Beyond being a partner at the Dorsey & Whitney law firm, Cornell Leverette
Moore is president of the oldest black Greek organization in the United States,
Sigma Pi Phi, and a director on boards at several companies. You can call him
many things, just don’t call him late.
“There are pictures of me as a little boy of 10 or 11 wearing two watches. My dad was a bricklayer in south Georgia, and I kept the time for the men because we paid them by the hour. We started at 7 a.m. and finished at 7 p.m. I was always cognizant of time.
“When I grew up, watches became a fashion item. Today, for example, I have on a brown suit and a brown watch. I spend half of my dressing moments deciding which watch I’m going to wear. I bought my first expensive watch 25 years ago. It was a Rolex Submariner GMT II. I paid $1,500 for it; it’s now worth $7,825.
“Some time ago, I went to Geneva, Switzerland, and toured the factory of Audemars Piquet, one of the top five watchmakers in the world. I wore a watch they had made for me and met the man who had made it. He said it took him nine months to make it; it’s all hand engraved. To most people, a watch is just an appliance. But when I wear a watch, I think about the people it took to make it. It’s a work of art.
“I keep watches in my desk drawer. People at work know if they forget their watch at home, they can borrow one from me. People who have no respect for time, I don’t deal with but once or twice.
“What will happen to my watches when I die? Hopefully, at my wake, my close family and friends will each get a watch. Not just everyone who comes for the lunch. They will have to cry and roll on the floor and go out of their minds—and then they’ll get a watch.”
