When I was a little boy, my Dad and my brothers used to go clamming at the beach. It was messy work. One day, the old man gave me his Patek Phillipe to take inside. I lost it. My irresponsibility earned me some low-quality time with a leather belt. The watch turned up, eventually. Years later, I inherited the Calatrava – and a watch collecting habit. A pair of painful divorces cured me of that affliction, but I understand the collecting urge, especially when it comes to guns; sturdy objects that will easily outlive us. Are you a gun collector? If so, what’s your thing and what’s going to happen to your collection when you pass? “You never actually own a Patek Philippe,” the company’s slogan reminds us, “you merely look after it for the next generation.” Like that?
