COLLECTING
SUBMARINER DATE
Josh Halpern, president of Albert’s Jewelers
Indiana, with the guidance that their pre-
owned selection and pricing rivaled anything in
Jeweler’s Row. One Friday evening found me at
Albert’s, where I met my guide, Josh Halpern,
president of the company.
Albert’s is a multi-generation family jewelry
business, with Josh running the operation, and
bringing his sensibilities as a veteran watch col-
lector and dealer into the mix. Halpern expand-
ed his flagship store to accommodate Cartier,
Omega, Breitling and Montblanc boutiques,
and a massive, dynamic pre-owned watch
library that he turned on a regular basis. He
was a watch guy, the good kind, so we talked.
Halpern provided his guidance based on a
customer’s personal preferences, often refer-
ring to particular models that he had ready
access to or would have to track down. He
knew the brands, the models and the market.
His inventory changed in waves, and patterns
emerged. We began trading.
The first to go was Mr. Blue, replaced by a
two-tone GMT Master with a black face. One
day a series of six or seven Explorers showed
up, in a range of ages and faces, all between
ten and fifteen years old and well-priced.
Halpern explained that this particular model
represented a great bargain for the collector.
It wasn’t a watch you saw every day; it had the
style of the Submariner with bolder elements.
It was designed for rugged use, didn’t vary as
much in price as some of the other models and
was the same watch Ian Fleming wore, to boot.
164 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SUMMER 2017
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