It is well known that Hansjörg Roshard, watchmaker and manager of the vintage department at Huber, had and still has a soft spot for beautiful watches. It is also no secret that the market for collector's watches has grown steadily over the last 15 years and that attention to them has increased around the globe due to digitalisation. In addition, the demand for vintage watches was obviously there, as more and more acquaintances from the Huber environment showed an interest in such watches. And last but not least, reports in the Financial Times, among others, fuelled interest in such treasures at Huber Fine Watches & Jewellery. These were all good reasons for Norman Huber to push ahead with this line of business in his traditional family company. After all, Huber is a factor in the world of special watches: the company has four locations in Vaduz, Lech am Arlberg, the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz and Bregenz. Norman Huber's uncle Roland, a watchmaker, ran the shop on Rathausplatz, where the "Huber World of Watches" is located today. His father Adrian, a goldsmith, was at home in Städtle 34, today's "Weisse Würfel". The "White Cube" The year 2015 marked a milestone in the story of Huber Fine Watches & Jewellery, when the "White Cube" was completed. After taking almost eight years to design and construct, this unique building has been adorning Vaduz city centre since May 2015. Huber set up its business premises here, with the new environment giving Norman Huber the idea of entering the vintage market. And so it was that Huber Vintage was born, with Hansjörg Roshard at its helm. When does a watch become vintage? On establishing this new line of business, certain criteria had to be defined, such as when exactly does a watch become vintage? The answer is that the timepieces must be at least 25 years old and in good condition, otherwise they are revised and refurbished in the workshop. Then in 2017 the first Vintage Lounge was set up next to the workshop on the first floor of the "World of Watches" and opened its doors to visitors. The first exhibition in the Huber Vintage Lounge also featured watches belonging to private collectors. The people who were involved look back fondly on a very special event that was memorable not only for the beautiful timepieces but also for some very special cars and the whole remarkable ambience. After some time, there were further alterations in the building. The new Lounge and the workshop were moved up to the third floor, where the Lounge opened after the pandemic on 21 November 2021. Tokenisation of the Royal Oak 14802ST Another milestone in Huber's vintage history was reached on 18 May 2022, when the VP Bank tokenised a watch in Liechtenstein for the first time. Now the "Royal Oak 14802ST", a vintage model from Norman Huber's collection, is represented on a blockchain. The showcasing for this tokenisation process took place in the Vintage Lounge of Huber's Vaduz watchmaking business. Tokenisation is the process of representing real-world rights on a digital blockchain. In the case of the watch, the tokens represent the right of ownership, which means that the owner of the token is also the legal owner of the underlying watch. The effect is that, for the first time, the right of ownership over real assets can be edited, transferred or shared. Vintage, to be continued.    

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In the Huber Vintage Lounge, every watch tells a story. Take, for example, the Omega "Very Best" pocket watch belonging to a Mrs Dätwyler. Hansjörg Roshard, of Huber Vintage Timepieces, was stunned when Mrs Dätwyler, née Kaiser, walked into his office and laid a very special treasure on his desk: an Omega "Very Best" timepiece, calibre 43.15, dating from the 1930s. Mrs Dätwyler was asking for this precious item to be valued, so she could perhaps pass it on to her family. Hansjörg Roshard was no less stunned when Mrs Dätwyler told him the history of this timepiece: her grandfather, Josef Kaiser, was the owner of the Kaiser watch-making company and had had four identical watches made, three for his three sons, while the fourth he kept for himself. He bought the first two in 1931, and the next two in 1937. One of these precious items was lost in the war and one remained in the family's possession. Of the other two, there is alas no trace. JK – A forward-looking collector Originally, each of the four watches bore the initials of its owner. The idea was that the timepieces would demonstrate the family's closeness. Following the death of his father Josef, Rudolf Kaiser became joint owner of the eponymous firm of watchmakers and he must have been more than aware of the value of these family heirlooms. For Hansjörg Roshard, the specialist at Huber, it was clear that he had the honour of holding a remarkable piece of timepiece history in his hand. And, as luck would have it, Mrs Dätwyler had instinctively come to the right place: not just by coming to Huber, but also because Roshard was in touch with one of the most famous Omega collectors of all, who was able to help him with his expertise in this case. It just shows the value of networking! 750 Reichsmark We are not revealing the current resale value of the little gem here, but we will say that, in the 1930s, Josef Kaiser's watches cost 750 Reichsmark each to make. If that isn't much help, then let's say for comparison purposes that official sources set the value of the Reichsmark at the equivalent of around 4.40 euros (1931) or 4.50 euros (1937). So, if we can believe the mathematicians, that equates to about 3300 euros today. But that's only the amount the watch cost then, adjusted for relative purchasing power. To compare: that same year, Tiffany & Co. sold a Patek Philippe minute repeater pocket watch with perpetual calendar, moon phases, chronograph and 30-minute timer, for 2835 Swiss francs. But a standard pocket watch with an 18-carat gold housing and 20-lignes movement could be had for 385 Swiss francs. Precision movements with low tolerances The fact that this watch cost almost 40% of the price of a highly-complex Patek Philippe and more than four times that of the same company's standard product was due to the cost of manufacturing such a precision movement. Precision movements are made with far less mechanical tolerance than normal watch movements and often take just as long to manufacture and regulate as more complicated movements. Neither party is disclosing the current value of the watch. We asked Mrs Dätwyler what would happen to the watch now: "I would like to know that this beautiful timepiece is in the hands of someone who values the Omega as it deserves to be," she says. That's why it has now passed into the ownership of the collector referred to above. Complete with its certificate and original packaging, of course. It enhances his collection with another important chapter in the history of these Made in Switzerland timepieces.

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