This year, Revolution turns 20. Two decades of chronicling watches, people and ideas have given us a front-row seat to a remarkable story: how an age-old craft has both preserved its soul and reinvented itself for the 21st century. To celebrate, we’ve chosen over 100 names and milestones that, for us, define the era so far. From leaders to watches, you can see the whole list here.

Aurel Bacs is not a leader in the primary watch business, but if not for him, there is no doubt that vintage watch culture would not be where it is today. Indeed, you can look at him, especially in the new millennium, as being the prime architect of our society’s love for vintage horology, and that is an accomplishment that makes him worthy of being on this list. Sure, there were plenty of guys like Osvaldo Patrizzi, but much like Steve Jobs did for the MP3 player back in the day, Bacs took vintage watches and made them mainstream. Using his incredible multi-linguistic oratory skills, he transformed every turn behind the lectern into performance art.

When he and his equally impressive wife Livia Russo struck out on their own, they tapped their resources to bring to auction some of the world’s most extraordinary timepieces, setting multiple auction records.

Today, Bacs is a guiding force in watchmaking of all kinds and should rightly be consulting with any brand having issues tapping into its history in order to forge its future.