Courtesy of Ad Patina

IN 2019, Nick Federowicz quit his day job in fashion retail to focus on his “side hustle” – tracking down mid-century magazine ads by luxury watchmakers Rolex, Patek Philippe and more. Turns out, it’s a viable business.

“Because so many of us enjoy art, the past, and all the amazing stories of brands, the rich history of advertising will always have a place in our lives,” he explains. Today, Federowicz owns his own vintage ad business called Ad Patina.

Although Ad Patina sells old ads for classic sports cars, furniture, cameras and even Nike trainers, the majority of business comes through sourcing vintage watch advertisements. “It’s a labour of love,” he says. “The ads don’t grow on trees. I don’t call up a supplier and say ‘Hey, can I get 10 more of these?’ You have to go out in the world and find them.”

Certainly, there are easier ways to make a living. “There are times when I think there’s no way I can pay a mortgage and have two kids,” Federowicz says. “But at the end of every month it works out. It’s the joy that finding the ads brings, it’s connecting with people and it’s doing something cool that no one else is doing.”

Courtesy of Ad Patina

Watches first caught Federowicz’s attention at a key point in his life. In the mid-1990s he was an “impressionable teenager”, raised by a single mother, whose good friend had married into money. “Nice home, nice cars, nice jewellery,” he says, of the couple. “And I was at the age when you start noticing brands.” These friends, he explains, wore solid gold ‘his-and-hers’ Rolexes.

“I realised: ‘this is what someone buys to signal success’”.

Back then there was no watch media to speak of, so Federowicz scratched his Rolex itch by ripping ads from glossy magazines and taping them up on his bedroom wall. “You didn’t get exposed to watches in the way that you do today. You’d only encounter them if you went into a jewellery store, which maybe wasn’t such a welcoming environment for a teenager. Or you’d go to the doctor or the dentist, and you’d be in the waiting room and there’s magazines there. Nobody’s scrolling through a smartphone. You’re picking up Sports Illustrated. You’re picking up Architectural Digest. And inevitably you happen across a Rolex ad because they were very prolific back then. They were massive advertisers.”

“I could easily have been an Omega guy if they advertised more,” he acknowledges.

Federowicz saved up and on April 21, 1998, during a school trip to Paris, bought himself a Rolex Datejust. It’s still in his possession 26 years later, alongside more recent acquisitions of a ref. 1016 Explorer and a ref. 1655 Explorer II.

Nick Federowicz with his new Datejust in 1998, and with the same watch today. Courtesy of Ad Patina

He still considers himself a “Rolex guy”, but it’s the vintage ads that are his real passion. “Because no one’s ever chosen to make a living doing this,” he says. “No one has made it a goal to go out there and uncover these ads. But it means I get to do watches on my own terms. I’m always trying to find something new and fresh to share with people.” The thrill, he says, is in “the hunt”.

Ad Patina isn’t simple to run. The business relies on Federowicz tracking down magazines from 60 years ago, identifying which adverts ran where (many were country-specific; some were one-offs) and crossing his fingers that the condition has held up.

“You’re dealing with old paper,” Federowicz says. “All the stock is different quality. I’ve had to let go of seeking perfection and embrace character. The same things we love about a vintage watch, that makes a vintage watch very valuable. I need to roll with it, and not get too hung up.”

If you never actually own a Patek Philippe, you can still frame an advert for one. Courtesy of Ad Patina

It’s no surprise that the two most popular brands among the watch ads he sells are Rolex and Patek Philippe. Not just because they’re the biggest names, but because they had the best ads. (The two things may be connected.) Patek’s “Generations” campaign (“You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation”) and Rolex’s “…you’d wear a Rolex” ads from the 1960s and ’70s, which featured the watches in adventure settings, were highly successful.

The classic Rolex campaign, which launched in 1967. Courtesy of Ad Patina

“That Rolex campaign, that black background, that white Helvetica font, all aligned to the left . . . there’s this thumbnail image, there’s a caption…” Federowicz says. “If that was hanging up in a room and you were far away, you’d know you were looking at a Rolex ad because of the design. Even before you know what the watch is. J Walter Thompson really created advertising art,” he adds of the world’s biggest advertising agency of that time.

“I feel very strongly about the ads,” Federowicz says. “I think they’re a lost art.” Some people have grail watches, he has grail ads.

The rare “surfer with Sub” advert. Courtesy of Ad Patina

When we speak, Federowicz has not long tracked down an elusive “surfer with a Submariner” Rolex ad, something that he’s been looking for since Day One. (Once the source magazine had been identified, Federowicz bought up five copies. He’s sold three, is keeping one and has one left for sale.)

The elusive Italian Rolex ad. Courtesy of @retroprintad

Still eluding him is a withdrawn Rolex ad that ran in Italy. “It’s like a needle in a haystack to find.” Though he thinks he’s close. “There’s a woman in the shower, naked, just wearing her watch,” he says. “The story goes that it was pulled shortly after it was published because it was just too risqué”.

“You just have to wait for them to surface,” the collector reasons. “Either that, or wait for somebody to go through their attic.”


Ad Patina’s favourite Rolex ads through the years

Rolex Trials and Triumphs, 1963

Ad Patina Rolex ads
“Those were the influencers back then. Pan Am, the airline, was an influencer – the Trieste exploratory vessel was an influencer.” Ad Patina

“According to my research, that is the only print ad that shows a ref. 1675 GMT-Master with a gilt glossy dial, in colour. I’ve never found a print ad, pre-1963, that shows a Submariner or a GMT in colour. It was part of a 10-page special advertising spread, quite unique – almost like pamphlet that you pulled out. And there’s other watches as part of the spread, too – the Day-Date, the Oyster Perpetual, watches that were smaller with diamonds, probably targeting women. This was Rolex, back in the day. They needed to sell watches, right? A total difference from today. I probably get or two of these ads a year. I take it any condition.

“It’s a great example of Rolex marketing. They have Pan Am, they have Trieste [the Mariana Trench-reaching deep-sea submarine] – all these occupations and industries and feats that Rolex associated themselves with legitimately, or indirectly. Those were the influencers back then. Pan Am, the airline, was an influencer – the Trieste exploratory vessel was an influencer. Somebody into diving, they see that this watch was trusted by this organisation, and that justifies the [price tag of] $195.

“This is from my personal collection. I’ve had this one up on the wall for four or five years. I love this [image of a] diver – his eyes are really spooky-looking through the mask.

“Back then Rolex is begging people to buy their watches, you know? There’s real competition out there. And Rolex isn’t the household name it is today. But because of the marketing and the business savvy . . . they just kept hustling and marketing. I don’t know that one particular ad was effective. I think the whole was effective. If you went into jewellery store in 1970, you’d probably seen so many Rolex ads while looking through magazines, that you’re naturally going to gravitate towards their counter.”

“This Rolex is $195”, 1964

I want people to think of these ads as much more than ‘It’s an old Rolex ad’.”

“It’s a very intentional design. So, the top says, ‘You Can Buy An Underwater Watch For $40′ and then down below it says ‘This Rolex is $195’. The art director, the copywriter, the group, they really thought about ‘How do we market this expensive watch?’ And they intentionally put the line about the less expensive watch up the page to represent that it can only go about 50 meters [underwater] – and they set the Submariner really low ‘cos that’s the one that can go the deepest. And then all this black represents the depths, an unexplored world. I want people to think of these ads as much more than ‘It’s an old Rolex ad’.

“What speaks to me is that it’s a very specific ad that I can highlight to show the genius and the creativity . . . to highlight the careers of the people who came up with it. This could have been done a million ways. But it was done this way for a certain reason. Old Rolex ads were often a one-off. There’s no other ads that looks like this. This isn’t one with an Explorer. ‘This Mountain Watch Costs $29.95 . . .’”

Universal Genève, 1940s

“These ads are drawings – they’re really art. It’s very easy to convince somebody to frame those because we’re rationally programmed to frame art, and not necessarily adverts.

“This one has a great drawing of one of these triple calendar, beautiful UGs in gold. It has a rendering of a frog and an owl. I like to show our children ads that have animals in them. It’s a way for them to interact with dad’s work, and it allows them to have fun with what I do. I have a Triumph car one that has all these big cats in it which I just showed to my daughter the other day. She asked me this morning ‘Dad, can you hang that up in my room?’ Just to hear something like that from her is pretty cool.

“It was an incredible era, 1940s Universal Genève. Especially because they’re trying to bring the brand back [the dormant company was acquired by Breitling in 2023 and is rumoured to be relaunching next year]. If there’s a clamour to bring it back that means that they really were doing something back then, something that people loved.”

Bulova, 1966

“Another one that I love, just to show that’s it not always the big names. It’s a wonderful ad. It shows a Bulova watch and then all the exploded parts. I like to tell people it’s just a great ad for anybody who likes mechanical watches. It’s really sweet and wholesome. If you have that hanging up in your home or your office, any guest or client will quickly understand ‘Oh, you like wristwatches’. And you just leave it at that. It isn’t about [macho voice] ‘I like Rolex’ or ‘I like Patek Philippe’.

“I don’t have a lot of people asking me for Bulova ads, but this one really stuck out. I was, like, ‘I’m going to post this one on my main grid [on Instagram], and I don’t care if it gets 20 likes, I believe in it and I really love it’. Recently in California, I had a guy buy it from me. I was just so happy that he did. I just knew it was going to a good home. I can find it again. And I will.”

Fred the Jewellers, 1968

“I invested several hundred dollars into these three ads, plus the framing, and it turned out it was a hit.”

“This is a new discovery for me. It’s a Parisian jeweller called Fred [Joaillier], which is still around. And it features a whole bunch of Rolexes. There’s everything here – gold, steel, big, small, sport, dressy, leather strap, bracelet. It’s just an incredible array of watches. And I never knew this one existed. I came upon it, and I instantly had to have it. I paid $100 for it right away and spent my own money to frame it. Then I was able to get two more, so I have three in total.

“It speaks to me because I bought my [first] Rolex in Paris. The address on the ad is 6 Rue Royale. And my watch came from 8 Rue Royale. So, literally next door. If there’s an ad that sums me up, this is the one, right? I have huge affection for it. I sold one [on a visit to] LA. I posted a video on Instagram and sold another one. And then my last one sold at [July’s] Windup Watch Fair in Chicago, so I don’t have any. So, I’m a little sad. Now I have to try and find another one. I saw it, it spoke to me, I saw two more, I invested several hundred dollars into these three ads, plus the framing, and it turned out it was a hit. People immediately understood it, got it and bought it.

“The gentleman who bought the last one at Windup, he inherited his dad’s gold Day-Date, and his dad’s name was Fred. People go for these ads for a lot of different reasons, right? It’s nostalgia. It’s aesthetics. It’s history.”


This story originally appeared on Esquire UK

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