Frank Lord
Frank bought his first shop, The Old Town Clock Shop, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in 1983. His interest in clocks and pocket watches spread to wristwatches. Soon, Frank was one of the few dealers who had started to buy wristwatches. He made a name by advertising to buy old Rolex Princes, and Bubble-back Oysters, illustrating what they looked like with specially-comissioned artwork.
Frank’s weekly adverts on the front pages of the Telegraph, The Daily Mail, and The Times, continued to produce many old Rolex watches onto the market. His signature format is still imitated by many watch dealers, even today.
A Rolex agent once congratulated him, saying: “I have been selling Rolex watches since I was a young man working in my father’s jewellery shop. Customers used to come into the shop saying that they would like a watch and mention Omega; we would often then persuade them to buy a Rolex. Since you have been advertising, they come in and ask for Rolex.”
Ambition drove Frank to leave the comfortable life in Beaconsfield and buy a London shop. In 1989 he bought the material house, A. Shoot & Sons, in Clerkenwell, as a going concern. Frank, however, found that he was not a Clerkenwell man, and so he picked himself up and moved to the Royal Arcade just off Old Bond Street.
A fresh partnership with an enthusiastic young dealer, Danny Pizzigoni ensued. From the new address, and with the help of Danny, and later also, Justin, who had returned from South Africa to help, the business flourished.
Over the years, the shop has has bought in some of the world’s rarest and most exotic watches, most never even getting near the shop’s retail display. Most of the business, however, has been built on dealing in straightforward, good quality wristwatches.
Frank has migrated into the administration side of the business, leaving the fun of buying and selling to Danny, Justin, Tany and Dina, but the old glint in his eye still fires up when we buy a rare Patek Philippe or the occasional mint Rolex Prince…
