Watch Collector | Sagar & His Incredible Salmon Dial Collection

Hi, Please give the readers a brief introduction of yourself. (Where you are from, hobbies, job, etc)


I am Sagar from Minnesota. I work in a medical device industry in Regulatory Affairs and liaise with the US FDA to get the medical devices approved in the US. Besides work, my passion is of course watches but also I play chess in my free time and Cricket during summer. I am a foodie as well and love trying different cuisines and restaurants over the weekends.

What got you into watch collecting?

It all started when my dad gave me a Seiko 5 that he bought in his days and passed on to me during college. Back then, I used to wear quartz watches but that Seiko 5 got me into mechanical watches. It has been a wonderful journey since then.

Do you have a collecting strategy or do you just buy what you like?

My collecting strategy is simple: Buy what you like.  However, if you will see the theme of my collection, it revolves around salmon dials mostly. I am a huge fan of Seikos that have been discontinued like the SARB series. Also, I try to collect watches that are rare and not easily available. It’s all about the connections you make while hunting for your next watch.

I have to ask, whats up with the salmon dials? I noticed you have a ton in your collection & I’m sure many are also curious.

Yes, that is a great question and I get that question a lot. My journey with salmon dials started with a simple Seiko 5 SNXA11 that I bought just to try it out. It was not easy to find it and I had to buy it from a guy from Portugal. After acquiring that, I learned that there is an elusive SARB037 in salmon dial that’s very rare. I started my hunt like crazy and reaching out to everyone on instagram and eventually I found a collector in Philippines who let it go at a premium. That’s when things escalated quickly and then I ended up with 6 salmon dials in my collection. This wasn’t a fluke by any means, it was a well thought out plan to add more salmon dials into my collection as they are very beautiful in my opinion. Anyone who doesn’t have a salmon dial, I highly recommend adding one into their collection. 

What is your current favorite in the collection?

This is a very tough question but if I had to pick just one, then it will be the Daniel Roth Masters Chronograph in salmon dial. That watch is absolutely gorgeous in person. Pictures don’t do it justice in my opinion.

What made this watch stand out to you?

The guilloche pattern on the Daniel Roth Masters Chronograph is on another level. We have seen the same hues of guilloche pattern on Breguet. But again, Daniel Roth was the one who was responsible for what Breguet is today. So I can certainly see that inspiration on this chronograph. The other aspect was the case shape. The case shape is unique and only peculiar to Daniel Roth. It is something about unique case shapes that attracts me. The case shape is called Stadium case shape, ellipsocurvex or disco rectangle. 

Is there another watch in your collection that would pair perfectly with this?

Yes, there is from another master watchmaker Gerald Genta. When we think of him, we all associate him with Nautilus or Royal oak but the man designed like 100,000 watches in his career. It is my Gerald Genta Salmon dial biretrograde that pairs perfectly with Daniel Roth Masters Chronograph salmon dial . It has a unique jump hour window at the top of the dial and retrograde minutes in the middle portion and retrograde date of the month on the bottom of the dial. This is a very unique complication. Jump hour and minute repeater complications are the best complications in my honest opinion.

You recently showed me your newest acquisition, please share to our audience which piece you decided to add to the collection.

I welcomed this rare vintage Rolex Oyster Royal into my collection.This is not just any vintage Rolex. This is very rare and a collectible watch by watch aficionados. Rolex Oyster Royal 6144 with ultra rare honeycomb dial. This is rare because these were only produced for around two years between 1951 and 1953. This one in particular is from 1952 .

The honeycomb dials on vintage Rolexes are something that are not easy to come by on sale and if they come, you know they go by quickly. Rolex marketed the Oyster Royal as being ideally suited for those in the medical profession, this assertion being made on the basis that a large second hand would he easier to consult when timing a patient’s heartbeat over a sixty second period. Although not directly looking after patients, but I do work in the field that ultimately saves patients lives so adding this piece to my collection is more meaningful. The honeycomb dial on this example has aged really well and looks almost yellowish giving that nice patina on the dial. The dial is signed ‘Rolex Oyster Royal’ and ‘Shock Resisting’ and ‘Swiss’ below the 6 hour marker.The seconds hand is steel blued so depending on the light setting, it will look blue or black but it is steel blued.This rolex is housed by the manual wind cal.710 with 15 jewels. This movement was one of Rolex’s first to include shock resistant movement, hence the script on the dial. Luckily, the movement runs well at +2 seconds/ day which is exceptional considering it is almost 70 year old vintage watch.This design is one of the most timeless vintage Rolex designs originating from 1950s which continues through until this day. Perfect as a dress watch or a casual watch- choose whatever you do, it will look awesome on the wrist.

Is there a watch you would like to add to the collection?

There are some in my wish list if it’s ok to share a few of them and not just one. I really want to add the Daniel Roth Papillon 10th anniversary model in white gold or rosegold. That watch is limited to 110 pieces for each precious metal. There is one in Platinum as well which is limited to 30 pieces but that will be out of the budget for now. It is very difficult to get and highly desired by watch collectors. Next would be AP RO blue dial 15450ST and Rolex GMT Pepsi or SS daytona. I have been waiting for AP blue dial for almost two years and I think I will still need to wait before I get lucky. Same is with Rolex GMT. I hope I am able to add all these to my collection soon.


Where can people follow you?

People can follow me on instagram where I am very active. My handle is ‘watchfoodwithme’.

Contact interviewer to be featured in the Watch Collector Series – watchug@gmail.com

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Interviewer Ab – Watch Collecting Strategy Productions.

Collector – @watchfoodwithme