Ok, I’ll be honest, “love” is too strong a word. If I’m honest, this article should be titled: “how I learned to stop hating and try to appreciate some types of quartz watches.”
Insight How I Learned to Stop Hating, And Love Quartz
Category: Insights
Insight New Old Stock Watches: What NOS Really Means And How Dealers Abuse the Term
In order for a watch to be legitimately considered New Old Stock it must, by definition, never have been sold at retail. If you’re buying something that’s labeled NOS, then you have to be the first individual consumer to have bought it. Period. If old stock is changing hands between retailers, or even being distributed… Read more »
Insight The Psychology of Watch Size & The Black Box of Taste
In 1970, psychologist Richard L. Gregory hypothesized that the human brain uses “top-down processing” to generate what we perceive via our eyes. The theory argued that our backlog of visual experiences give shape to the images we perceive. By the 1990s, experiments had robustly backed up this theory, and psychologists now widely accept that what… Read more »
Insight Omega Speedmaster: The Price of Emotion
“When I first looked back at Earth from the Moon, I Cried.” – Alan Shepard The Skinny Omega Speedmaster Professional (Hesalite / Bracelet) Ref. 311.30.42.30.01.005 Movement, Calibre 1861 manual wind Case Size 42 x 48 x14.3mm Stainless Steel Caseback MSRP: $5,350 Omega Speedmaster Professional (Sapphire / Bracelet) Ref. 311.30.42.30.01.006 Case Size 42x48x13.7mm Movement, Calibre 1863… Read more »
Insight Vortic Watch Co. Retains Rights to “Upcycle” Antique Hamilton Pocket Watches in US Federal Court
If you’re unaware of the court case in which Hamilton, a Swatch Group company, sued Colorado-based watch company Vortic for both trademark infringement and counterfeiting (the latter a felony), it’s likely because I was one among (I believe) two writers in the watch space to report on the case. My first article appeared in the… Read more »
Insight How Many Watches are in Your Collection?
This piece was inspired by my friend Pedro Mendes’s recent article on how he has established a set of rules that enable him to curate his watch acquisitions to the same high standards as he curates his wardrobe. After reading and cogitating his article, I found myself thinking there was something amiss, something did not… Read more »
Insight I Dream of Tanks – War, Warhol, and Cartier’s Greatest Creation
Childhood Nightmares The second dream I can remember having was a nightmare. I was 2- or 3-years-old. I see the back of my family’s house turn inside out, its walls unfolding as if I were peering through some horrifying cubist kaleidoscope. From within the roiling walls, tank tracks begin crawling toward me. There’s no tank,… Read more »
Insight The Wardrobe Lessons I Wish I’d Applied To Watch Collecting
It’s a thought that sparks every watch collector’s journey: “I can have more than one watch.”
Insight Hockey Sticks, Fava Beans and a Timex
This story was originally published on my personal blog The Hogtown Rake. My first watch, a Timex “Sprite.” The case is angular and small, about 33mm. The dial has no numbers, save for the date window at 3 o’clock. And as a kid I loved that dial: a background of deep blue wood grain. It… Read more »
Insight The Power of Right Now: Why I Wear A Watch While Motorcycling
As I escape time’s shackles, my watch keeps track of the time on my behalf. In this way, my watch is a fine companion, a trusty sidekick, and a friend. For over 30 years I’ve ridden motorcycles to quiet my mind. On a really good ride the deep silence of speed engulfs me, the edges… Read more »