WHEN WATCHES TOLD HIM TO STRIKE OUT

UAE corporate head walks away from a steady career to be a flea market watch dealer

- BY ZAINAB HUSAIN

For most people, leaving a well-paid corporate job in the Gulf is unthinkable. But for Turkish expatriate Erkan Gülmez, the decision to start over was the only way forward.

Gülmez arrived in the UAE in 2022 and was leading a subsidiary of a major Turkish conglomerate in Dubai, following a corporate stint in Doha. He walked away from it all for one thing vintage watches.

Freedom over stability

Gülmez, now the founder of mainspring.dxb, began collecting secondhand timepieces in 2016. Over the years, he built a personal collection worth nearly $60,000 (Dh220,350), sourcing models from across the world. By 2021, he was casually reselling watches. But this year, he finally turned the obsession into a full-time business.

"Now I'm free mentally and financially," he told Gulf News. "Most people want to follow their dreams but are forced to hold on to jobs that don't speak to their soul. Once you save enough or feel financially secure, that's when you're ready to pursue what you love."