Geneva
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Julien Schaerer
Managing Director & Watch Expert
Julien Schaerer joined Antiquorum USA as a Watch Director and Expert in August of 2005. Originally from Switzerland, he was introduced to the world of horology by his father who is an enthusiastic collector himself. His interest in timepieces further developed subsequent to working as an assistant at 16 at major auction houses during sales times. After earning his BSBA in marketing, Julien moved to New York where he worked at an advertising firm as a rep on significant accounts such as Citibank and Cointreau.Ultimately, he was lured back to horology and embarked upon his career as a watch expert at the then recently created auction house Phillips dePury & Luxembourg. During his years there, they achieved many world records, most notably for Patek Phillipe and Rolex wristwatches. From Phillips dePury & Luxembourg he moved to Bonhams, another world renowned auction house, where he was involved with and responsible for the conception and development of the European watch department which encompassed sales in both Geneva and Gstaad. After which, he became the Watch Director and Expert at Antiquorum New York. Amongst the timepieces that Julien is particularly passionate about is the Tudor watch brand, desk timepieces from the Art Deco period to the 60’s and sport watches from the 1950’s-70’s.
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Etienne Lemenager
Director & Watch Expert
Etienne Leménager is an enthusiastic expert on pocket watches, wristwatches and clocks. Born in 1973 in Normandy, France, he studied at the "Ecole d'horlogerie de Paris" and, after having passed his "baccalauréat technique d'horlogerie", completed several training courses to further his knowledge.Etienne Leménager joined Antiquorum’s horology workshop as trainee in 1996 upon the recommendation of its former consultant and expert on antique watches, Jean-Claude Sabrier. Subsequently, Etienne was promoted to Director of the workshop and, only three years later, Watch Expert. An accomplished watchmaker, Etienne Leménager is today Director of Antiquorum’s Geneva showroom. He is responsible for watch valuations and private treaty sales to local and worldwide clients. Etienne is together with the other experts, looking after watch valuations and is a key person in the preparation of Antiquorum's auctions in Geneva, New York and Hong Kong.
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Richard Chadwick
Director Antiquorum London & Horological Consultant
With his experience of more than fifteen years of auctions, Richard Chadwick is one of the best known figures in the British clock and watch world. Richard started his career with Sotheby's in 1988 and established in 1990 the clocks and watches sales department in Chester before returning to their Bond Street headquarters for a further two years. Then, he joined Christie’s London as head of their watch department where he was responsible from 1994 to 2002 for organizing the most successful and memorable watch sales to be held in London by this auction house in the past decade. Richard’s particular interest in antique pocket watches and enamels as well as his very broad knowledge of the world of horology has allowed him to make several important discoveries. His expertise is also widely recognized by the community of British collectors and research institutions including the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Wallace Collection and the Royal Collection. He is a Freeman of The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers and a Freeman of The City of London.Richard promotes Antiquorom’s expertise and services to our British clients, with whom he maintains long established relationships, and sources watches during this frequent travels in the United Kingdom. Along with our team of experts and consultants, he contributes as Watch Expert and writer to the production of Antiquorum’s catalogues worldwide.
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Thomas Perazzi
Watch Expert
Born in Switzerland, Thomas Perazzi was exposed to and developed an interest in watchmaking from a very early age. His interest began with a particular fondness for modern watches. At the age of 18, he discovered the incredible world of vintage watches while being an active participant in the watch market and a regular at the most important watch shows in Italy. After he completed his studies in Economics, he decided to turn his passion into a profession. He joined Antiquorum in 2006 as an assistant in the Milan office, and later launched the Italian version of TimeZone.com, the most important Internet watch forum, where he is the present administrator. In July 2007, he was transferred to Antiquorum’s headquarters in Geneva as a junior watch expert with the catalogue production team. In 2008, Thomas was promoted to watch expert and became the Director of the Milan office. He now travels extensively between Geneva and Milan, the two most significant cities of the European watch market, where he advises his customers about the world of fine timepieces. Thomas, being a passionate wristwatch aficionado, is constantly researching rare timepieces. He is fascinated by the history of these rare objects and considers them not only instruments for keeping time, but also as trusty companions in life. Mr. Perazzi is particularly interested in both vintage and modern Omega and Rolex timepieces and contributes extensive research to the history of these two important brands.
New York
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Michael Friedman
Horological Director
Michael Friedman joins Antiquorum in January, 2012 as Horological Director of the New York office. Michael's career in watches and clocks began in 1996 at the Willard House & Clock Museum where he held the position of Assistant Curator and also apprenticed to Willard House conservator, David Gow. In 1997, he joined The National Watch & Clock Museum as Curator where he co-developed 15,000 square feet of new exhibition space devoted to the history of time measurement. Two years later, in 1999, Michael was named Vice President and Department Head of Watches for Christie's in New York. After successfully growing sales and bringing many new collectors to Christie's, he founded MLF Horology in 2003 which provides consultant and curator services for several international collectors, with particular focus on Patek Philippe collections. Recently, in the last half of 2011, Michael has served as a consultant to Sotheby's Watch Department in New York. Michael has also worked on a variety of charity auctions including those benefiting Eric Clapton's Crossroads Centre (2004) and the Stan Lee Foundation (2010). In addition to horology and auctions, Michael is the production partner to documentary filmmaker and television director, Bradley Beesley, and together they recently founded Roadside Media. Mr. Friedman's areas of consistent study and focus are Patek Philippe, mid 20th century wristwatches, complicated pocket watches, enamel watches, Willard Clocks and horological art.
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Nathaniel Borgelt
Watch Expert
Born in Nevada, Nate Borgelt joined the Antiquorum team as a Watch Specialist in January, 2011. Always interested in mechanical objects, his love of watches and watchmaking began when he received his first Mickey Mouse watch as a child. Beginning with an interest in early American timepieces, Nate eventually expanded his passion to 19th century timepieces and automata. After graduating college with a degree in the history of Indigenous Cultures, Nate joined Christie’s auction house, working first in client services, and then as a bid clerk and assistant to the auctioneer. It was there that he realized he wanted to pursue a career in horology. After leaving Christie’s in 2008, Nate moved to Patrizzi & Co. Auctioneers and became the youngest Watch Expert in the industry. Over the past three years Nate has been fortunate to be exposed to a plethora of unique and collectible timepieces and has become a regular at North American watch shows. Nate's particular interests are the Cartier brand, watches from the turn of the century to the 1950's, and Art Deco pocket watches and clocks.
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Erich Lorenz
Consultant & Rolex Expert
Erich Lorenz was born and raised in Baden-Baden, Germany. In 1951, he started a four year apprenticeship in horology with Link Jewellers in Baden, Baden. His training included technical theory: the making of watch parts, and the required tools, technical drawing and service techniques. In 1955, he graduated from the Handwerkskammer in Karlsruhe, Germany. After completing his studies, he started working for Kueffer Jewellers in Waaedenswill, Switzerland as a service technician. The three years he spent there provided him with an excellent knowledge of horology as well as served as a springboard for a lifetime career in the field. His love of watches took him to the United States in 1960 where he began to work for Longines-Wittnauer in New York. The following year he was offered a job at Rolex Watch USA Inc in New York as a service technician. His responsibilities steadily evolved: from Foreman of the service facility, to Consumer Service Representative, to Technical Manager, to Public Relations spokesperson (while simultaneously conducting counterfeit watch identification) to finally ending his illustrious career at Rolex as an Assistant Vice President. After retiring from Rolex, Eric began to purchase Rolex wristwatches at all the major auction houses. Through these channels, he was introduced to Antiquorum and subsequently became an Horological Consultant and Rolex expert for Antiquorum in October 2001.
Hong Kong
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Genki Sakamoto
Watch Expert
Genki Sakamoto’s fascination with mechanical things began at an early age, and therefore, his interest and subsequent career in horology was a natural progression. At one time, he considered becoming an automotive mechanic, but as his father was an avid watch collector, he instead decided to attend Hiko Mizuno Jewelry College, a watch making school in Tokyo, where he would further develop his knowledge and skill in becoming a watchmaker. As he learned more about watches, it became clear that this was the profession he wanted to pursue. In 2005, Mr. Sakamoto began working for Antiquorum’s agent in Japan at the time and in 2006, he joined Antiquorum Japan as an expert and watchmaker. Genki believes that joining Antiquorum was the perfect choice – to be surrounded by the world’s finest and rarest watches on a daily basis. A native of Japan, Mr. Sakamoto is extremely well respected and trusted by the Japanese collector community for his vast knowledge of watch making and the horological market. He has a particular fondness for timepieces from the 1930-1960’s as well as vintage Longines.
Paris
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Sharon Kerman
Director Antiquorum Paris & Horological Consultant
Sharon Kerman joined the Antiquorum team in September 2000. She takes an active part in catalogue production and does historical research. She is co-author of "Automata: the Golden Age" (Sotheby's Publications, 1987) as well as of the 1991 video documentary "Automata: Mechanical Marvels of the Nineteenth Century", narrated in English by Dick Cavett and in French by Jean Rochefort. Sharon’s research on the subject of mechanical singing bird pieces resulted in the 2001 book "Flights of Fancy"/"Oiseaux de bonheur", published in a bilingual English/French edition by Antiquorum Editions. She has done research in various other fields as well, including the papers and letters of Pierre and Henry-Louis Jaquet Droz and Jean-Frédéric Leschot, and Piguet & Meylan, as well as several artists and craftsmen of the 20th century.
Japan
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Genki Sakamoto
Watch Expert
Genki Sakamoto’s fascination with mechanical things began at an early age, and therefore, his interest and subsequent career in horology was a natural progression. At one time, he considered becoming an automotive mechanic, but as his father was an avid watch collector, he instead decided to attend Hiko Mizuno Jewelry College, a watch making school in Tokyo, where he would further develop his knowledge and skill in becoming a watchmaker. As he learned more about watches, it became clear that this was the profession he wanted to pursue. In 2005, Mr. Sakamoto began working for Antiquorum’s agent in Japan at the time and in 2006, he joined Antiquorum Japan as an expert and watchmaker. Genki believes that joining Antiquorum was the perfect choice – to be surrounded by the world’s finest and rarest watches on a daily basis. A native of Japan, Mr. Sakamoto is extremely well respected and trusted by the Japanese collector community for his vast knowledge of watch making and the horological market. He has a particular fondness for timepieces from the 1930-1960’s as well as vintage Longines.