At age 32, New York watch collector Zachary Lu, also known as @zachattack__25 to his 82.9K instagram followers, has become a fascinating figure both in the world of horology and to the general public who avidly follow his social media collecting journey. However, Zach’s penchant for tasteful timepieces blossomed prior to the age of instagram, and long before he had an iota of reputation among collectors. In fact, when Zach Lu talks about starting the clock on his collector’s journey, he goes back in time and nostalgically relives his teenage years. 

Zach Lu spent his formative teenage years in the early 2000s, and according to Zach, “if you were a guy” a 2000s kid, you were either really into cars or really into watches”. Zach’s teenage-guy diversion was certainly watches, but his enthusiasm for wrist pieces was far from superficial. At 15, he managed to slap an elegant—and usually-adult-appreciated-–Gucci Quartz watch onto his teenage wrist. When the beloved watch’s needles came to a sudden standstill some months later, Zach was crushed and went about trying to fix it with the doggedness of a scientist yearning for a breakthrough. “There was no instagram, facebook, or twitter, barely anything on the internet,” he said. “So I went to a bookstore to research options.” Although Zach realized that his Quartz had simply run out of battery, he spent several days with his nose in whatever horology treatise he could lay his hands on, and, while he was so sequestered in books about time, he truly began to understand what a luxury timepiece signified. The world of watches was opening for him, elegantly, breathtakingly, and Zach was intoxicated by the lure of what a sophisticated watch could usher into his existence. 

It wasn’t long before Zach Lu was noticed by stalwarts in the Geneva watch circle. In 2005, Vacheron Constantin celebrated their 250th anniversary of exceptional watchmaking and Zach Lu was on hand. He dipped his toe in the Geneva pool of watch personalities by attending the Antiquorum thematic auction dedicated to ‘The Quarter Millennium of Vacheron Constantin’, and acquiring his “first legit purchase” here. In Geneva, Zach was also taken to Patek Philippe, one of the most renowned luxury brands in the world, by a well-meaning watch-loving family friend and he resultantly began to look for a Patek connection. Philippe Stern, the then-CEO of Patek Philippe had heard about the intriguing teenager who had picked up the nice VC and who now wanted an in with Patek; Stern asked the Geneva boutique to extend a personal invitation to the teenager. And suddenly, the bewildered and thrilled sixteen-year-old found himself touring Patek’s inner cogs with Patek personnel. This was quickly followed by lunch and an intimate life-changing tete-a-tete on all things horology with none other than Philippe Stern himself. 

Zach Lu’s early experience in Geneva was formative in making Zach the collector he is today. “That lunch [with Patek’s Stern] changed my view on horology,” remembers Zach. “I became a Patek loyalist. I’ve been buying from them for 17 years. I attend every Patek auction I can. I go to the Patek collector’s dinner every year without fail.” Indeed, more than half of Zach’s impressive collection is now Patek. He explains that he classifies his watches by how ‘classy’ or ‘sporty’ they may be. And Patek has continually satisfied his unending appetite for classy watches, with their undying elegance and bold choices. In his seventeen years as a VIP Patek client, Zach Lu has acquired the mythical 2499 1st Series, the Sky Moon Tourbillon 6002R and the limited edition Tiffany Nautilus in his most triumphant watch coup to date. When he wants to switch up his wrist adornment with something sporty he typically goes for Richard Mille watches, which he likes for their futuristic demeanor and innovative material design. Zach Lu, therefore, has close relationships with both Patek and Richard Mille, and anticipates a long and adventurous journey with both brands. And as he continually and successfully expands his prominence and prestigious future in the watch industry, he looks back at the beginnings of his horology pilgrim with wonder. He talks about recently meeting another teenage collector. “I love seeing young collectors and I see a lot of myself in them,” he said. “It’s bittersweet. It reminds me of getting older, but I also remember how lucky I’ve been.”