ennifer Leingang, better known by her YouTube handle Jenni Elle, describes herself as “new” to the industry, but her love of watches goes way back. Her father enjoyed tinkering with watches and frequently came home with flea-market finds. Not necessarily famous names, simply the ones that caught his eye. As a result, Jennifer grew up in a house full of watches but, while she did show a passing interest, it was always her father’s thing.

All this changed in high school when she met her boyfriend Kai (who has his own YouTube channel, Watchvice). As soon as he could, he bought his first Rolex Oyster Perpetual 39. Jennifer loved it. The watch bug had bitten. She remembers how “I was bowled away by the apparent simplicity, the mechanical complexity, the timeless character, and I went down a rabbit hole.”

When the couple married, they gave each other what else but watches as wedding gifts. Jennifer was overcome with emotion when she opened her box and saw a 36mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual with diamond indices. Her eyes still light up when she talks about what she says, with typical candour, was her “first real watch.”

She now has her own YouTube channel where she discusses topics of interest to her. This includes reviewing watches, of course, but also broader themes such as marketing or the stories behind watches. She’s fascinated to see how passionate people are about these mechanical marvels “that we don’t really need.” She started in 2018, having realised there were very few people vlogging about watches in German. It all grew naturally from there.

Jennifer’s videos are now in English while her husband continues to post content in German. She admits that the more she learns, the more she realises how much she still has to discover: “That’s the great thing about it!”. She enjoys giving her analysis of current market trends: “There’s a lot of colour and innovative designs this year. Again, lots of modernised remakes of classic watches. Titanium is everywhere, too.”

In her new role as an Academy member, she has made her selection for the different GPHG categories. It is, she admits, “a complex process. Obviously you put forward models that you like but they have to be relevant. It’s really exciting to go behind the scenes of this institution.”

As an official media partner of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), in each issue we’re featuring members of the GPHG Academy who are tasked with selecting watches for the competition and voting for the winners. Stay tuned for the next episode!