Joey is a pianist, watch collector, and Volkswagen/Audi enthusiast.
Joey and I met as many watch enthusiasts do; overhearing a wrist check conversation and nudging our individual ways into it at the same time. Of course, this conversation was also at a car show, which served as the catalyst for this eventual article, and over the course of six months, a real friendship forged through timepieces and an Audi TT RS.
A San Francisco native with an eye for custom style, Joey naturally started his car journey with custom Volkswagens. “From the specific years you bought, how you lowered it, interior to the color scheme you could tell you were from San Francisco,” he says, motioning to a VW Kharmann Ghia across the sea of car enthusiasts that we stand distanced from on a warm and clear Sunday morning in September. Family and friends modified air-cooled V-Dubs, introducing him to the art of modifying cars—a topic that remains contentious among enthusiasts, some of whom prefer to keep their classic machines stock, in stark opposition to the hot rodders and lowriders of the scene.
A fleeting glance of a late-model Volkswagen Scirocco 16V in Brilliant Black kickstarted Joey’s personal pursuit of vehicular perfection, but his first automotive love was that car’s little brother. “I ended up going to the local dealer and bought a Mk2 big bumper Jetta GLI with the 2.0L bubble-block 16V instead”, Joey admits, showing a hint of his present self’s penchant for practicality in tandem with fun.
His current ride could be considered the pinnacle of that natural progression. A 2013 Audi TT RS Plus in Monza Silver Pearl and sporting a 6-speed manual transmission, Audi’s Haldex all-wheel drive system, and a 2.5L turbocharged 5-cylinder engine, Joey’s chariot (my words, not his) harkens back to those earlier days of the boyhood modscene, albeit with a much subtler twist. The low-slung coupe is stanced on KV V1 coilovers, with crisp silver 19-inch BBS wheels and a list of other suspension modifications that would make any enthusiast drool, including various parts from 034 Motorsports, and European-spec headlights, tail lights, and rear fog lamps. “I’m a Volkswagen enthusiast so it’s only natural that I’d own a tarted-up Golf,” Joey says with a laugh. “Hot VW and Lowrider magazines were a staple on the coffee table.”
The crown jewel of the build, however, is much more subtle, and calls to mind both that first Jetta and Joey’s enthusiasm for watches. “While the Jetta and cars that followed are no longer with me, what remains is the Momo Aluco shift knob that I bought for it,” he explains, “in true horology fashion, that shift knob has been passed down from car to car. It remains unpolished and continues its shifting duties.” Indeed, as I sit in the passenger seat to take photos, the shift knob gleams and glitters, mirroring the cool silver of the exterior.
Joey wears watches on his right wrist, giving me an excellent opportunity to snap some shots of the Momo knob, and to get a glimpse of his Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional. While it may seem like an obvious choice for a grail watch, the story behind Joey’s personal Speedy is also, in a way, my own story. See, when Joey and I first met months ago and got to chatting about watches, he asked me where I would recommend he shop. Being a loyal patron of Topper Jewelers in Burlingame, I wrote the name down for him, and we parted ways. A week or two later, Joey sent me a photo of his new Speedy, taken in the Topper showroom. “Even with the amount of people at the store, both Russ and Ron (of Topper) still took the time to speak with me and answer any questions I had,” Joey says, tapping the face of his Speedy as we sit beneath the arches of the Marin Civic Center, “my wife said, ‘we’ll take it,’ reasoning that she just couldn’t resist the smile on my face.”
Joey’s love of watches started with the ubiquity of brands like Swatch. “Basically everyone I knew wore a Swatch,” Joey says. “We would swap guards and bands between classes with each other. It was just something you did.” Like most enthusiasts, watches were an item of pure fascination for a young Joey. “In 4th or 5th grade, my good friend came to class with a Kronoform, and I was just in awe” Joey says, laughing. “This was a time when shows like Voltron, G-Force, Transformers and Star Blazer were waiting for us as soon as we got home from school. So to see a watch that was a toy and vice versa was the ultimate stealth, ‘I’m not bringing a toy to school’ thing.” He takes a sip of his coffee before adding, “my parents did not share my sentiments.”
Still, the image of the watch as a thing of joy, not just a tool, stuck. A Casio DW-9500HH purchased because is could measure heartrate—still in Joey’s possession after all these years—was his first adulthood foray into timekeeping, and much like his first Volkswagen, it was a wrap from there. When I ask him why he thinks that car and watch enthusiasm go hand-in-hand, his answer is equal parts scientific and anthropological: “I find its the attraction [and] fascination [with] the interworking of the machine itself…I think that’s why I tend to gravitate towards people that work on their own cars, as I feel we share a common bond of taking things apart and hoping we can put it back together.”
Joey ties his acquisition of the Speedy to both to the friendliness of the watch community, and to his wonderful wife’s encouragement. “When I wear the watch I am reminded of my wife’s unconditional love, and new friendships made,” he explains. It’s a sentiment that made me emotional, not just for my personal stake in the story, but for the fact that it all happened organically. Before that morning back in early 2025, Joey and I had no reason to know each other; by the time of this interview, we are not only friends, but friends who see each other with relative frequency at the many car shows that dot the Bay Area every weekend.
As we wrap up our conversation, the dozens of cars that line the parking lot start to file out one by one, each a representation of their owner’s personality in some way or another. Joey’s tastefully modified TT RS, to me, says a lot about him; quiet at first, but with a wealth of knowledge, warmth, and humor beneath the surface.
Before we part ways, I ask him what his favorite watch and car of all time are, and his answers reflect his passions. “I would resto-mod a BMW 2002 ‘roundie’ with an S14 engine and transmission” he says after only a few beats. “Then I’d see what Öhlins could put together for suspension, with BBS E50 wheels wrapped in R888.” The last detail comes with a sly smile: “Paint it in Salmon Silver Metallic with a complete TII interior in black.”
For the watch, he chooses a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Duoface Calendar, “but in the 45.6 x 27.4mm size because I’m part of the itty bitty wrist club.” As he walks back to the TT RS, he tosses another grin over his shoulder. “And make it in 18k White Gold!”
Elodie Townsend
2025-11-13 19:00:00