orn in 1989 in New York, raised in neighbouring Westchester County, Zoe Abelson didn’t grow up in a family of watchmakers but certainly watch enthusiasts. “None of my family works in the industry but watches have always had a special status. We give them as gifts for important occasions. I’ve never looked at a watch simply as an accessory. It means something.” Already, Abelson was gaining a sense of a watch’s true appeal.

Fresh out of high school, she tried various majors but admits “there was never any spark.” Then, in summer 2011, she got her first experience of the watch world while interning at auction house Antiquorum and was hooked.

The 1950s Jaeger-LeCoultre chronograph that Zoe Abelson purchased for herself when her career began to take off

“It was a fascinating environment. People were spending more than the price of a car, even a home, for these tiny mechanical objects. I couldn’t believe it.” One of her duties was to digitize the auction house’s catalogues: an avalanche of information that left her wanting more. “I discovered the industry from the inside. Collectors would come pick up their watch and I could feel their excitement and enthusiasm. That’s when I understood that a lot of the time, people buy watches for deeply personal and emotional reasons.”

At the end of her two-month stint, Antiquorum offered her a full-time position. Bye-bye college: Abelson plunged head-first into the secondary market, spending more than two years at the auction house. From there, she moved to the New York office of Auctionata, a Berlin-based auction house, where she headed up the Luxury Department. Next she was hired by Crown & Caliber as Director of Partnerships then spent five years at Govberg Jewelers, moving to Hong Kong to open the first international office for pre-owned luxury watch marketplace WatchBox, “talking to people who were passionate about watches and further expanding my watch culture.”

Zoe Abelson, founder of Graal Watches

“The thing that most interests me is the story behind each watch and this is what drew me to the secondary market, vintage and independents. I feel I’m a part of these stories myself.” In 2021 she decided to go it alone and set up Graal Watches, sourcing and selling rare watches. She also started three WhatsApp groups - All women, Independent watchmakers and Neo-vintage watches - for specific communities. Meetups connect her with likeminded enthusiasts around the world, creating opportunities to share the stories that are part of the collecting experience.

The Patek Philippe 2431 which her great-grandmother gifted to her great-grandfather for their 25th wedding anniversary and which has been passed down through the family

The watches that mean most to her mirror her philosophy. Her “first real watch”, as she calls it, is a 1950s steel Jaeger-LeCoultre chronograph, which she bought for herself when her career began to take off. The one with the most sentimental value is a Patek Philippe 2431 which her great-grandmother gifted to her great-grandfather for their 25th wedding anniversary. Since then it has been passed down through the family from father to son… until Abelson’s father chose to give it to her rather than her older brother, who doesn’t share her passion. Another story to tell!