Charlotte and Peter Fiell on Watch Collecting, Curation, and Storytelling

About this episode

Ariel Adams interviews design historians Charlotte and Peter Fiell about their book on watch collecting and the cultural significance behind it.

In this episode of Superlative, aBlogtoWatch founder and our host Ariel Adams speaks with design historians and authors Charlotte Fiell and Peter Fiell about their ambitious book Ultimate Collector Watches, published by TASCHEN. The conversation explores how the duo approached curating some of the most important watches ever made, from analyzing auction results to balancing representation across brands, eras, and complications. They explain why brands like Patek Philippe and Rolex dominate the high end collector space, while also sharing the challenges of expanding beyond those names to create a broader and more thoughtful narrative. Charlotte and Peter also dive into the deeper cultural and psychological aspects of collecting, from the importance of origin and rarity to the emotional connection collectors form with objects. They discuss the storytelling behind iconic timepieces, the role of design and engineering in shaping desirability, and how access to rare watches and private collections helped bring the book to life. Their conversation offers both a behind the scenes look at creating one of the most comprehensive watch books ever published and a thoughtful exploration of…

People in this episode

Host: Ariel Adams

Guests: Charlotte Fiell, Peter Fiell

Topics covered

• watch collecting
• curation
• storytelling
• design history
• emotional connection
• cultural aspects

Keywords

• watch collecting
• curation
• storytelling
• design
• Patek Philippe
• Rolex
• emotional connection
• auction results

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: aBlogtoWatch, TASCHEN, Patek Philippe, Rolex

Products: Ultimate Collector Watches

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