Every Sunday, my column in the Tampa Bay Times is intentionally longer on information than on advertising. Readers come not so much for a sales pitch, but for context, education and the stories behind the objects that cross our desk. From time to time, that storytelling overlaps with charity, and when it does, we consider it a privilege rather than a promotion.
Over the years, museums, universities, and national charities have entrusted us with selling important pieces on their behalf for simple reasons: we are careful stewards, we understand the material, and we have a broad international audience. This month, we were especially honored when a California-based national charity, Wells of Life, reached out to us.
Wells of Life is dedicated to a straightforward but life-changing mission: digging freshwater wells in rural African villages where clean water is not available. In many of these communities, women and children walk miles each day to carry back a small amount of what we in America scarcely think twice about when we turn on a tap.
A donor inspired by their work entrusted us with over a dozen exceptional watches, including examples by Breguet, Ulysse Nardin, Fabergé, Jaquet Droz, Piaget, Franck Muller, Girard-Perregaux and RGM, many featuring serious complications such as chronographs and tourbillons.
As we always do for charitable consignments, we reduced our normal commission, with the goal of raising between $250,000 and $500,000 for Wells of Life. The organization has been featured internationally for its measurable impact, and we are genuinely grateful not only that they selected us, but that we can play a small role in turning luxury into something profoundly practical.
At its heart, this column is about perspective. The irony of dealing in elite, expensive watches to help provide one of the most basic needs of human existence is not lost on us. But if one can help supply the other, that is a story worth telling.
And if it inspires you, Wells of Life welcomes direct donations at wellsoflife.org.
