Don't let his youthful facade deceive you, but Carl Victor lives and breathes watches. At the ripe age of 23, Carl can claim over 350k followers on instagram, and an encyclopedic knowledge of all things watches across many different brands. In addition, he has recently revived interest in the "Perlon" strap, a lightweight alternative to the nato strap. He has re-introduced them much to the delight of the internet, and now produces them in many different colors and sizes. A true internet mogul, we're proud to have him as this week's Horological Minute.

Why the name "Whatchs" on IG? I always thought it was a misspelling....

Haha! I can spell, but when I started the Instagram account over two years ago, “watches” was already taken. With lack of fantasy, I changed it a few times before I somehow landed at “whatchs”. It doesn’t mean anything special and is supposed to be pronounced just like “watches”. Interestingly, I often get email submissions where people have used my spelling instead of the grammatically correct one. Maybe they need to change the dictionary ;-)

What was your first watch?

My first real watch experience was on the day of I believe my 11th birthday when my father brought me to a watch boutique and told me I could get any watch I wanted. Luckily for him, we didn’t have any fancy stores in the small town where I am from, so I ended up choosing a Swatch Irony in aluminium that I wore for several years. I loved it and still have it in my possession.

What was the last watch you bought?

It’s been a while since I added something. I believe the last one I bought was a fairly beat up but very cool Tudor Submariner reference 7928. It had great character but left to a Norwegian collector some time ago. I’m hoping to add a vintage Daytona in the near future so keep me in mind if you find something…

Do you prefer vintage or modern?

I own both and think they have their benefits and drawbacks. I love the robustness and feel of a modern watch but they can never have the same character as a vintage one. A drawback with vintage is that so much can have happened since the watch left the factory. Parts can have been replaced, dials can have been relumed etc etc.. It takes a very keen eye to spot stuff like that, which is why I always try to buy these from reputable and knowledgeable dealers like yourself.

Can you remember your last great meal? Where was it and what did you eat?

We had a bunch of great meals during last weekend in Geneva thanks to my friend Z who was the best host ever. The last one we had before leaving was at the legendary Brasserie Lipp. I had escargots for the first time, along with moules and some crazy good tuna sashimi. The moelleux au chocolate with vanilla ice cream that we all had for dessert was perfect too. Few things beat a good lunch with fellow watchoholics.

Do you remember what watch you were wearing?

Yes, I was wearing my vintage Rolex DateJust reference 1603 with Bahraini logo on a khaki colored perlon strap. (Of course!)

What do you love about vintage Rolex?

The details! Vintage Rolex watches with the same reference necessarily don’t have to look the same. It can have a little dot there, an underline here and they can have aged differently depending on where in the world it ended up. A vintage Rolex has history and can sometimes tell you an interesting story, something a modern watch rarely can. Furthermore, I personally feel like Rolex was somewhat of a more interesting brand back in the days when their range of models was wider.

Strap or bracelet?

I prefer bracelet but have started to wear my watches on straps more and more recently. It’s good with some variation from time to time. I know I’m biased, but if I go for something other than bracelet, it’s either a perlon strap or a suede strap.

GMT/EXPLORER/SUB/DAYTONA or........?

They are all legendary models in their own right with great history but I would go with the Daytona if I had to choose one. I’m a big fan of cars as well so the association with driving and racing is something that really fascinates me.

What do you want to see come out from Rolex at the next Basel Fair?

A quadrouple tourbillon minute repeating perpetual calendar ¯_(ツ)_/¯… Or simply a Daytona in stainless steel with a Paul Newman look to it. Sadly, I don’t think it will happen… I know from past experience that you should have low expectations with Rolex before Baselworld or else you will be disappointed. I would be pleased if they released an Explorer in yellow gold or a rose gold Submariner. I think both would look pretty cool!

What's on your wrist today?

Today I’m wearing my “116610LB”.