'Anatomy of a Grail' with Daily Grail
A conversation with J.J. Owens on the evolving definition of luxury
J.J. Owens, Founder of Daily Grail Official, is one of those rare individuals whose expertise on luxury extends far beyond products & brands. Equipped with a brilliantly curated watch collection (featuring vintage Audemars Piguet, Rolex, and Patek Philippe to name a few) and an equally impressive breadth of experiences & travel, Owens has passion for all things luxury. Daily Grail was founded to ‘bring a bit of enjoyment and enthusiasm back into the luxury industry.’ Their Instagram has quickly amassed a loyal following because of its strong, witty pulse on modern culture and unique features including the ‘IT’ List where luxury community leaders share what’s topical and cool, The Top of the Line featuring a roundup of the best watch posts, and The Grail Matrix. The Grail Matrix shows a grid of major cultural moments and visually plots them on a chart to show what is major, dull, profound, and trivial. Tapping on Owens’ expertise, we discussed what makes a grail and what’s keeping the luxury industry exciting.
AS: The term ‘grail’ typically refers to a desirable, perhaps unattainable piece of clothing or jewelry. How do you define a grail?
JJ: A grail is anything coveted, its almost abstract as its so relative to whomever is describing it as a “grail”. It’s different for everyone as is what is actually a luxury, at the end of the day it is rather personal. And I think in some way, that is the beauty of a grail. A grail can be anything from a 120 ct. diamond necklace that Sotheby’s is offering or it can be as simple as a really great burger at Minetta Tavern. The term “grail" can be applied to anything that evokes enthusiasm and I think that that would be the only possible way I could begin to define it.
AS: What was your first grail and has it evolved over the years?
JJO: That’s an incredible question, I’ve never really thought about it…when I was younger I was incredibly into fashion via my mother and I would imagine it was some kind of Chanel ensemble. I remember falling in love with a Chanel cuff when I was about 9 or 10, but in terms of a grail, the first watch I fell in love with was a Patek 5039J solely because I was infatuated by the moonphase complication. Having been fortunate enough to be around such beautiful things at a young age, my grails now are more in the realm of food and destinations.
AS: How are watches different from other luxury goods?
JJO: Unlike other luxury goods, simply put: watches were made with the purpose of telling time. What they’ve become now especially with social media is completely devoid of why they were created in the first place but there still is an incredibly useful element of a watch that other luxury goods don’t offer.
AS: The Grail Matrix is one of my favorite visuals on Instagram because it unpacks big cultural moments in such a unique way. What inspired you to create it and what was your process like?
JJO: Thank you! The New York Magazine has their “Approval Matrix”, which I have been a long fan of but I had never once seen that concept applied anywhere else especially in a niche sense. The idea came about as I wanted a recurring series that summarized the week in the watch industry, but in a highly digestible way that also allowed for other cultural elements, thus appealing to more than just the watch audience. The process of creating a matrix is rather cut and dry as it starts at the beginning of the week with me collecting events/releases/moments that are significant and then come week’s end I start placing each item in its rightful position.
AS: What makes a piece or moment 'major' or profound' ?
JJO: In the luxury industry so many things are repetitive that I find when a brand or person does something unseen or exciting, that immediately gets consideration as doing something against the grain can be challenging such a cyclical industry. In Daily Grail’s last matrix, Rihanna wearing a Jacob watch on her ankle, Nadine Ghosn making Drake a 50ct dog leash, and Tiffany collabing with Daniel Arsham on a Pokémon necklace made the top spots because all of those events start conversations in ways that have yet to be done in the luxury space.
