How Lex Borrero Built One of Miami’s Best Watch Collections

The hard part is when you only had one watch you made a lot of memories with that watch. Once you start gaining a lot of watches or cars you stop having that many moments because it's you switch it all the time. I love Cartier because it's like honestly the perfect watch to pass on. I don't know if my daughter is going to wear all this but she'll wear that. What do you think I inherited from my grandfather? Cartier. Cartier tank. He asked me what's the biggest mistake that I see a lot of collectors making. And we are back with one of my favorite people. GQ collector of the year 2025. Maybe 2026. We'll go for a two-peat. Mr. Lex Barrero. I think the last time we sat down and looked over your collection was like a year ago. We'll link the original video description below. You should go watch it. He has some excellent watches which we are not going to show here today that are still part of his collection. But you've done a lot of damage since the last video. A lot of shuffling. A lot of really cool acquisitions. A couple we helped you with. Most that we didn't. I want to sit down and do like a recap of like the new stuff to your collection because some really cool stuff, man. You've done some good damage. Thank you. Well, listen, I come here all the time. We talk all the time. And honestly, ever since I joined the watch club, I've really been leading that too. I get exposed to so much other things that I wasn't necessarily exposed early on. Even though I was already well curated, I guess. But there's been a bunch of this. I mean, like, I was just telling you, damn, when did I become a stripe guy? Like I used to not be a stripe guy and I was like... Every day changing straps in the office. Shout out, as always, to the Miami Watch Club. But I think you made a great point, like the diversity in that group. It catches me off guard because a lot of times there's just this stereotype that I still sometimes can't shake that Miami watch guys are all modern, RM, AP, Patek. And then you walk into this group of such eclectic collectors that have vintage, independent stuff, you know, Jorn, David Thune, you know, Rolex, sure, Patek, AP, but they have everything and they're all so passionate. You guys are hosting an event. I was just at an event that you guys hosted with MB&F. You know what I'm saying? Like the crowd was crazy. The turnout was crazy. So it's really such an awesome group that has been put together. Shout out to CJ. Shout out to all you guys. Such a fantastic club. If you guys are ever in Miami, hit up the Miami Watch Club, come to an event. They're awesome guys. It's fun. Dealer's choice. You got a lot of new stuff. I see some Japanese stuff on the table. I see some crazy APs and crazy independent stuff, you know, Mainstay, Cartier, you choose. What's newest or what's most exciting to you? I'll give you kind of the stage of collecting I'm in. I think as collectors, the biggest struggle is always finding the rhythm between collecting for what you love and also understanding that, you know, whether you don't want to look at it as an investment or not, there is some sort of investment being put. These are large pieces with a lot of money. And you don't want to take a hit on it. So I kind of have made a rule because it started taking a bit of my joy out of collecting. So I kind of say, you know, for every kind of piece that I know it's well curated in my collection, I also get something that's fun. So you'll see a lot in here. I mean, I think we'll start with this. No, you want to wait for that? Start with like you said fun. And like, so my mind and my eyes immediately went here and I saw you wearing this in my office. I'm like, what is that? Like, why are you wearing this? This is a citizen watch that you picked up on a recent trip to Japan. Obviously like not expensive, especially compared to like what else is on the table here. Tell us about this. Tell us about why you gravitated towards it. Tell us about the watch because I don't know anything about it. So this is a lady, a citizen. It's about the seventies. I think it is. And, and what called my name to this is I was in Japan and time to drive, which you missed. I'm sorry. I apologize. I know. But I was looking for a watch that really, you know, can bring together everything that I was experiencing in Japan. And I had just beat a Geisha. So I didn't know this, but Beat a Geisha? Clarify. I'm going to clarify that. That's something wrong. So Grand Seiko took us to like a very traditional Japanese. I mean, very traditional. They had like baby sharks just like sitting there for you to eat. Oh gosh, no. I couldn't eat it. Point of the story is they brought entertainment, right? And the Geishas were playing games with all the guys. So all the guys that went on the trip were playing games. Everyone lost. What kind of game do they play? Like a board game? No, it's really interesting because it's like little kids games. So they play one called like the tiger or the old man. And so it's kind of like rock, paper, scissors, but live. So you either play to be the old man, or you play to be the tiger, or you play to be the mom. And then based on whatever it is, the person wins. But she would always pick like the tiger beats the old woman, but the old woman beats... And she would always win. And then they played this game where you essentially, you know, you have a box and you have to go... Be careful with the watches. You know that? And I found the rhythm through music and I beat her. Point being is I beat her. You're the only one. I was the only one. And you should have seen that cry. I said, yeah. So I was like, yo, Geisha, they call it the lady ace. I saw this and I had to get this beautiful watch. I'd never seen one like this. It looks like a million bucks. It's just a fun watch. And again, it reminds me of the time to drive trip. I think that's important too. I have watches like this watch I'm wearing right now. One of the first vintage watches I bought for myself. Every time I wear it, it takes me back to that moment in time. And it's a very special piece because it's also involving some very special people. But I think that resonates with me in terms of you buying that lady ace citizen because it's always going to take you back to that, you know, special moment in your life when you were in Japan and then you had this cool experience. So that's awesome. We always have the conversation on the podcast that I host where we always say, hey, the hard part is when you only had one watch, you made a lot of memories with that watch, right? You beat it up. You had it eight years. It was there for every special moment. Once you start getting a lot of watches or cars, you stop having that many moments because you switch it all the time. So while you might have one special moment or not, you just don't have that consistent love affair. And that's one of the things I try to do now, which is just really wear one watch for a very long period of time and then switch it to something else just so that I can give it something. And so again, like I wear this watch that all the time and I wore it the whole trip in Japan because I thought it was really great right until the end of the Japanese trip, which leads me to this. Okay. So let's transition into that. I, it pains me to talk about this watch, but let's jump right into it. And it pains me because I'm such a big fan of Nihita and I was nominated to get one of those watches. And I don't know why I made the decision not to purchase it because I was actually really looking forward to something else in the new collection, of which I also didn't get, but I got my second choice. So I was like, listen, my budget, I have to be very selective for what I keep for myself, personal collection, because then it just spirals, especially running a business here. So I kind of had to weigh those options. And I figured if I bought that, then there was no chance for me to also buy something from the new 2026 collection. So I made the decision to pass on it. I'm hoping that me passing on it led to it being offered to you. And that's how you got one of the 10. I'll tell you something. Obviously, when you get a call for a nomination of a watch that you haven't seen, it's tough. It's tough because it could be great or it could be trashed. And you also are, again, like that thin line of that rhythm of like, how do I find between what I'm going to love to what I'm just making a really smart collecting decision value-wise and otherwise. But when I got a chance to see the watch during Watches and Wonders. They showed you this during Watches and Wonders? I went to the back room to see it. Just so everybody's clear, this is a special collaboration between Zenith and Nihita. Nihita designed the dial for Zenith's new GFJ program, which is based on their caliber 135 movement, a vintage movement that is very historic. They, I think, first did it with dials designed by Butuan. And they're going to do more collaborations. So it's kind of like a modern interpretation of a co-signature. So instead of a Bucherer or Tiffany or Cartier, you're having this famous watchmaker design part of the Zenith watch, either dial, they're putting together these really special collaboration watches. So that's what this is. What I did love about this... 10 pieces. But what I really loved... Remember, I saw the Watches and Wonders, I didn't see it again all the way until I picked it up in Kyoto in a very, very special ceremony that they did. But what I loved was four days before I got to see Naora-san and he got to tell me the story of how much he loved the 135 movement. He showed me the book. And then I had talked to Romain, who was the head of product at Zenith, and he told me how much of a fan of Hidas he was. And when I got to see both of them and actually see how they went about it, how hard it was to get the dial, they returned some dials, they came back in until they had the perfect 10. And then the fact that Zenith took this to Kyoto and we got to go into the temple and places that even Naora, who is from Kyoto, was like, I've never been here. I got to send pictures to my family. This is amazing. So it was an overall really special experience beyond the fact that it is one of 10 and before the fact that I got seven and all that. And the group of collectors, it was really just about that. The band is made of samurai leather. So it's only one place in Japan that makes that leather. And this is stronger than anything else you've seen. It's what they made their armor from. Wow. Which is sick, you know? That matches my shirt too. There you go. That was a good addition to my Japanese trip and a good way to end the trip. And so something fun. Something serious. Something serious and special. But while we're in Japan, like, you know. So you picked this up on your trip there as well? I picked this up on the trip there as well. Very popular microbrand, right? Very popular microbrand, Sukutei Log Tech. And on top of that, number five. But it's honestly like industrial design for a microbrand. I think they're really doing some really cool things in design. And I always say when I pick up something in my collection, I always say, what else can I have like this, right? And the truth is, you're not going to get anything else like this out there. And so for the value, for the price, the design, I can't tell you that it's easy to tell the time that's watching me. You got to like really, you know, put as a matter of fact, I've only worn it once because I just got it. But it's a great piece. I mean, it's a great piece. Yeah, we've had a few of these pass through the door and surprisingly very, very popular. And I commend these smaller brands to try to do something more innovative and interesting and keep it at an affordable price point. And actually, you know, I think the retail price is spot on. These have been going for a little bit above retail, I believe, just based on their popularity. But I think the whole design language is great when you think about what has gone into this watch and what they're selling them for. You'll see major independent brands, obviously different level of production, different level of finishing, different level of ingenuity, but for multiples of the price point and evokes a similar feeling, I think a lot of times, you know, so I commend the Otsuka for doing what they're doing. And that obviously is resonating with a lot of collectors. So, so you did pretty well on the Japanese watch front, you know, you know, I guess technically the Zenith isn't Japanese, but it has Japanese component. I picked it up in Japan. It's more Japanese than it is Swedish. We'll just call it that. So let's move on to one of the watches I helped get for you that came through our mutual friend. You really want to, I want to finish with this. Can we finish with this? You want to finish with it? All right. We're going to finish with it. Just because it's the watch, I think there's no other watch that people know me the most. Let's turn it over. So tell us about your most recent Jordan acquisition. I know you were waiting on this one. I know you got it from them and were patiently waiting a couple of years, I think, for this watch. Why did you choose this one? Tell us a little bit about it. Well, listen, again, like when you look at the collection, Jordan has amazing pieces, right? But there's a lot of tones in dials that you can get from a lot of companies, but it's very rarely that you get a beautiful brown dial, right? Then add to that Jordan, add to that the fact that, again, it's a piece that I love the community. I've been spending tons of time there. I meet a lot of friends, not only within Jordan, but also within just the community of Jordan. So to have the Havana, Miami, and I got to say, I usually don't buy watches that I've seen on other people or someone close to me. It's not for anything, just other than the fact that I like to admire that watch and that person. I think that that's what makes it cool. But I saw this originally on Cyrus. Shout out to Cyrus from the club. I just fell in love with it from the first time I saw it. I think way before I even knew that I wanted another Jordan. So I'm glad that I was able to obviously get the allocation for it. It's just a great piece. You know, it's Jordan. Even if it wasn't Jordan, just the incredible dial, the color, like just, again, for the addition to the collection is, it's just like, it fits. I don't have anything else like that. So summer nights, I can wear it. I wish I can wear it to Europe, but yeah. So the last time we did this video, you had just gotten like a brand new watch from Louis Vuitton. I'm massive fans of, and a massive fan of like the new work that they're doing. It was a watch that just came out. You're like the first one to have it. I see you added another one cut to the collection, the Tambor Convergence. This one, a little bit more special, I want to say, and already scuffed up like your last one. Well, it wouldn't be my watch if it wasn't scuffed up a little bit, right? Which by the way, that might've been you, Jordan, right now when you're trying to set it up. But again, I'm a big believer in what they're doing in watches and how he's investing it in the brand and how he's selecting what to do with the brand and really creating, you know, this beautiful jump hour concept. I loved it in the first rendition that they did it still have that, you know, that was scratched up. But I remember when that was, these are watches are always going to get scratched up just by the design, which I love by the way. But I remember when that watch came out, someone had posted, I think it actually was Jean that had posted this watch. He had it on and I was like, wow, how can I get that? And of course they were holding now, they're smart, but they did it. They got, you know, they bought vintage guilloche machines and restored them and essentially were able to do this by hand. And I loved it. And I was able again to get the first one in the world, got a nice little delivery from it, but they took me to Milan. I had a beautiful time checking out the rest of the watches. And again, what's another watch right now that you can get that has that? Well, and it's also like what probably went into making this case because it's engine turn bezel with guilloche pattern, you know, it's, would you even call that guilloche? They're like squiggly lines in a distinct pattern around the entire front of the case that I can imagine the rate of error and the times, the amount of times they probably had to like repolish and start over because it wasn't perfect. And you know, they're going for perfection, especially with the engine turn bezel because that process is so intricate as well. I can't imagine this was anything but painstaking for them to make and their dedication to the craft. You know, when I went and visited them a few years back, I was just in awe. And this is before all these watches started coming out. This is when they just purchased Daniel Roth, just purchased Gerald Genta. And, but I was just visiting the LVMH factory and doing a tour and seeing like the crazy high-end pieces that most people don't even get to see because they make these crazy one-offs, but the level that was going into the enameling and this and that was just mind blowing. And so I, I respect the hell out of them. Respect the hell out of them. I honestly think that they're, you know, not only because they're LVMH, but just because of the strategy in which they've done things. They're a company to watch and it's going to, you know, it takes time to re-educate people and get them away from the Louis Vuitton name of something that's just luxury goods over watches, but they're making amazing pieces, you know? And I think like, again, you wear that piece, where else can you find something like that? And that's, that's how I like collecting. I think about how does it fit into my collection so it's not something that's repetitive. Yeah. So let's talk about your newest, I guess, Cartier acquisition. I haven't even seen this one in person because I think you just picked this up. I haven't even worn it, as you can tell. I know you're a big Cartier fan. I know there's several in the collection. You went for the new iteration of the cloche. Yeah. A huge fan of the cloche. I love the fact that you could put it on the table like this and it doubles as a desk clock. Which is really, really how I like to put it. Well, I mean, and also like Cartier was just so inventive back in the day. Innovative, I should say. For these dual purpose, you know, watches that would also, can be used in a different way. I love Cartier because it's like, honestly, the perfect watch to pass on. Right? Like I think they make the timeless pass on watch. Yeah. And when I think of myself as a, as a kid, like the amount of time, especially Latin culture, Cartier was just massively big. Like my grandmother, my mother, like they've always gotten, and it's usually the same watch, but you pass it on. So I love Cartier because it reminds me of like that inheritance factor. Like, man, like, I don't know if my daughter's going to wear all this, but she'll wear that. What do you think I inherited from my grandfather? Cartier. Cartier Tank. I actually gave it to my sister to wear because I, it just wasn't getting wrist time from there. I'm like, you know what, like it's our grandfather, you know, it's because I'm the watch guy. I get all the watches. That's not fair. Like, so I gave it to her and so she wears it and she enjoys it. But you're right. Absolutely right. Cartier is like a quintessential, like passed out watch. I think my Cartier, my Cartiers will go to my daughter. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said timeless. I think that's just what they are. And they do such a great job of remaking the same model that they've made for a while, but still keeping it fresh. This one has very much vintage aesthetic and inspiration, but it still feels like something new that they came out with. You know what I'm saying? Like it doesn't feel like a cloche of old, you know? I'm still trying to get my Paris edition of this because the 13 is in red and I think that's like the little detail that I like, but this is, this is great. And again, I'm going to pass it on. It's not a fact that's going to go on my wrist. All right. Well, we're going to, we're going to bookmark this video. So Jade in like 18 years could come back and watch it. Love you mama. And see if the cloche is still in the collection and she gets it. If you didn't get it, blame him. Don't blame me. Blame dad. So we have two watches left. The two actually I helped you acquire. Yes. So let's go through them. That's why I wanted to leave them at the end. Cause I think for everybody watching and everybody that knows my collection, I think it's really important to also talk about the relationship you have with someone who, you know, is your dealer. Who's, I mean, you're my best friend way before my dealer, but I mean, look, I got the itch. It's the fact that again, I'm able to see so much product that I'm able to really look into it and that we're able to pick important things. And you knew how much I wanted to get into Langa and how I hadn't found anything, which, you know, shout out to Jenna. I was just about to say, shout out to Jenna. Shout out to Jenna because Jenna honestly has tried really hard to get me into Langa. And she's taught me so much about the brand, but I just hadn't seen anything that was like, Oh, I just going to pull the trigger. And then I remember I was telling him like, man, I really like Jenna came to the office. I saw this Langa once she had, it was brown dial, but I was like, I already have the Habana. Then you're like, come to my office. I have something very special. I don't, you know, I don't even remember if it was like me telling you to come or you just came in and just like pulled it out of your safe or off my desk or whatever, and then put it on your wrist and walked out of the office. A mother of pearl Langa one, which is amazing. Like, look at that dial. Right. Yeah. Langa one, white gold, quintessential Langa for me is the Langa one. You know, I think it is the most utilitarian and classic form of Langa. You know, the data grout is great. The double splits gray, the Zite works great. All those watches are great. But for me, when I think Langa, Langa one immediately comes to my head. And it's funny because I love everything mother of pearl when it comes to dials, I was wearing, we have a white gold mother of pearl Daytona in stock and I was wearing it at dinner. And then my mom's best friend was sitting across from me and she's like, are those colors changing? And I'm like, yeah, like it's mother of pearl, like the way it is. And I took it off and I handed it to her and she was just mesmerized by the dial. And that's how I am. Every time I look at like Opal and mother of pearl, just because the way the light hits and reflects and it just completely changes the aesthetic of the watch. So I just adore anything mother of pearl. So I'm glad you gravitated to it also. And I'm glad to see that other people are appreciating it because you bought this not that long ago. And I've since tried to buy two more of them every time the price just keeps going up and up. So you have a very good knack of just buying what you like in the market timing, timing by itself, you know, timing is amazing. Let me tell you timing and timing is everything. I was actually just talking to Perry, you know, he asked me what's the biggest mistake that I see a lot of collectors making and it's chasing trends, you know, and not buying what you love and just gravitating towards a watch. And I'm like the people who do the best that I noticed that do the best in terms of, you know, if we want to start talking, you know, the financial aspect of it, the investment aspect to it are the people who don't treat it as investments that just buy what they love. They're not tracking on Chrono24 the prices. They're not like looking at this every day and seeing what happened in the auctions. They're buying the watch because they love it, want to wear it, enjoy it. And then when they go to sell it, it's a huge bonus that the market moved up, but they didn't even know, you know, most of the times they're like, oh, great, cool. So we're buying back a big independent watch from a collector for more than double what he paid for it. And we're talking in the six figures and he had no clue. And he was like, oh, really? Oh, cool. You know? And it's nice that he wasn't even paying attention to all these recent auction craziness. But now that he's educated on that fact and what's going on, he's thrilled, you know, but that wasn't like the motivating factor. He loved the watch when he bought it from us years ago as a motivating factor. Now it's time to move on and we're probably going to put him into a Jorn or he was looking at 5004s and all this other stuff too. So it's very cool in that respect. But yeah, I love this watch and I hope to one day buy it back for me. Someday I'll land back here. And then this. So this is an interesting story though, because I want to mention this though. So timing and how important it is in the collecting journey, but also to like, you know, when you're a collector, you're obsessive. So I obsess about these things and watch bros of London post a picture. Shout out to Ben. Shout out to Ben. Blurred out. I obviously knew it was a Clover because I recognized it was either that or it was going to be another AP for sure. Right? So no, it could only ever be a Clover based on that. I I think that he sends me pictures and I'm like, no way I can not. I've never seen this. This is crazy. And I, but the best part was that he posted the picture saying, have something special for today's video with mental watches. But I wasn't like, I got something special dropping today. Go buy it. Like check it out. No, it was like with mental watches. And I said, God, thank you. And I hit you because you were on the way to London. I said, do whatever you need to secure. The funniest part is that I had also in the pen before you even messaged me, I'd independently messaged Ben to see what the price was going to be on the watch. And then when you told me you also want it, I'm like, well, obviously if you want it, I'll make sure it gets secured and we'll figure it out. I'm not worried about that. This is a very special Clover because it is no ordinary Clover. It is factory diamonds on the case. And then on the inside where the hand stack is of the dial, because obviously Clover dial is not quite like any other dial. There were, I think, eight pieces made in with factory diamonds like this. Ben had done the research and I told me in different case metals, I think only like two or three in yellow gold. And this happens to also be number one, number one of eight, you know, or number one of these, you know, however they numbered these. I took it to AP to get the archive, which by the way, that just reminded me, but took it back to get the archive and the watchmaker at AP Miami AP house told me, you know, this watch has never been open. Wow. Wow. Yeah. I mean, it's crazy. Obviously it's clearly unpolished, you know, which, you know, not completely surprising. I'm also not surprised to hear that just because it's probably something that somebody wore on occasion. It's certainly, obviously not because of how bloody it is, not an everyday watch. So, and it probably sat in a drawer for a very, very long time. Yeah. This is a special watch. Ben finds some really, really cool stuff and he's a fantastic, fantastic human. He finds some amazing stuff. I've been seeing his posts in a while. He doesn't, as I'm saying with, with, with him, it's not a volume game. It's a, let's find really, really interesting stuff game. He doesn't have a ton of watches, but the ones he does are really special, you know? So, you know, yeah, congrats on this one. You know, hopefully it, it stymied your Clover obsession for a little bit, you know, cause you're like, buy me more Clovers. I'm like, I wish I could. I wish it was crazy too. It's like, I was trying to find the right band to put on this, the right strap, because it honestly, you know, like it has a vintage, like the gold has, has gotten a little bit of that rosy feeling. And so this was actually the band that was on my original Clover when I first bought it. And I think it fits well. It makes, it gives it that 1920 and just put a watch on. Yeah. I like it. I love it. So. Well, good thing to know is that you can always change. Thank you for hooking. You can always change straps. Come here every, every other day and change a new one. I do. Well, this has been an incredible update to last year's collection. I can only imagine a year from now when we do part three, what it'll look like. We didn't even talk about the Moser, the small seconds that was on your wrist. Shout out to Moser also fantastic, fantastic people. And I absolutely adore this watch and about Bargo for me as well. Yeah. So last quick edition, Moser, Streamliner. Bro. So we saw this watch being made before. They released it. They were under embargo. We couldn't like take pictures. And we got to go to the factory and we got to see the person touch the dial. And I said, you know what? We have to get that. Like I have to get it. Right. And shout out to Claudio and Bertrand and those guys because they really went out of their ways to, to make it happen. Yeah. Well, thank you for giving us all an update. Really fantastic stuff. I don't know. I'm going to borrow this for you tonight. Got it. Done, done. You're the man. My brother.