you are trapped in here with us
One of the problems with having opinions about everything is that sometimes you have to express that opinion, even when you should not. And having expressed this opinion about a trivial matter, such that it would not cross most people’s minds, you end up with a vintage watch that you did not intend to buy.… Continue reading Alive with pleasure
Goals, people, we have to have goals. What is the point of this activity if we just see something shiny and figure out how to acquire it? That’s just crass consumerism. That is being a shopping addict, not a collector. (Do you feel the burning shame of your last thoughtless purchase? Good. I feel mine… Continue reading Collecting goals for 2026
I don’t read many “State of the Collection” (SOTC) posts or watch those videos. When one plays on my YouTube feed it is usually because I dozed off watching a video on the history of the Lakota Sioux, the Seleucids, or Appalachian geography. (If I ever get to run this simulation again, I might wind… Continue reading The Purposeful Wanderer (not a SOTC)
You have decided to dip your toe into vintage watch collecting. Like a certain potato chip (crisp for those of you that eat beans on toast), you can never have just one. There are certain categories that you should/must have in your collection. These are the Jungian archetypes of vintage watches that will bring pleasure… Continue reading The Five Vintage Watches That You Must Own
I knew that there was a saying that something “was the thief of joy.” I have been feeling a bit joyless in the collecting part of watch collecting recently. I looked it up and it was “comparison”. Well, that covers FOMO pretty much. It is a very stoic way of looking at the world. Teddy… Continue reading My Knowledge Problem
I suppose we’ve all seen the meme… I’ve even seen some videos on it - I mean it is just a meme, so take it with a pinch of salt. There are others versions of it that basically have Seiko and the end as well, but hey, we cannot always be right 😉 (emojis, really?… Continue reading Critical state watch collecting – what stage are you in?
I immersed myself in some Red and Blue America activities this week. Just a warning for all of our friends worldwide, the United States is going to talk about itself a lot in the next year. It will be a cacophony of opinions about “American Exceptionalism,” “America’s Original Sin,” and everywhere in between. Brace yourself… Continue reading Dispatches from Real America…
Why don’t watches call themselves “self-winding” anymore? It is so much classier than “automatic”. I blame the Swiss… That Andrew Morgan sure has jokes. Can someone explain them to me? Except the parts that refer to sex, that would be uncomfortable. I didn’t understand Dennis Miller either, except the sex jokes. I may just flip… Continue reading News and Views on Watches
If you pay attention to what I wear (why would you, that would be weird), you might think that I rarely wear quartz watches, that every movement in my watch collection derives from the mind of Adolf Schild and Abraham-Louis Breguet before him. Not quite true. At night and on weekends I am just as… Continue reading Do Quartz Watches Have “Soul”?
Lume on watches can be a contentious topic. Some folks really value it, while others fall into ambivalence. At the end of the day, lume is entirely a personal preference for watches. My preference is to have good lume (or a backlight) on my watch. While watches are glorified jewelry, I find the value of… Continue reading Does Lume Matter On A Watch?
The Escapement Room 