Musings on horology and the watch industry

The watch complication of the 21st century hasn’t been invented yet

Quartz brought the industry’s 500-year-old raison d’être to its knees. Decades later, the industry is still grappling with what complication development in the 21st century means. Here, I want to think through how complications can evolve in the post-quartz era.

What the watch industry should focus on in a market downturn

For the last 5-7 years, many brands, auction houses, and dealers have painted themselves into the corner of financialized watches, which has worked wonders with a red hot, bull market. But now the tides are turning.

We’re ready for the next art movement in watchmaking

I am optimistic that the next art movement will arrive in the coming years. That said, there are some strong headwinds that young, talented watchmakers will have to overcome in order to push the tradition forward.

On the Watch Industry’s Language Barrier

What impact does the language barrier in the luxury watch industry have on fine watchmaking's overall health? Well, quite a large one.

Is Clubhouse a game changer for the watch community?

This week, I was able to get my hands on an invite to Clubhouse – a new social media platform still in private beta. After four days on the app, I find myself... excited. And what excites me the most about Clubhouse is its potential for the watch community.

The implications of increasingly financialized watches for dealers and brands

As broad interest in alternative asset classes grows, it is without doubt that watches will attract more attention as a financial instrument. To go further on this topic, I want to think through some of the implications of a flood in investment capital for watches for brands and watch dealers.

The next frontier of financialized watches

The increasing financialization of watches isn't merely fascinating in the abstract— it has wide-ranging, concrete implications for brands, dealers, and the watch community's future. Previously, I've looked almost exclusively at the past and present. Today, I want to look more toward the future.

Inside the mind of a watch designer

With the rise of independent watchmakers, the watch community has gotten a good grasp of the general persona of watchmakers. Though our image of the watchmaker still might lack depth, it is still significantly more concrete than our understanding of watch designers. So what are the character traits of watch designers? What do they care about?

Handmade watchmaking isn’t about aesthetics, it’s about people

It is often "handmade" timepieces that gather the most admiration, acting also as the catalyst for some of the watchmaking community's Luddite undertones. But if we take a closer look, the Luddism of the watch community today is quite different from the Luddite movement's historical origins.

I’m never selling my watches at a premium

Today, I'm going to share my ethos on managing my own personal watch collection: I'm never selling any of my watches at a premium.