Plenty of us obsess over watches, cars, or furniture, but James has spent his entire life filling the spaces around him with objects that carry weight. Founder of Analog Shift and now Vice President of Vintage and Pre-Owned at Watches of Switzerland, James has touched nearly every corner of collecting culture.
And that’s the through-line with James: he doesn’t just accumulate, he archives meaning. It’s something he learned from his grandfather and a philosophy he carried into every phase of his career, from building one of the first digital platforms for vintage watches to curating at scale for one of the biggest retailers in the business.
Cars First, Watches Later
James is often associated with watches, but it was cars that grabbed him first. Growing up, his driveway was filled with stories: his dad’s Land Cruiser, a BMW 2002, the kind of cars that were less about luxury and more about memory. For a teenager, they weren’t just machines, they were freedom.
His father’s Rolex GMT was a different story. A wedding gift from his mother, it was the most valuable object in the house but untouchable. Cars could be tinkered with, driven, modified. Watches came later, after years of funneling paychecks into gas and repairs. In hindsight, it was the same instinct: putting passion before practicality.
The Value of Stories
James often circles back to his grandfather’s influence. In that household, nothing was just a “thing.” Every record, lighter, or scroll had a story. That lesson carried straight into Analog Shift. From the start, every watch listed wasn’t just photographed and priced; it was contextualized. Sometimes that meant the cultural backdrop of a reference, other times just an anecdote that made it human.
That insistence on storytelling is what set Analog Shift apart. Collectors weren’t buying metal and mechanics, they were buying history, personality, and narrative. Even now, James argues that no matter whether you collect for aesthetics, investment, or pure fun, what makes it stick is the story.
Starting Analog Shift
When James launched Analog Shift, it was a way to justify chasing watches he couldn’t otherwise keep. The early inventory included Rolex Datejusts, Subs, an Omega Ploprof, even oddballs like the Hamilton Piping Rock. The common denominator wasn’t hype, it was nuance.
The company grew into one of the most trusted names in vintage watches. When Watches of Switzerland came calling, the fit was natural. Analog Shift had already been collaborating with them, and the acquisition gave James and his team the resources to expand without losing their DNA.
Now as VP of Vintage and Pre-Owned, James spends his days sourcing and curating at a level few collectors ever experience. The main difference is scale. He buys less for himself now, but with access to so much, the need to “keep everything” has softened. In his words, “We can just get more.”
An Aston Martin and a Wardrobe Change
Cars remain James’s parallel obsession. He’s owned everything from BMWs and Porsches to a barn-find 912 he brought back to life. He doesn’t buy them to park under white tents at concours events; he buys them to drive. Sometimes that means cross-country trips, sometimes just a detour for lunch.
One of his favorites is a 2009 Aston Martin Vantage, purchased when he set out to buy a pickup truck. The soundtrack, he says, is pure aviation, a WWII fighter plane on wheels. It forced him to rethink his own wardrobe; Hawaiian shirts no longer cut it, so he leaned into Santoni shoes and a Purple Label bag. On the other end of the spectrum is his least favorite car, the Chrysler PT Cruiser. He despises them so much that his bachelor party involved blowing one up in the Nevada desert. He still calls it one of the best gifts he’s ever received.
Shelf Life: Posters, Records, Action Figures
James’s collecting doesn’t stop at mechanical objects. His shelves hold movie posters, vinyl, comic art, and fine art photography. He has chased inserts from Escape from New York, Jaws, and artwork by Jim Steranko. The unifying factor is always the same: each piece has a story worth keeping alive.
He once said he could give it all away, so long as the story traveled with it to the next custodian. That sentiment is the clearest window into how he views collecting. It’s less about hoarding and more about stewardship.
The Collectors Gene Rundown
The One That Got Away: A Rolex Submariner 5512 engraved by Robert Swartley, a gold Royal Oak Jumbo 5402 sold too early, cars like an E30 M3 and a DB4 race car, and a Jim Steranko card for Stan Lee.
The On Deck Circle: An 18k Movado Datron with a factory mesh bracelet, neo-vintage Franck Muller, an Austin Healey 100 race car, and posters like Jaws and Alien inserts.
The Unobtainable: An Aston Martin DB4 GT, priced well beyond reach.
The Page One Re-Write: Vintage Ralph Lauren clothing like Double RL and Polo Country are the pieces he wishes he had grabbed before values spiked.
The GOAT: Larry Pipitone of Grand Army, whose refined taste continues to push James toward sharper choices.
The Hunt or The Ownership: For James, the hunt wins every time, the chase, the research, the surprise discovery.
Do You Feel That You Were Born With The Collector’s Gene?: He says it’s more conditioning than biology, passed down from his grandparents and parents who taught him to value stories and quality.
Closing Thoughts
What I took away from James is that collecting, at its core, is never about volume. It’s about meaning. Watches, cars, posters, even action figures all matter because of the stories attached. James built Analog Shift around that idea and continues to carry it into his work at Watches of Switzerland.
He may not keep every object that passes through his hands, but he keeps the stories alive. Whether it’s driving an Aston, restoring a Porsche, or laughing about the PT Cruiser explosion, James shows us that the collector’s gene isn’t just about ownership. It’s about memory, narrative, and passion, the threads that tie every collection together.
