Who are We ?

WHO IS ROMAIN REA

Romain Réa was born on the 2nd December 1970. At the age of five, his parents gave him a handful of old wristwatches with which he was to get started, not without a few mishaps! The virus has never left him since. A particularly young watch enthusiast, he hunted for bargains in the Parisian flea markets, bought, sold and passionately collected vintage watches, long before it became fashionable. His first luxury watch: a Breitling. At the age of eighteen, he was sufficiently well-versed to be able to make a living from his passion. His aeronautical studies gave him the opportunity to travel the world and to discover new markets, in particular in the United States. At twenty-two, he opened a military watch department “chez DOURSOUX”, the Parisian outlet for military surplus, then took a boutique at the Clignancourt flea market where he started by selling pieces from his own collection. That is where he learnt the trade: buying and selling of course, but more importantly analysing a particular piece, reading-up in order to learn more about a particular manufacturer or a particular movement, making valuations, authenticating, turning simple customers into collectors. His name started to circulate in the as-yet closed circle of the big collectors. Vintage and military watches were no longer enough: he broadened his interest and knowledge to include older watches and the treasuresof more traditional watch making. It was then that he made his first contact with evaluators, and subsequently auctioneers. As early as 1997, he wrote his dissertation on the history of the wristwatch and was accepted into the college of evaluators of the “Union Française des Experts”, principal authority at a national level in this field. Today he is the only evaluator, recognised as such in the field of watch making, by this association of the principal French evaluators to the courts and auction houses. In 1999, he was to be found on the Rue du Bac, in a tiny boutique at the heart of the Left Bank « Carré ».Quite by accident the boutique had been that of a watchmaker a century earlier. This was to be the beginning of a more « institutional » career, which brought him closer to a more international clientele. It was thus that Romain Réa became the “wrist dresser” to a number of American film producers and actors, including Robert de Niro, to whom he recommends casting this or that vintage watch, having studied the screenplay and the composition of the role. Several film credits bear witness to his contribution. Moving to a larger outlet, a few yards from his first boutique, he gained new prestigious Parisian status when Artcurial – the largest independent auction house in France – made him their evaluator and entrusted him with the organisation of the first auctions of collectable watches in France around a theme (Rolex, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lip). Having introduced all those who frequent the legendary Left Bank « Carré », Romain Réa has lost nothing of his curiosity; he has developed his expertise in fields close to watches (knives, cigarette lighters, fountain pens). We still see him, here and there, looking out for that rare watch and the model which will stimulate the enthusiasm of his clients, whom he now often counts among his friends …