Collecting with a Cultured Perspective
CP Time Celebrates Launch of New York Chapter
One of the best parts about collecting watches is getting to nerd out with a community of fellow enthusiasts. Who else will celebrate your collecting wins with the deserved amount of excitement but your watch friends?
Beyond the joy of connecting over a shared passion, communities offer a space for inquiry, discovery and resource sharing. But for Black collectors, finding a judgment-free zone for networking isn’t always easy.
As longtime watch enthusiasts, Dr. Al Coombs and C’Quon Gottlieb recognized the lack of welcoming spaces for Black collectors like themselves and decided to create CP Time: A community dedicated to the love of horology through the lens of Black culture.
CP is a play on words that stands for Cultured Perspectives. Since the group’s establishment a little over two years ago, it has grown from a modest online community to a burgeoning event-driven group with multiple chapters across the United States.
“Our mission, designed initially as a Black watch collector’s club that anybody was welcome to, has really kind of developed into a diversity and inclusion club,” Coombs said.
Gottlieb, a longtime Client Advisor at The 1916 Company, takes pride in creating safe spaces for Black collectors and other collectors of color to gather. Hosting the group’s New York chapter launch event at The 1916 Company’s recently opened boutique in Midtown Manhattan was important to him.
“There needs to be a place where you can come in and ask questions — no judgment. They [Black collectors] feel because of how they talk and the way they dress, that if they go into certain places, they’re going to be judged,” Gottlieb said. “I’ll tell you how to pronounce a watch, and you can ask again, no problem. I’ll tell you the price, and you don’t have to worry about me saying, ‘why are you asking the price?’”
At its core, CP Time is about finding joy in the collecting journey.
“Something we’ve been conscious about recently is letting people know that there isn’t a price point that you have to be at to be a part of the group or to celebrate it. What we really care about is, what is your watch journey?” Coombs said.
Nick Fanning, Coombs’ longtime friend, flew from Cleveland, Ohio, for the New York chapter launch, his first CP Time event.
“You have people that have some really, really nice collections — and then you also have guys like me that are working to get ours up. It’s very inclusive,” Fanning said. “I don’t feel like anybody tries to big time you. Nobody tries to look down on you, no matter what level you are in watch collecting or in your personal life.”
CP Time promotes dialogue among collectors from all walks of life, whether they are in the beginning stages of their collecting journey or are veterans of the hobby.
“You get to connect with people that are a lot more seasoned in the game if you’re a beginner,” said collector Marco Jacobs, who traveled from Washington, D.C., for the event.
“By this being a safe space, you’re more comfortable asking those types of questions that you may not be able to if you go across the street to one of the boutiques. Today some of us talked about: how do you form a relationship with ADs [authorized dealers]?” he said.
Above all, CP Time imbues a distinct feeling of belonging in its community.
“I’ve been at this hobby a long time. I’ve been to a lot of events. I’ve been a part of lots of different communities, and I know what it’s like to feel like you’re on the outside looking in,” longtime collector Jason Gong said.
“It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing, it doesn’t matter how expensive your watch might be. I know what it feels like to be in spaces where people will still find a reason to exclude you. I don’t feel that when I’m here, and that is powerful.”
