THE VINTAGE OMEGA COLLECTOR

Samir Shah, a successful Mumbai dentist, is the owner of what could be one of India's largest vintage watch collections dominated by Omegas

- Murali Monon

Samir Shah has been complimented only once for his choice of watch by a client in his over 30 years as a leading city dentist. "Most people don't notice watches, especially vintage watches," he says. Not that it has ever mattered to him. He collects vintage watches, especially Omegas, because it is a very personal pleasure; just like horse riding, another of his passions. Every fortnight, he decides on the next bunch of watches that will adorn his 6.5-inch wrist. How many Omegas does he have? He wants the keep the exact number a secret but reveals that he could keep wearing a different watch every day for a couple of months.

Shah, believed to be among India's biggest, and most well regarded, collectors of vintage Omegas, is a trim man with silver hair that he wears in a ponytail. When I meet him, he is wearing a fitted T-shirt and jeans; his watch distinguishes him further. It is an Omega Constellation on an integrated bracelet.

Shah inherited his passion from his grandfather, who gifted him his first watch, a Seiko 5, in the early 1980s, a decade when Casios were on fire. "It was uncommon then, especially among children. I was intrigued by the mechanics of it," says Shah, who picked up HMTs and Ricohs in the early 1990s while still a student of dental medicine. Later, as a young dentist, he would spend his Sundays at Chor Bazaar, entranced by the horological riches it contained.