When Adam Golden, founder of Menta Watches in Miami, first connected with a potential client on Instagram last fall, he assumed he knew what to expect. The man in question—Lex Borrero, a Latin American entertainment executive—seemed like a typical Miami collector, likely drawn to flashy modern pieces from Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet.
But Golden was wrong.
Borrero surprised him by inquiring about rare and understated pieces typically sought by seasoned collectors. “The first watch he showed me was a very rare connoisseur piece,” Golden recalls. “I had him all wrong.”
Borrero, the Colombian-born co-founder and CEO of talent and media company Neon16, has a deep and personal connection to watches. His journey started early. Raised in Colombia by a rally car-driving father and a mother-turned-pastor, he fell in love with watches at age six, drawn in by their link to racing. As a young adult, he collected G-Shocks and comic-themed watches before borrowing—and never returning—a TAG Heuer Monaco from his brother-in-law.
Watches became more than accessories for Borrero. By his late teens, he purchased his first Rolex GMT in a two-tone finish, financing the purchase despite limited means. “I lost my job a month later,” he says. “It ruined my credit, but I paid it off and got hooked on Rolex collecting.”
A $3,000 Frederique Constant world time watch introduced him to complications and expanded his collecting scope. Today, at 39, his collection includes a Cartier Crash, rare Patek Philippes, vintage TAG Heuers, and even a $100 Timex with a floating seconds indicator. “I’ve always been driven by design,” he says, emphasizing aesthetics over status or price.
That design-first mindset set him apart in the early 2000s. “I wore 39 mm watches when everyone else was wearing 42s and 43s,” he notes. Years before the Cartier Crash became a celebrity favorite, Borrero discovered it during Paris Fashion Week and bought a vintage Paris edition for around $70,000. Today, it can fetch $200,000 to $300,000.
His passion for watches recently led him to vintage timepieces with help from Golden, whose Menta Watches happens to lease office space from Neon16. This chance connection sparked a friendship and collecting partnership. In January, Borrero consulted Golden and watch expert Yoni Ben-Yehuda on Louis Vuitton’s new Tambour Convergence. Despite skepticism from others, he bought the jump hour model, becoming its first owner. “I like that it’ll tell its own story with scratches,” he says.
Borrero rarely sells his watches. To him, they mark significant life moments. One example is the Jacob & Co. Five Time Zone—a hip-hop industry staple he gifted to his three closest friends. “It was our dream watch growing up,” he says.
He recently added another meaningful piece: Tiffany & Co.’s Eternity watch. The 33 mm timepiece features hour markers shaped like the house’s signature diamond cuts. “I saw it and thought, ‘It’s so beautiful.’ It tells a story,” he says.For Borrero, watches are more than luxury—they are memories worn on the wrist.