I found my way into vintage watches while learning the jewellery trade from my grandad. He was a major inspiration — a watchmaker who started his business in the 1940s above a dentist’s surgery in Exeter, England. We worked side-by-side through his late eighties into his early nineties, and those years were full of moments I’ll never forget.

One in particular changed everything. He opened the safe one afternoon and pulled out two gold Rolexes: a champagne-dial Day-Date ref. 18038, and then the one that really stopped me in my tracks — a Day-Date Oysterquartz ref. 19018 with a burl wood dial. I’d never seen anything like it. The grain of the wood, the unusual lines of the yellow-gold case, the way it felt so different from anything else. That was the moment I was completely hooked on vintage timepieces.

In July 2023, I decided to turn that obsession into something real and launched Doble Vintage Watches full-time. I’ve always been drawn to gold and to the crossover between jewellery and watch design — the craftsmanship, the character and the individuality that cannot be replicated by modern watches.

Roo Doble