Watch Enthusiasm: A Multigenerational Habit!

Often, we read about someone’s journey into watches that stems from their parent or grandparent wearing a watch or handing one down, and then you’re sucked in like a moth to a flame into the wide world of timepieces. My story is no different than many of yours. Dad wore watches. That was intriguing to me. I got into watches… though I’m in the deep end compared to his mild, occasional wearing of watches.

What’s been so incredibly rewarding about my journey into watches is that my oldest daughter has wanted to be by my side the whole time and wants to participate right along with me. It’s been amazing to watch the world through her now 9-year-old eyes. She has a firm grasp on the designs she appreciates and those she’s less interested in. She has a light concept of what’s pricey and what’s not, but her ‘likes’ are not driven by cost but by what catches her eye.

Ownership of her own pieces makes her happy. She has watches that are her own. None of them are particularly expensive, which is nice. She likes smaller pieces, but I suspect sizing to her smaller wrist is the reason. She certainly likes holding/trying on my Tudor, but that’s not going to happen just yet, kiddo. I did appreciate her asking if she’d get my watches when I get “old.” I hope I have some time before hitting that mark, at least in her eyes. She has a Guess watch from her mom and a Saxony, as well as a small Seiko and Bulova that were my mom’s. I have another daughter who’s 5. She’s not quite ready to hit me up for the “what’s in the will” discussion just yet.

The fit on her wrists matters, but she can wear things in non-traditional ways and still get the happy feeling of the watch. She’s just as happy to wear a watch up on her forearm or even let it dangle quite loosely. The fun of someone who is into it for fashion is that she’s just as welcoming of wearing a watch in a non-traditional way so long as she’s properly accessorized. She’s 9… it’s a lot sometimes.

She loathes square watches. Not sure why, but it’s not her jam! Rectangular is okay, though. The Monaco is out, in her opinion. On the flip side, her favorite watch is the JLC Reverso. She has good taste, and since I don’t have a Reverso yet, it’s now on the list as a “someday” watch. If I can get her into a lucrative career path, maybe she’ll be the one to buy me a watch one day instead of me leaving her all of mine.

She likes a good dial and variety. I wouldn’t say she has a type, but she has tended to be more drawn to smaller sizes, which has been helpful for fitting them to her kiddo wrists. I’m sharing photos of her collection throughout so you’ll have a good idea of what she’s got so far.

All of this is to say that I so much enjoy the watch community and the approachability of the people involved in it—or at least that’s been my experience so far. I really love that my daughter has seemingly decided to make this something that she enjoys as well. It’s a very special connection that we get to enjoy, and that means the world to me.

I also think it’s important for her not to think about watches as a gendered hobby. I love that this isn’t something that has to be for men or for women, though men seem to dominate the community at the moment. I want her to feel welcomed and not worry about something being a “boys’ club” when it shouldn’t be the case. She just likes watches, and I like that she’s enjoying it at this point in her life.

She also is a great sounding board for me. She’s a photography critic and has an awesome eye. She took most of the pics of her watches, and she always finds cool ways to highlight her watches that I never thought of for photographing mine. She’ll have a huge advantage in establishing her own presence if/when she decides to… Don’t worry—no social media for her for a lonnnnng time… I hope. She’s also great at telling me when she thinks it’s been too much time spent on it for me, too. I appreciate that, and it snaps me back to where my priority needs to be.

I think I’ll keep it short this week. It’s still summer vacation for the kids, and they’re running around while I’m working on this. I’ve also been working on a couple of other articles for other publications, and while that’s fun and it’s certainly fun to write about my daughter and her watch collection, I’ll go get some real time with them. After all, we have them at home for a short amount of their lives, and while I can’t imagine a house without them, they’ll eventually pack up their watch boxes and go do their own thing. So long as they always come home (or I can go to them), we’ll all be fine.

Thanks for the quick one this week!

Adam