Four + One She Went From 'Asking Dumb Questions' About Watches To Writing A Smart Watch Encyclopedia

"I have asked all the dumb questions about watches you could ever ask," Shirley assures me. "Like, I remember the first time I went to Baselworld, I asked this watchmaker, 'What are jewels? All these movements say jewels.' I thought it was a big deal, and they were like, 'Oh not really.'"

When I asked Shirley to tell me a little bit about her life, growing up, pre-career, she asked how far I wanted her to go back. I said she could tell me whatever felt relevant. What she told me was precise but complete, the account of someone who clearly crafts stories for a living. Shirley's father's job took her family all over the world, so she grew up largely overseas, and studied French, Italian, and Spanish. Her father told her French was useless, she suspected this was not true, and indeed, she finds it quite handy when talking to watchmakers and on manufacture tours. After graduating from Georgetown, she started out at Elle "living a Devil Wears Prada lifestyle" and went on to freelance at places like Bloomberg Businessweek, Departures, and Travel + Leisure. Now a contributing editor for Forbes.com, she's been writing exclusively about luxury – travel, food, wine, spirits, style, beauty, watches, jewelry, and lifestyle – for about 10 years now.

She is 38, lives in Manhattan, loves caviar and oysters, definitely knows what jewels are, and a whole lot more. "I got hooked on watches the very first time I went to Baselworld," she says. "I was probably most drawn to the Harry Winston premiere collection that has automatic movements in these absolutely stunning dials, with metiers d'arts. I also remember seeing some of the independent designers, like Louis Moinet, and just thinking it's mind-boggling what these watchmakers can do."

She describes her experience learning and writing about watches as a "trial by fire." (Can relate!) She hopes that with the launch this year of her online luxury encyclopedia, La Patiala, she can make the learning curve for others a little less steep. She created La Patiala – named after the storied jewelry collection of the Maharaja of Patiala – as a resource for anyone looking for evergreen information about the luxury industry, especially watches.

As a former watch newbie, it was important to her to launch a robust watch encyclopedia in the website's first year. Shirley says she hopes her website can alleviate some of the pain points that come with learning about watches. "I think when you understand watches, you're much more interested in learning about them, and collecting them, and I want to make watches more approachable to people, especially to women." 

I looked over the encyclopedia and learned a lot. I now know what a rotor is, and about several different types. I am also enlightened as to the existence of watches with extra-long power reserves and have discovered that I am a fan of aventurine dials, though I did not even know that's what they were called, or that they had a name.

Shirley's own collection is both serious and feminine. Like many watch collectors, her watches reflect important ties to people as well as turning points in her career. "Every time I glance at my wrist to check the time, I'm reminded of why I bought it or who gave it to me. It's also important to me to have watches that I love. I don't care about the resale value – I want to wear something beautiful with great craftsmanship that brings me joy. I will never understand people who treat watches only as investments."

So what's her next watch she's not investing in? "I want to get a slightly larger dress watch from an independent brand, probably H. Moser & Cie. I'm obsessed with its fumé dials." Read on for four of her favorite pieces, and one delightful non-watch surprise. 

Shirley believes this watch is an old model from the Hamptons line, though it has a more rounded case. This was the first "real" watch she ever got. "I had some watches growing up, but nothing important. I inherited this when my grandmother passed away. She bought it on a special trip to Paris with my mom."

This was Shirley's only watch for many years, and she wore it every day to everything. Even though she owns more watches now, and is more excited by watch movements than she used to be – this watch has a quartz movement, with a silvered opaline dial,  steel bracelet, two rows of diamonds, and is about 18mm – she still wears it all the time. "Every time I wear it, I'm reminded of my grandmother, and her relationship with my mom, and the amazing relationship I have with my mom."

This was Shirley's first extremely fancy watch. Its stainless steel case is about 22mm, and it has a quartz movement, guilloché dial, two rows of diamonds, and a double wrap tubogas bracelet. "I got it when I worked at Elite Traveler, and I'm still as obsessed with it today as I was the very first day I wore it. It's just such an iconic and distinctive design. I love how it feels. I just love that it makes such a statement and people are always really attracted to it. It sparks conversation."

I want to know if there's something in particular that she likes to wear it with. "It's obviously great for formal occasions. I wear it with pretty much any fancy dress, or if I'm going to a great restaurant, wedding, or party. I was on this amazing trip last year to the Amalfi Coast, and Bulgari's Italian, so I wore it everywhere with everything just because it felt like she was at home, where she belonged."

This watch has a manual movement, and the front dial is silvered gray with a central guilloché motif and baton hands. The back dial is black with sunburst guilloché with dauphine hands, and the case is steel with two rows of diamonds on the back. "I bought this watch this summer at Wempe on Fifth Avenue as a present to myself for launching La Patiala," Shirley says. She loves small watches, and there aren't that many small mechanical watches, and this is one of the best, in her opinion. "The Reverso design is almost a hundred years old, and I think it's still as iconic and chic now as it was when it first launched. I wish more people had them."  

She laughs with delight when she flips it over to show me the "nighttime" dial and I gasp. I didn't even know about this absolutely amazing watch, even though I am a fan of the brand. "I love wearing it. I love winding it. I mean, I saw the look on your face. Whenever I flip it in front of people, they just go crazy, like, 'Oh my God. I can't believe that a watch can flip like that and have two dials.'"

When I asked if there were any other contenders for her "good job for launching your website" congratulation watches, she says, "No. It was always this one."

This summer, the auction house Bonhams was having two affordable watch auctions – auctions where watches do not sell for record-breaking amounts – and Shirley wanted to write about it. "I didn't think that that was a space that I belonged in as a consumer, but for the article, I met with the watch specialist to see some of the pieces in their collection, and I saw they had these two little Piaget watches. So I asked them to pull them out while I was there." 

The first one didn't fit, but the other one fit perfectly.  When I ask what she means by fit, she explains that it's a bracelet watch and that there are links you can't take out. Learning a lot today!

So she wrote her story, but she was still thinking about the watch, and she bid on it and ended up winning it. "I couldn't believe it. It was an expensive story for me to write." But she doesn't regret it at all, since it's a chance for her to own a vintage watch from a storied brand. "I was so excited to get the Piaget watch, because it's tiny, and it's gold, and it's beautiful, but it has a mechanical movement in it. If I were to buy this watch at retail today, I wouldn't be able to afford it, and it would have a quartz movement."

Shirley is obsessed with sabering champagne. She learned how to do it at the St. Regis in New York. "Every St. Regis  around the world sabers a bottle of champagne every evening. They invited me to learn how, and I just fell in love with it." 

She has two champagne sabers, this one and another one that her father got for her at Williams Sonoma. It's at her parents' house so that champagne can be easily sabered at all family events. "I saber champagne all the time. I keep the corks that I saber and I write who I was with and the date or the occasion on it, and I keep them all in a glass vase. It's fun to look through to see all the memories, and special occasions that are in there."

How long did it take her to learn how to saber a bottle of champagne, I ask Shirley.

"Two seconds," she says. There's a video on her website that teaches you. "I mean, you can teach yourself. Just be very careful because it does involve sharp objects and flying glass. I take no responsibility for anyone who injures themselves."