In the late 1990s, now a well-known photographer working on major advertising campaigns, the Indian boy who had been taught that material objects were meaningless suddenly became curious about watches. “Before that, I only had a Timex – one time, I bought a quartz TAG Chrono,” he says.” Now I have become interested in the science of watches – how they make movements, why one is more interesting than the other. I began to notice that watches are not just about telling time.”
Then it started, with the purchase. Vadoukour was on another big shoot in St. Barts for an advertising client who wanted a nice watch and asked him to come along.” Fine,” he says, “but I’m not buying anything.” Later that afternoon, he walked out of the store with three exact replica watches. Two Jaeger-LeCoultre and an IWC. “Are you happy with what you bought?” The stylist at the shoot asked.” No!” Vadoukour replied.” I don’t feel comfortable.” He has little twins at home, and it feels irresponsible to spend $50,000.” Well, then you’ll have to work harder,” the stylist joked.” So I did,” he says now.” I upped the ante.”
He also began periodically ducking into Cellini’s in midtown Manhattan. That’s where he first learned about Lange’s – which dates back to 1845, was interrupted for decades by World War II, and finally re-established in 1990. He bought two: a Lange 1 (“a superb piece of architecture”) and a platinum Sax-O-Mat, which he later lost in a cab.” It doesn’t matter,” he says, now that the pain in his voice has subsided somewhat.” That’s why you have insurance!”
A man with a Graham watch on his wrist
Vadoukour began swapping watches with other fanatics, like collector Ed Razek, who had hired him to shoot some Victoria’s Secret commercials – with Heidi Klum, Stephanie Seymour, and Letitia Casta.” I like Graham because of its British heritage,” Vadoukour said. Its namesake allegedly invented the first seaworthy clock.” I only have Swiss or German fake rolex for sale. But Ed said, ‘You’re too young to wear it.’ He was right – but I traded him a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch anyway.”
Twenty years on, he now feels qualified to wear such a sophisticated beast.” You have to be mature to wear certain watches. If you wear that watch out of proportion to your age and life accomplishments, you’ll look like an idiot. There are certain watches you shouldn’t wear. As a 25-year-old photographer, I would look ridiculous wearing a Lange 1. But as a Silver Fox”-he pauses and laughs to himself-“when I put this King Kong watch on my skinny, bony wrist, it looks good!”