I grew into the world of vintage watches whilst learning the jewellery trade within the family business. My grandad, started learning watch making in the 1940’s and began repairing watches above a dentist in the city of Exeter in England. During the 1960’s he was established and opened two shops selling jewellery and undertaking repairs.

All vintage watch dealers have a moment where it ignites the fire and at that time I didn’t own a vintage watch or sell any. However I remember my grandad showing me two gold watches he had kept back in the safe for many years. One champagne dial Rolex Day-Date ref. 18038 and the one that immediately stood out was the Rolex Day-Date ref. 19018 with a burl wood dial. This was the first time being in such awe of a watch and looking at the grain of wood and how the bulky and unusual the yellow gold case design looked compared to the other.

I started Doble vintage watches (DVW) instagram in 2016 but went full-time in July 2023 at the age of 31 to solely pursue my passion. At DVW we are creating a collection of vintage watches that generate emotional connections for customers in the form of future heirloom’s, unmissable old gold, beautiful craftsmanship, one-off design and individuality which cannot be replicated by any other watch.

Roo Doble