’s seen wearing the Santos model in his later years. After the watch arrived, I wondered if the brown wrist strap was original or had been replaced by Peter, as the leather was dried up and cracked from salts and sweat over the years. I decided to restore the band, keep the dial untouched, and give the movement a complete overhaul, as it was not properly setting time. This summer, while the movement was in service, I had friends from Paris visiting and we went to their parents’ house in Connecticut. On my route home I had this urge to stop by a vintage bookstore despite it being almost 40 minutes out of my way. I walked in and asked if they had any photo books. One that caught my eye was Lartigue: Album of a Century about [the French photographer and painter] Henri Lartigue—my fingers slipped inside and the book literally opened to a spread of photos of Richard Avedon during a photoshoot in his studio captured by Lartigue in 1966. On each photograph you could spot the little Tank Louis on Dick’s wrist and a few of them were close enough to notice the details of the grain pattern and the stitching of the brown leather Cartier strap. So there was my answer—and a moment of magic personally curated for me by the universe. A week or two later I received an email from Gary Waldman, Peter’s nephew, confirming what I already knew.
Why is it your favorite?
The sentimental value of this watch is huge. The fact that it belonged to one of the greatest masters of the medium I work in and whose work I respect and love is almost spiritual. You can’t put a price tag on it, it’s priceless. It’s like a morning ritual to wind it every day and know that this little physical thing serves as a thread between me and a whole different era. It links two realities across time. You can’t deny it, you just feel it. It’s a little symbol of magic.
On what occasions do you wear this watch?
You can call it a daily driver. It’s with me almost every day—weekdays and weekends, on sets and photoshoots, holidays and travels.
What would be your ideal or dream timepiece?
I think I’m already there with the Louis, but we all know that urge is always there. I’ve been looking at old [Rolex] 30mm Bubblebacks, but I have to say I’ve been content lately and stopped searching, as it’s a slippery slope. We will always trick ourselves into believing we need a new toy and there will always be some other vintage piece out there. I kinda analyzed my little obsession and a new, fresh idea to create something new instead was born out of it.
Tell us about some of your favorite watches in your collection.
Not sure any other watch beats this one, but I also have a few prototypes of something new I’m working on. You can’t reinvent the wheel, but I’m taking a bid and enjoying this new-for-me creative process.
Who would you ever trade watches with?
Maybe Richard himself, but we both know it won’t happen in this reality, so this one will have to get passed down in generations.
Are you always on time?
Ask my girlfriend!
Taken from 10 Magazine Issue 04 – MUSIC, TALENT, CREATIVE – on newsstands now. Order your copy here.
ME & MY WATCH
Text IMAN DABBOUS
Portrait SASHA LYTVYN
