About NEXO
Fine Timepieces. An Engineer's Perspective.
NEXO Timepieces is an independent business specializing in pre-owned luxury watches, founded by Dr. Lorenzo Fabris, an engineer with more than 30 years of professional experience.
My interest in watches has always extended beyond their appearance. I am fascinated by the engineering, craftsmanship, history, and ingenuity behind these remarkable mechanical objects.
Over time, that fascination evolved from collecting into something more: the desire to build a business that approaches watches with the same curiosity, discipline, and attention to evidence that have guided my engineering career.
The Story Behind the Name
The name NEXO has a very personal origin.
nEXO, with a lowercase n, is an international scientific collaboration working to understand the nature of the neutrino—one of the most elusive fundamental particles in the universe—and, through that work, to deepen our understanding of the universe itself.
I was part of the nEXO collaboration for nearly a decade, contributing my engineering expertise to the experiment until a few years ago. Some of my PhD research was developed in support of nEXO, and the collaboration introduced me to remarkable scientists, engineers, colleagues, and friends around the world. I continue to work with some of them today.
When it came time to find a name for this new enterprise, I wanted it to mean something.
NEXO Timepieces was born as a personal homage to that extraordinary scientific endeavor and, especially, to the people behind it.
Its name and visual identity draw inspiration from nEXO while establishing an entirely independent identity for a very different pursuit—one centered on another lifelong fascination of mine: precision engineering, mechanical design, and timekeeping.
If you're curious about that other side of my life, you can learn more about the nEXO collaboration.
I am also involved, among others, with the GAPS collaboration, another international scientific experiment studying fundamental questions about our universe. You can learn more about GAPS and follow the team's Antarctic flight activities on Facebook.
NEXO Timepieces is an independent business, not an official commercial activity of either scientific collaboration.
A Different Approach to Pre-Owned Watches
Every pre-owned watch has a history. Some of that history is documented; some can be reconstructed through careful examination; and some may remain unknown.
At NEXO, I believe those distinctions matter.
I approach each timepiece through a combination of technical inspection, research, documentation, market analysis, and careful photography. My objective is not to create an illusion of perfection, but to provide collectors with useful information and an honest representation of what they are considering purchasing.
When evidence supports a conclusion, I explain it. When uncertainty remains, I believe it should be acknowledged rather than concealed.
This is not so different from the way I approach engineering problems. What do we know? What evidence supports it? What assumptions are we making? And what remains uncertain?
Those questions are just as useful when evaluating a mechanical watch as they are when investigating a technical problem.
More Than a Watch Store
NEXO is also a place to explore the wider world of horology.
Through the Horology Journal, I share research, observations, personal experiences, and occasionally the lessons learned when things do not go according to plan.
I believe informed collectors make better decisions. And I believe a business earns trust not by declaring itself trustworthy, but through the accumulation of honest transactions, accurate representations, and meaningful relationships.
The Journal gives readers an opportunity to understand how I approach watches, collecting, and the business surrounding them, whether they ever purchase anything from NEXO or not.
The Long View
My ambition for NEXO is straightforward: to build an independent watch business where engineering curiosity, sound judgment, and a genuine appreciation for fine timepieces coexist.
The watches may change hands. The principles behind the business should remain.
Dr. Lorenzo Fabris, PhD
Founder, NEXO Timepieces