The watch bug can bite when you’re really young, as was the case with today’s contributor. Dan Broun is a young watch collector?19-years-old to be exact?who started in our hobby when he was just 14. Dan reached out to us to share his story, one that we thought was relatable to both our younger and older readers alike. So enjoy Dan’s journey, and let us know in the comments below how you got started.

For as long as I can remember my father has worn a vintage Breitling Navitimer. I used to sneak into my parent’s room and pick it off his bedside table and press it up to my ear to hear the tick of the mechanical heartbeat. When I was ten my dad explained to me the ticking came from a mechanical escapement. I wondered, how could something so complicated fit into such a small metal case" It was magical. That was the beginning. I started off pretty simply: on the Breitling website. I would use their ?My Breitling Made to Measure? tool to make the Breitling Super Avenger Blacksteel Chronograph as large and as black as possible. I was 14 and it needed to be tactical because if I was called up to join the Navy SEALs I couldn?t have my shiny stainless steel watch giving away my position.

” . . . and I learned . . . that a ‘nice’ watch didn?t have to be this inaccessible thing that cost eight figures . . . “

When I grew tired of that game, I expanded my research to other watch company websites: Rolex, Omega, Oris, among o...