you are trapped in here with us
Here at The Escapement Room we believe that watch collecting can have a beneficial impact on all aspects of our lives. So, we have enlisted a watch collector to participate in our occasional series “Ask a Watch Collector Anything” to share the knowledge and wisdom that comes from collecting. Our first collector is Ted Furman… Continue reading Ask a Watch Collector Anything
When I was about fifteen, God got up abruptly, and left by the back door. As the door shut quietly, he said, “I’ll be back soon enough, carry on for now.” It certainly took something away from Christmas and Easter in the short term. Rituals became shallow and lost meaning. The direction and purpose that… Continue reading Leave the seat down: a search for a vintage watch collecting philosophy
When you pop the back of a mechanical watch and see the intricate springs and gears in motion making incremental measures of time on the dial side, one can’t help but be amazed. If you have no watchmaking skills, you may also be confused. There are layers of complexity in even a simple three hander.… Continue reading Did Swatch choose wisely?
Greg: Are there any burning issues that need to be addressed? Here is my late night thought: Not all “vintage inspired” pieces are the same. What makes one work and one not? I am thinking of a Timex/Todd Snyder collab up on our favorite forum. It looks like any number of mid-century watches, but this… Continue reading Duologue No. 1: Reimagining Vintage for Modern Tastes
I am not a designer, nor do I play one on TV. I like design. I appreciate design. I love walking through an IKEA showroom and marveling at what Swedes can do in small spaces using only black and white as a color palette. (And I love the names given to these products. Swedish and… Continue reading Everyone is a critic…
Trial is stylized combat. Rather than being decided with feats of strength or marksmanship it is a contest of words and persuasion. Facts matter too. We blame the inconvenient facts when we lose and give our golden tongues the credit when we win. Next week I will be in a small rural county seated next… Continue reading A vain man justifies his preconceptions…
Today's topic: the Hamilton Khaki Field Expedition Erik: Okay (takes breath) The specs are great as per usual with Hamilton. They're a solid watchmaker. I don't really think that's up for debate. With the rise in high quality microbrand watches coming out, you could probably argue that Hamilton is often overpriced, but their history, ties to… Continue reading Round Table No. 9: The Rise of the Pentarchy
What follows is an argument. This is an argument that I have often, in many contexts, but it always begins as a definitional argument. When we use certain terms, what do we mean?[i] Much has been written recently about the importance and desirability of sustainability in the watch industry. What does it mean to buy… Continue reading Some thoughts on sustainable watches
I have spent the last few days in the suburbs of a large city in Florida helping a family member recover from surgery. I am not normally a “Florida person”. Although I love all things warm and tropical and I find Spanish inflected English endearing, I prefer some changes in elevation and the semblance of… Continue reading Dystopian Watch Shopping
In 2020 the microbrand TrollDeep was founded by partners Jan Jensen and Alan Smithee in the Faroe Islands. In their initial Kickstarter campaign TrollDeep pledged to “make watches that you will buy” and with the quality and design that “won’t be too bad”. That initial Kickstarter only netted $14.74 and so the two began an… Continue reading TrollDeep, the Escapement Room Interview
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