Collecting, says Aurel Bacs, is “an unreasonable thing to do.” In a quiet, introspective tone, he notes that the practice doesn’t even exist in nature. (In the animal world, hoarding a stash of anything would be purely about survival.)

Both his demeanor and this observation are wildly at odds with his profession. Over the past decade, the cofounder of Bacs & Russo—a consultancy and auctioneering firm that works in partnership with —has built a larger-than-life persona, hammering in some of the most extraordinary sales the horological world has ever seen. These include in 2017 for $17.8 million in New York and the for approximately $8.3 million in Geneva. Both are the highest price ever paid for a watch by these brands at auction.

Much of ’s success in this realm can be attributed to Bacs

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