Ali Velshi is the host of Velshi on MSNBC, airing Saturday and Sunday morning, 8–10 a.m. ET. He is also a business correspondent for NBC News and a columnist for MSNBC.
Born in Kenya and raised in Canada, Velshi graduated from Queen’s University in Canada with a degree in Religion, and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws from his alma mater in 2016. Velshi splits his time between New York City and Philadelphia.
He has reported extensively from Ukraine and across Central and Eastern Europe during the Russian invasion. In the US, he has covered the COVID-19 pandemic, the killing of George Floyd and the protests which followed it in Minneapolis, during which he was shot with a rubber bullet fired by authorities while reporting live. Velshi is known for his immersive on-the-ground reporting and his interactive discussions with small groups, which form part of his ongoing series, Velshi Across America.
In fact, it was on his journey back from Ukraine to the US, when I reached him for this interview. A true professional and an avid watch enthusiast, he responded immediately and agreed to the interview.
I have watched Ali report extensively on the global financial crisis. He is known for his trademark exposition and explanation of the 2008 financial crisis, where he explained the causes of the meltdown in plain terms. I thought Ali would be the perfect expert to break down for us the strategy of “watches as an investment” and comment on the outlook of the luxury industry in the current geopolitical and financial climate.
Growing up in Toronto, did you have the mechanical watch bug?
By the time I had money to spend on things, we were well into the quartz era and, for me, the gadgetry of digital watches held all the allure. The more things a watch could do, the more interested I was in buying it. I even had a calculator watch. But when I was very young, my father had been a private pilot, and as my career started to take off, I decided to pursue a pilot’s license of my own. Flying comes with a lot of electronic gadgetry, which I love, but also some good old-fashioned stuff, like Breitling watches.
I chanced upon a good deal on a new Breitling B-2 while in South Africa in the late 1990s, and I took the leap. It remains my go-to watch almost 30 years later. At 44mm, it seemed so chunky back then, and I knew that if I ever needed to use it for flight calculations while piloting, I was in big trouble. But I was inspired by the connection between flying and timekeeping, and to this day it remains the watch on my wrist when I fly. Let’s just say it has had far more success as a watch than I have as a pilot.
When you joined CNN, and MSNBC, did you celebrate with a special timepiece?
All of my watches have particular significance to me, my all-time favorite being a 32mm Cartier Santos Galbée (also a watch with a strong flying heritage), which was an early gift from my wife. My watch purchases have not been connected to new jobs, but I’ve become quite an expert at devising connections to watches, resulting in an abiding need to then buy them.
For instance, I was born in 1969 and am a space geek and currently writing a book about space, which all sounds like a perfect excuse for me to have bought a 44mm Co- Axial Chronograph Omega Moonwatch (with a sapphire crystal, because I’m a bit rough with my gear). Before Bucherer established a presence in the US through its purchase of Tourneau, I encountered it in Switzerland and became enamored with a Patravi Traveltec. I frequently report from different time zones while needing to stay connected to Eastern Time, which is how the US news networks operate, so wouldn’t I need a GMT watch for that? Yup. I ended up with a Panerai Luminor because, you know, I like Italian food. My parents and my sister bought me a Shinola Automatic as a birthday gift because, I dunno, I once rode a bicycle? I don’t need much of an excuse to end up with a watch. But I always have one ready.
You have had a long successful career as correspondent and as a host of business financial shows on television. What is your opinion on watches as an asset class?
I think of watches as an asset the way I think about art: buy it because you like it. Purely as an investment, there are more predictable and more liquid ways to invest. I think people should buy watches because they love them or are fascinated by them or think they look great. That there is the added benefit that they may appreciate in value, or that they may be passed on, is icing on top. There is certainly money to be made in speculating in watches, but speculating in anything should be left to experts. My watches are all items I get enjoyment from wearing. The fact they are all probably pretty good investments is secondary to me.
We noticed the speculation in sneakers as an investment several years ago, and that is still going strong. Do you think that watches have reached that level, and is the current level sustainable?
I don’t think things that behave like fads, or that are fueled by artificial supply constraints, have a long term future as investments, although there are many examples to the contrary (diamonds, Hermès Birkin bags). Sneakers are the modern day tulips; for a few years in the 17th century, tulips were more valuable than a mansion on the Grand Canal in Amsterdam. And even in 2022, there’s one born every minute. I’m waiting for someone to offer to sell an NFT of a Patek Philippe Calatrava. In fact, by the time this interview publishes, someone probably will have done so. And someone will have bought it. That said, the watch industry’s frequent “drops” and colorways are interesting and serve to get more buyers interested and involved. But I would be extremely cautious about investing in created, invented scarcity (which is what the sneaker industry has done), rather than in craftsmanship and durability.
What is your advice to young investors looking for that first vintage or modern timepiece as an investment?
The increasing allure of vintage “as-is’ watches is a great development. It makes old, banged-up watches (which all of mine will end up being) easier to acquire and more valuable over time. This is a great opportunity for a first-timer or early timepiece investor because suddenly there’s a lot more on the market that wouldn’t have been thought to be of value even a few years ago. It makes bargain-hunting for potentially valuable vintage watches interesting.
That said, it’s worth learning a bit about mechanical watches so that you can discern between a scratch-and- dent model of a beautiful watch and one that’s broken or damaged beyond expensive repair. It’s amazing what you can learn about watches on the Internet. As for modern, new watches, unless you want the specific watch or style, and aren’t concerned about appreciation, stay away from fads and au courant colors and shapes. Every season brings a new trend or theme, and some of them are truly stunning. True investments are not about stunning or current; they are about being able to stand the test of time.
What is your outlook towards the luxury market globally and in the US?
I spend a lot of time thinking about, reporting on and trying to find solutions to growing global wealth inequality. It has gone from being an uncomfortable phenomenon to one that is feeding political instability, populism and, in some cases, violence. The luxury market, worldwide, will have to adapt and figure out ways to not be on the wrong side of a world that is starting to see extreme wealth — and the display of it — in a negative light. The survivors in this quest will be brands that operate with a social conscience and distinguish themselves through quality more than image alone. That said, there is a lot of money floating around right now looking for things to spend on, so I suspect that even if nothing evolves as I hope it does, the luxury market in the US will remain strong in the near and medium term.
