Meet GQ’s 2024 Watch Collector of the Year, Who Takes the Most Beautiful Wrist Shots on Instagram

This is the third consecutive year that Montanari—who goes by the nom de plume John Goldberger—has appeared on this list. And honestly, it’s downright shocking that he’s yet to walk away with the top spot. Montanari is one of the most legendary collectors in the watch game for good reason: Few people have better taste, and even fewer follow it with such zeal. I’m most tickled when the Italian collector squeezes in widely accessible and affordable pieces, like a new Omega MoonSwatch or G-Shock, between the gorgeous rarities in his collection. He wears cool “ladies” watches from Gübelin, rocks golden pendants from Omega, isn’t turned off from fashion watches, and still manages to bring the vintage Rolex heat. “It’s quite hard to choose a better collector when THE collector is on the list,” Blamo! host Jeremy Kirkland said of Montanari.

It goes to show just how strong the competition was this year that Hannah is only taking home the silver medal. Nobody was further ahead on the trend curve. She gobbled up only the best and rarest jewelry watches with stone dials, in cuff form, and with teasing secret dials—the dominant aesthetics of this year. It’s not just that Hannah posts the coolest and most unique timepieces I’ve ever seen—it’s that she does so with hall-of-fame consistency. She drops photos of a watch I’d consider a grail at least a few times a week. “Hannah was ahead of the current trend towards Piaget, Cartier, and everything else, and continues to buy and collect some of the weirdest shit I’ve ever seen,” said Tony Traina, the editor and founder of Unpolished (and recent GQ contributor!). “I learn something from almost every post. Beyond that, she truly lives up to her Instagram name: crazy!”

Li is finally getting the crown she deserves. Like Montanari, this is her third time on the list. “It’s her year. She’s been patient,” Adam Golden of Menta Watches wrote definitively. And what a treat it is for the rest of us to have an excuse to stare deeply at the sumptuous photos she takes of vintage Pateks, Rainbow Daytonas, and a Cartier Crash. So how, after two years, did Li manage to ascend to COTY status in 2024? She changed up her game plan. “There was a time when I felt my collection needed a cohesive theme, with every piece reflecting a meticulously curated vision,” she said over email. “But I soon realized this left little room for spontaneity or joy—I was overthinking instead of appreciating. Over the past year, my approach has become more organic.”

Li’s strategic rethinking reflects what seems to be happening in watch collecting more generally. There are fewer strictures and a lot more fun. She has ultra-traditional (and ultra-beautiful) Breguets, but the mix also includes Richard Mille; Anoma, an affordable newcomer brand inspired by spaceships; and Berneron, our panel of experts’ favorite watch of 2024.