While GaryG thinks it’s all the more impressive that designers continue to delight us with new looks, many watches are often very similar. And trying to describe the slippery slope from vague resemblance to outright theft is not a simple task. So he begins down at the lower end of the grade with so-called homage watches and moves up the GaryG Styling Statute of Limitations from there.
GaryG meanders through some observations on the state of the industry, 2020 occurrences, and his own year in watches, including the watches he bought in 2020 and the watches he’d like to buy. And there are also his favorite photos from this year’s shooting interspersed to keep it lively. Enjoy!
GaryG loves independent watchmaking and independent watchmakers; one of his great joys as a collector is having the feeling that, in a small way, he is supporting their efforts. So he put some thought into why many independent watchmakers struggle in a business sense and how they can remain relevant in changing market situations.
Of all the winners from the 2020 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, this was the one that really made Dr. Rebecca Struthers smile! Among all the glamour of the watch industry, it’s easy to forget the importance of education; here she reminds us why that – and Antoine Simonin – are important to the wellbeing of our ticking microcosm.
Based on the most popular releases of 2017, it is possible that the almighty tourbillon may about to be usurped by something new and rather old at the same time: the chronograph. In this installment of Joshua Munchow’s “Here’s Why” series, he explores why the chronograph could be the new tourbillon.
To the extent that new enthusiasts represent the future of the watch market, is it possible that their enthusiasm for the past will prove highly damaging, or even lethal, to the industry’s future? GaryG shares his thoughts on the subject here.
Professional watchmakers have specialist machinery for testing the water resistance of their watches, but Colin Alexander Smith does not. So after servicing his Seiko SKX013 he was on the lookout for an opportunity to take it down deep. And he found the perfect opportunity while summer holiday diving at Aiguablava cove on Spain’s Costa Brava. But it didn’t go quite to plan and his Seiko came out of the experience a tad better than he did.
Deciding whether or not to restore a vintage watch is a tough decision to make. The internet is awash with tales of watches butchered by an incompetent independent watchmaker or, worse still, the brand itself. Even more confusing is deciding which options offered should be accepted. Refinish the case? Change the hands? Replace the crystal? Here is some help for you.
GaryG wears all of the watches in his collection, though some watches are more suited to daily wear than others. A reader’s question got Gary thinking, both about which pieces in his assortment are the go-to routine watches for frequent wear and, at a more fundamental level, what makes a watch a “daily wearer.” Read his opinion on that right here.
As a collector, and a fairly visible one at that, GaryG has been paying attention to reports of muggings and thefts of watches and wondering whether it makes sense these days to wear valuable pieces in public. He polled a group of 20 watch enthusiast friends on their personal safety while wearing watches to learn what steps they take to keep safe.