Watchmaker Sid Shonholtz
Watchmaker and antique dealer Sid Schonholtz.
For most of us, growing old isn’t much fun – better than the alternative, I guess. It would be great to age like the piano sitting proudly in the living room. Or the immaculate Patek Philippe wristwatch grandpa bequeathed in his will. Unfortunately, there is no mahogany in these old, creaky bones. The few sonorous emanations arising from my gullet these days are cursings directed toward my dastardly seven-iron. What little bit of silver I own is implanted in my teeth.
But, put the Ben-Gay back into the medicine cabinet, fellow gray hairs, and spend a weekend enjoying objets d’art which are aging quite nicely, thank you. The 41st Annual Palos Verdes Antiques Show and Sale happens May 27-30 at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Palos Verdes Estates. Proceeds help the church’s ongoing civic projects. Youngins (non-AARP members) are also encouraged to attend. You might get the chance to purchase great-grandpa’s sled. Rosebud, wasn’t it?
A three-year participant in the show is Sid Shonholtz, a third-generation watchmaker and jeweler whose grandfather opened a jewelry store in Hollywood in 1918. Yes, children, there is more to time than Timex (god bless Geppetto). A few talented and skilled people actually do create watches these days, though you won’t find their products in Wal-Mart.
In the mid-1970s, Shonholtz opened a small vintage watch store in West Hollywood called Second Time Around Watch Company. Among his clients were Barbra Streisand, Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Selleck, George Clooney, Nicholas Cage and Artie Shaw (speaking of cherished collectibles). Malcom McDowell and Ely Wallach would occasionally pop in.
In 2003, Shonholtz created his own watch. Guillermin Mollet, named after a famous house in the Place Vendome in Paris, is a limited edition model based on a Parisian design of the 1950s. He has only made 100 of them. Price is $6,000. All are handmade, produced “one at a time,” said Shonholtz. It doesn’t have GPS, but it will make a great omelet for you if it wakes up on le droit side of l’oeuf.
Today, Shonholtz is the owner of Advent of Time, an Internet-based company specializing in the design and creation of handmade custom wristwatch buckles. These pieces of jewelry range from $250-$700.
“My grandfather opened his first store in Philadelphia, then moved to Los Angeles around 1915,” said Shonholtz when asked of his heritage. “I sold my business (Second Time Around) about four years ago. Now, I do shows. I live in Palos Verdes and I like this show at the church. I’m still dealing in watches, but I don’t have a store.”
He has a private collection of watches and has worked for many years in watch restorations for museums all over the world. Among his favorites?
“The most famous watch in the world is Patek Philippe,” said Shonholtz. “I’m attracted to distinction. And, distinction comes in all kinds of ways. It doesn’t always have to be the most expensive… Whether it’s a watch or an automobile or anything, it should be the most dependable and the most affordable.”
He got involved with the PV Antique Show and Sale somewhat by accident. “When I moved to PV a few years ago, I saw flyers posted about the show and thought, maybe I should try to get in,” said Shonholtz. This will be his third show. He noted that typically there is much silver, textiles and many other types of collectibles available to view and purchase at the St. Francis show.
Shonholtz also participates in the Antiques Road Show, which he said includes “about 15 categories of antiques,” where he studies and appraises heirloom time pieces.
“Every year, they send out a list of all the shows around the country, and you sign up for whichever you want to do,” said Shonholtz. “I’ve been doing that for about 10 years.”
In Shonholtz’s personal treatise of his passion for time, he writes (copied with permission) “The great architect Le Corbusier suggested that a house was a machine for living in, if it is so then the watch is a machine for living with, and people do live with their watches. They sleep with them, shower with them, and yes they even make love with them, literally and figuratively. Few things have consumed man’s creativity more than the perfection of time. History is filled with accounts of great philosophers and scientists who spent years studying time; Henry Ford was a watchmaker and attributes his ideas in automobile manufacturing to modern watch making production.”
The 41st Annual Palos Verdes Antiques Show & Sale. St. Francis Episcopal Church, 2200 Via Rosa, Palos Verdes Estates, 310-375-4617. Gala and Sale Preview (Gala Donation of $35) Wednesday, May 27, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Antiques Show & Sale (donation $10) Thursday & Friday, May 28-29, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 30, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Patio luncheons, afternoon tea, evening wine and cheese. In addition to the antiques, the Show presents Harvest Cupboard with homemade offerings; Garden Gazebo with plants and garden ornaments. PEN