TEST: A Day With: Kristian Haagen

Thinking back to his childhood memories, Kristian remembers clearly when he first ever fell in love. And no, we’re not talking about a girl here. When Kristian was six years old, flipping through his family’s large collection of National Geographic magazines (dating back to a 1917 issue), he first saw it. In the initial pages of a 1976 edition, he saw the Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700 watch ad. This particular watch, which is now in his possession, was the start of a lifelong love story between him and everything that has to do with horology.


Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 3700 from 1976

Kristian is one of the best known watch specialists in Scandinavia, and probably in the world. His eighth book about the subject will be published in September 2019, and he has a large amount of followers on his social media platforms. Speaking of social media, his two last books, Hashtags and Watches I and II, are an homage to his love of both printed media and Instagram. “As a former art director, I wanted to do something that included watches and print, but that also incorporated social media somehow. So I thought, why not publish my Instagram account?” Said and done. The books were a success and sold out in a flash.



When I asked Kristian which one of his timepieces that matters the most, he rapidly went up from the kitchen table, where we shared a cup of coffee together alongside his Patek’s, AP’s and Rolexes, to grab a book from his bookshelf. He briefly browsed the book and showed me a portrait of the Danish war correspondent and journalist Jan Stage. My attention was drawn to the watch Mr. Stage was wearing, a Rolex GMT Master ‘Pepsi’. I suddenly realized why it caught my eye. This watch was laying there in front of me on the kitchen table. “In addition to the Patek I talked about before, this is my most precious watch. It belonged to one of my childhood heroes, Jan Stage. He was actually kidnaped in El Salvador wearing this watch” Kristian said. The watch itself, a 1968 Rolex GMT Master 1675, isn’t a rare watch at all, but with the story behind it, this one becomes invaluable.


Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 126710 from 2018

Nowadays, when Kristian ponders between which watch he should wear, the choice usually end up on the Rolex GMT Master II ’Pepsi’, with jubilee bracelet and red and blue ceramic insert. It was released in Baselworld 2018, and since then it has become one of the most sought-after watches by collectors worldwide. Some people, who was lucky enough to get their hands on one, bought it just with the intention to sell it for twice (or more) of the listing price. This is not the case for Kristian. He wears it almost every day, alongside with his well-worn Barbour jacket, cargo pants and 21 year old Red Wing leather boots.