Welcome back to an original aBlogtoWatch feature, “My First Grail Watch.” In this series, we ask prominent people in the watch industry about the first timepiece that they lusted after. Today, we are speaking with Ernie Romers, who founded something that likely all of use, have used, and continue to use – the robust watch forum Watchuseek.com. Read on to learn what sparked his fire for watches, and what watches have found a home in his collection.

aBlogtoWatch (ABTW): Who are you, and what is your relationship to the watch industry?

Ernie Romers: My name is Ernie Romers, I am the founder – and previous owner – of Watchuseek.com, the largest watch forum on the internet. My relationship with the watch industry slowly built while I was building my website. In the beginning, it was Zenith that supported me by giving me access to Baselworld, as well as documentation about their watches. It owe much thanks to Marc Roethlisberger for that. Later on, I established contacts with more and more brands, and Watchuseek (and me) became known for who and what we are.

ABTW: Can you walk us through how your fascination with watches started, and how that (ultimately) led to the creation of WUS?

Ernie Romers: It was as a teenager that I became interested in watches. I remember owning a vintage watch from an ancestor, but can’t remember the brand. It was a “tank” model. I lost it somewhere, being too incautious about it. I still regret that. Later on I bought a quartz-movement Seiko at a jeweler in Amsterdam from my first earnings. I do not know what happened to it, but I no longer own it. It was my daily beater and a good one.

After that, my wife bought me a new watch in our early years together. It was a Roger Rodin and I liked it for its design and the fact that is was a thin watch. Unfortunately, one of the lugs broke off (which is quite a stunning experience!), and it turned out that it couldn’t be fixed. Along with that, the model had been discontinued and was no longer available. I kept the piece in one of my drawers for a long time, because it was hard to part with, due to it being a gift from my wife.

That brings me to 1995, when I started to appreciate watches more and more. I noticed the Oris collection and knew I had to get one. I particularly liked their alarm watch, the regulator series, and the big crown collection. I ended up getting a few from a local jeweler to try on, and decided on the Big Crown Small Second watch (Ref. 640 7463 40 61). It was the first time I was spending a serious amount of money on a watch. I still own the watch, but it does not get worn anymore. Why? Well, at 36mm without the crown, it simply seems to small for my wrist (and personal taste) nowadays, especially with modern watch sizes being what they are. That said, I will never get rid of it.

After that purchase, it was really my brother-in-law who lit the fire I call my passion for watches. He came back from a business trip and showed me a vintage Universal Geneva and a Raketa Pilot’s watch that he had bought on the trip. He also gave me a book about watches. After that, I started seeking more information about watches on the Internet. I started building a website with links to watches, manufacturers and information about watches; that later on evolved into what Watchuseek.com is today. Even the name of the site came from those early beginnings. My links page was called “Watch you seek is Watch you get!” because it helped people to find news and information quickly. The site really started to grow when I added forums; the first two were about Oris and Zenith watches.

ABTW: What was your first grail watch?

Ernie Romers: A grail must be viewed in the period one is growing into watches. For me, the Oris Big Crown was perhaps my very first grail watch ever. It’s the watch I wanted so badly. I saved up for a while, and finally could buy it. Along with it being my grail, it was also It my very first mechanical watch. That said, I find it hard to identify a grail watch as cleanly as that first one, at least these days. This is because I believe there is a new grail every now and then, and so much depends on your age and personal tastes.

It’s like cars. There is always a model to adore, to lust for, but there will also always be new models that cause the same feeling, that make you think: “One day, I would love to own that.” The watch industry keeps amazing me in that sense. One would say that a watch is based on a technique to tell the time, simple as that. Basically, that’s true, but what watchmakers like Dufour, Prescher, Benoit, the Grönefeld brothers, and many others come up with, is simply out of this world. I could also mention brands like HYT, Urwerk, Hautlence. But also Omega, Zenith, Lange und Söhne, Nomos, Jaeger-LeCoultre, etcetera. Being Dutch, I would love to own a Grönefeld Parallax, but that will not likely ever happen (given the pricing). Therefore, I cherish my good old Oris, and am very fond of my IWC Portuguese 7-days, my Jaeger-LeCoultre perpetual calendar watch (bought it at a good price due to it being discontinued and slightly used), and my vintage Zenith Rainbow Flyback.

ABTW: That’s quite a nice collection. What drew you to that very first one, the Oris?

Ernie Romers: When it comes to the Oris, it was the beauty of it, and the fact it had a mechanical movement with automatic winding. Like I said, it was my first “real” watch. After some time, I got more interested in certain “complications” in a watch, like the perpetual calendar and the 7 days power reserve technique.

ABTW: Quite obviously, you were able to afford the Oris. For the others you picked up, how long did it take you to acquire them?

Ernie Romers: The Jaeger-LeCoultre is the watch I could afford only later on in my life and after many years of collecting affordable watches from brands like Doxa, Stowa, Anonimo, Oris. And after lots of saving, of course!

ABTW: In the course of chasing other grails, many sometimes end up selling earlier acquisitions. Do you think you’ll ever do that?

Ernie Romers: I still have the Oris Big Crown and the Zenith, IWC, and JLC I mentioned before, and it is very unlikely I will ever sell them. It is much more likely my son will get them after I am gone.

ABTW: Obviously, you put a lot of time and effort into building WUS, and your passion for watches is still there. What’s next for you – will it be in the industry, or are you heading in a different direction?

Ernie Romers:  My passion for watches will always be there, no doubt. I have not yet decided if my next venture will be in the industry or not. I enjoy my free time, but ideas keep popping up in my head.

We’ll see if one of these ideas will ever come to fruition and become reality. One of the possibilities might be something to do with art, another (growing) passion. For now, I will stick to following the news, blogs, forums, and magazines.