Five Minutes With The Founder: Kristen Shirley of La Patiala

This week, Kristen Shirley officially launched “The Watch Encyclopedia,” a comprehensive watch guide covering everything from moon phases to MOP. With years of experience in the luxury industry, it was only a matter of time before she added watches to the growing topics of her La Patiala luxury reference site.

To celebrate the launch, we sat down with the veteran luxury journalist to learn more about her project and why watches are now such an integral part in not only La Patiala, but also Shirley’s career.

J.J. Owens: We’ve heard you are launching a new part of your luxury encyclopedia, tell us about it!

Kristen Shirley: Yes! I am thrilled to introduce the watch encyclopedia. It is the most comprehensive section of La Patiala to date. It features dozens of stories that explain all aspects of watchmaking, including movements, complications, types of watches, and métiers d’art.
 

JO: The watches section or wing, as I like to call it, is incredibly comprehensive, how did you choose what terminology to include for the launch?

KS: When I first began covering watches, I was not a connoisseur. I had one watch that I inherited from my grandmother, and that was enough for me. Once I started to write about watches, I quickly learned what made them so interesting. However, it was rather difficult to learn about watches because most websites focus on news and assume a baseline of knowledge. I didn’t even know the difference between a manual and an automatic movement!

Over the years, I developed a deep understanding of the industry. As a former watch neophyte, I knew I could translate watch jargon and their complexity in a way that would make watches approachable to people with no watch knowledge. And as a journalist with close to a decade of experience covering watches, I write features that interest experienced collectors as well.
 

JO: What was the last watch you bought?

KS: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Duetto, I’ve coveted it for years and I bought it to honor the launch of the watch encyclopedia.
 

JO: Who embodies the La Patiala life in the watch industry?

KS: Zoe Abelson of @watchgirloffduty lives a fabulous life. I don’t know her personally, but finding people’s grail watches must be a dream job.

JO: What is the most glamorous grail watch?

KS: A Cartier Crash! I adore Cartier’s fancy-shaped watches and the Crash is the ultimate grail.
 

JO: Where are you unwinding after a day of watches in Geneva?

KS: Le Tsé Fung at La Réserve, there’s nothing more relaxing than having a glass of champagne watching the sunset over the lake eating too much Peking duck.

JO: Best watch to gift for the holidays?

KS: A Calatrava from Patek Philippe!
 

You can see her fine work in the new watches section of the La Patiala website.