House Of CraftAlessandro Fanciulli Turned His Passion For Collecting Into A Career

In partnership with UBS, we hosted a get-together and series of talks in New York City called "House of Craft." The event featured a who's who of watch-world luminaries, including industry legend Jean-Claude Biver, actor Keegan Allen, author Alton Brown, AP CEO of the Americas Ginny Wright, actor Daniel Dae Kim, journalist Jay Fielden, independent watchmaker Simon Brette, actor and comedian Ronny Chieng, dealer and collector Alessandro Fanciulli, auction specialist Geoff Hess, and menswear designer Todd Snyder.

We love talking to Alessandro Fanciulli (@mr.a) here at Hodinkee, and many of you will recall his Talking Watches episode from last year. If you aren't familiar with Alessandro, you're in for a treat. He's a watch collector and enthusiast, and last fall, he sat down with Tony Traina and Malaika Crawford at House of Craft for a wide-ranging conversation covering many topics—from his love of Universal Genève to his ever-growing collection of pocket watches, his adventures at watch auctions in Paris, and how he became a collector first and then a dealer second.

Naturally, he gets a lot of questions about collecting, and when asked what his best piece of advice is on the matter, he said. "I think many people today want to buy what other people think is cool. I always tell people to buy what they think is cool and make it their own."

For more on House of Craft NYC, enjoy our photo report here – and for a closer look at the watches that made an appearance at the event, click here.

Lead image by David Aujero