I eventually persuaded the owner of a store that sold Rolex, Cartier, Breitling, Patek Philippe, and others to take a chance on me. My persuasive pitch was an offer to work for no pay for two months just to have the opportunity to prove myself. The owner could not say no. I was in! I proved to be valuable and earned a full-time position and a career. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the product, the industry, and what would resonate with our clients. I quickly fell in love with mechanical watches; perhaps obsession is a better word. This was the early 1990s, and the mechanical watch renaissance was just beginning. Remember, there was no internet yet: Information was hard to come by, which made my discovery of the history of watchmaking all the more thrilling. It was like I had found the key to the secret world of horology.