The first time I heard his story, I was amazed and inspired by his resilience, focus and business acumen. I was even more impressed by how he turned a rather ugly past into a beautiful story- an example for aspiring entrepreneurs to learn from. As I walked into his store on 200 Crescent in Dallas, I was greeted by a warm and welcoming atmosphere. A young man, smartly dressed sat behind a desk- his eyes fixed on a computer in front of him. Another walked up to me after a few seconds and pointed me towards Anthony Farrer after I explained why I was there.
There was a long stretch of show-glass cabinet on one side of the room, as I spotted two people checking out the contents. From where I stood, I could see a number of Philippe Patek collections, several models of Rolex- like the type you see on the wrist of movie stars, as well as Breitling and Omega collections. I also spotted a Piaget- the Traditional 26 mm as well as a few Audemars Piguet Automatic pieces- all carefully stacked in racks staring back at me from within the glass shelf. It felt simply incredible to be surrounded by such array of classic and luxury wristwatches.
“Hi, glad you could make it,” a voice echoed behind me, pulling me out of my mind’s journey. As I turned, it was Anthony, looking as sharp as always. “I see you’re quite intrigued by wristwatches. Perhaps, I could show you around after our chat,” he offered with a smile. I agreed. As we sat, it was his past and the transformation that has taken place in the last 5 years I was more interested in. “Truth is, I started Gentleman Timepieces with nothing but faith, passion and a great business model. Add that to the motivation of not wanting to go back to the lifestyle I had just pushed aside, and this success story was born,” he said with that constant cheer.
The past he alluded to was one that began in Sherman, a suburban town in Texas. He and his brother lived in a foster home in a town where nothing really changed. Committed to break that cycle, he left for Dallas after his High School education. “That trip was important to me,” he said. “I knew I had to get out of that town. Perhaps, my dreams were to big for Sherman to handle. In Dallas, I was doing a lot; from personal training and body building to taking up several shifts at Night Clubs. I was still a teenager when I started making good money with no idea what to do with it,” he said.
He would go on to tell me how he got in trouble with the law and spent time in prison, not once but twice- first for resisting arrest after he was pulled up for a DUI and second for another DUI. Between these two, he had a son whose birth he couldn’t witness because he was in prison and then lost his brother to an auto crash- he was riding a bike under the influence. “That incidence made me wonder if I was special or just lucky. I was pretty much driving drunk all the time and getting away with it. Maybe, I could’ve died too, you know,” this time shedding a few tears.
But those two incidents stirred a new focus and change his perspective. He got out of prison, spent some time in a half-way House and had time to decide a clear path. “After deciding I was going to be a watch dealer from out of nowhere, I found this watch on Craig’s list, a Carrera and the seller wanted $2,100 for it. After some negotiation, we arrived at $1,300. I certainly didn’t have the money for it. So, I met with him, took some pictures of the watch and posted them on social media. I sold that watch in three days for $1,800 and that was it.
“I guess the whole watch idea came from me missing having my own collection- I used to have a different one every month before I went to prison,” he added. Today, Gentleman Timepieces has sold wristwatches worth more than $10 million in the space of three years- since it launched in 2017. Anthony Farrer has teamed up with a great watch dealer Marco Nicolini and together, they have built one of the biggest brands in watch dealership for pre-owned luxury wristwatches of all kinds. On YouTube where he shares everything with the public, he has 52,000 subscribers at the moment.
Anthony is certainly not backing down anytime soon and has exemplified the virtues of hardwork, passion and integrity in business and life.