The Memory
Collector
Eddy Tonkin has spent his life collecting exquisite cars and watches—along the way, he’s amassed a bigger collection of stories and friends.
hen Eddy Tonkin and his brother took over the family
business—a portfolio of over 20 car dealerships,
including the nation’s oldest Ferrari dealership—he relied on one guiding principle to find his own success.
“I would tell my staff, ‘There’s 10 other dealerships in this city selling the same cars. What’s going to distinguish us from those guys?’
Well, it’s the relationships, of course. You need to take the time to understand people and really connect with who they are.”
That philosophy has served Tonkin well. While the Portland, Oregon, native holds both a business and law degree, his humble desire to understand others has proven just as valuable to his impressive business acumen.
Now semiretired, Tonkin's curiosity informs another passion in his life. Like his father before him, he’s become a prolific collector, filling his life with “beautiful things,” such as historic cars and one-of-a-kind watches.
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Tonkin never set out to collect cars—”We were supposed to sell cars, not keep them!”—but a love for unique automobiles seems to be in the family’s DNA. “My dad was a car nut,” he remembers.
“He became interested in Ferrari in the 1960s, back when those cars weren’t even being sold in the United States yet. Ferrari had just started building cars in 1947, and they weren’t well known here in this country. So my dad would go to Italy, buy vehicles over there and then ship them back to Portland. That’s how we came to own North America’s oldest Ferrari dealership.”
“But my dad didn’t just want to sell those cars, he wanted them for himself, too!” Tonkin jokes. “He ended up with a warehouse of these really special models. There was one—a bright yellow 330—that was definitely a favorite. That car has 57,000 miles on it.”
While Tonkin confides his automobile tastes are more subdued than his father’s, he did end up buying his own first Ferrari back in 1987.
“It was a 328 GTS,” Tonkin says. “I made payments on that car for five years—it’s really special to me.”
“Collecting itself has been a phenomenal entree into learning new things. I’ve met so many different people and have built friendships that span the globe.”
Tonkin, at home in Portland, Oregon, has collected over 400 watches.
The Family That Collects Together
The impressive collection—some of which he’s shared with his brother since their father’s passing—features a wide array of different vehicles, many of which have become part of the Tonkin family lore.
“My dad was over in London and met an English gentleman who was trying to trade his 1959 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud in at a dealership but didn’t like the price he was being quoted,” Tonkin remembers. “So my dad made him an offer he liked and shipped the car back to the States. It ended up being our family’s special-occasion car. My dad drove me to the prom in it. And later, I chauffeured my daughter and many family friends to their weddings. That car’s been a source of great fun for many decades.”
“Through the years, I’ve formed great friendships with the people who work for Vacheron Constantin, which makes all the difference in the world.”
If Tonkin inherited his love of cars from his father, his passion for watches is all his own. “When I was about 15 years old, my family went on a trip to Paris,” Tonkin remembers. “And my dad bought my brother and I each a watch—mine was a sporty, automatic one.
I was smitten, and started reading more about horology and the different watchmakers. My interest just kept evolving from there—and I still have that watch to this day.”
Today, Tonkin’s extensive collection has grown to over 400 watches—each one with a story to tell. “I would call my collection eclectic,” he says. “I don’t stick to one style or brand. If something piques my interest, it’s fun to learn more about it from other enthusiasts.
My wife will tell you, the first thing I do every morning is pick up my phone and start reading watch forums.”
Much like his diverse collection, the friendships Tonkin has made in the pursuit of the next great watch have grown his social circle in ways he never could have imagined. “You meet the most wonderful people collecting,” he says. “I’ve made phenomenal friends with other collectors. We’ll see each other at events and instantly start a conversation about the other’s watch. But I’ve also become very close to various manufacturers and watchmakers.”
Time Well Spent
One of those watchmakers is Vacheron Constantin. Just as Ferrari earned a special place in Tonkin’s heart, the Vacheron Constantin brand—and those who work for the maison—have played a distinctive role in Tonkin’s watch-collecting journey. “Vacheron Constantin watches grabbed my attention, and I started to really deeply collect them,” he says. “Through the years, I’ve formed great friendships with the people who work there, which makes all the difference in the world.”
Those relationships have opened many doors, affording Tonkin experiences most collectors can only dream of. “I’m so fortunate to have been invited, multiple times, to visit Europe where a good deal of my watches are made. I’ve seen artists at Vacheron Constantin paint the face of a Métiers d’Art watch with a brush of just two horsehairs. I’ve watched over the shoulder of a Swiss watchmaker as he fixed and reassembled my own watch. The places this collection has taken me, the events I’ve been able to attend, I often can’t believe it myself.”
As the years go on and Tonkin’s collections grow and shift, one thing remains the same. “I collect because of the wonderful people and interesting places I’ve experienced in pursuing this passion,” he says. After all this time, it’s still just about relationships … of course.
Tonkin’s own children have also taken up watch collecting, something that has only strengthened the family dynamic as they’ve grown older. “My son and daughter over the years have caught the bug,” Tonkin jokes. “So they’ve gone on trips to manufacturers with me, which is really fun. Collecting has given us a special connection—I love talking watches with them.”
“At the end of the day, the one thing I want to collect more than anything else is memories,” he says. “As much as I love having beautiful cars and watches, it’s the experiences I’ve had collecting them that are most valuable to me. The only thing that truly matters is how we spend our time—and who we spend it with.”
A Collection of Connection
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If Tonkin inherited his love of cars from his father, his passion for watches is all his own. “When I was about 15 years old, my family went on a trip to Paris,” Tonkin remembers. “And my dad bought my brother and I each a watch—mine was a sporty, automatic one. I was smitten, and started reading more about horology and the different watchmakers. My interest just kept evolving from there—and I still have that watch to this day.”
Today, Tonkin’s extensive collection has grown to over 400 watches—each one with a story to tell. “I would call my collection eclectic,” he says. “I don’t stick to one style or brand. If something piques my interest, it’s fun to learn more about it from other enthusiasts. My wife will tell you, the first thing I do every morning is pick up my phone and start reading watch forums.”
Much like his diverse collection, the friendships Tonkin has made in the pursuit of the next great watch have grown his social circle in ways he never could have imagined. “You meet the most wonderful people collecting,” he says. “I’ve made phenomenal friends with other collectors. We’ll see each other at events and instantly start a conversation about the other’s watch. But I’ve also become very close to various manufacturers and watchmakers.”
Time Well Spent
