GQ Box + Papers: Eric Wind Quoted on Case Back Engravings
Cam Wolf recently highlighted the phenomenon of case back engravings within his latest installment of Box + Papers. Within the article, Wolf quoted Eric Wind on various watches with case back engravings.
“Acceptance towards engravings are changing, says Eric Wind, the owner of Wind Vintage, who moves many engraved watches. That’s especially true if the watch has fallen off a famous family tree. A recent watch came to Wind from a family member of astronaut Scott Carpenter—fittingly, it was engraved with this message on the back: “to mark man's conquest of space with time, through time, on time.” Imagine if I wrote something like that, apropos of nothing, to my son: “to the splendid ruler of all galaxies, for a past and future that belongs only to you.” So tight.”
“But appreciation for engravings spills over into even ordinary messages. Wind has another Patek Philippe that simply reads, “To Frank From Dave 1958.” Not every engraving has to stir up images of NASA astronauts floating among the stars. And anyway—can’t “To Frank From Dave” contain a story just as remarkable? That’s the kind of narrative that can sell a watch these days. “If you are into vintage watches, you're into them because of the history, condition, and studying where the watch was originally purchased and how it may have been presented,” Wind says. “They’re all part of the story.” The engraving is an important part of piecing together a watch’s story.“
A note Eric Wind wrote to his son engraved on the back of a watch.
“Yeah, people like to riff on this phrase for their own pieces. Wind recently worked with someone who got “Don’t Lose Me” in a similar font on the back of their watch.”