Has anyone else grown tired of having to screenshot Instagram stories just to read the mini-essay length thoughts that people share beneath them?
While social media continues to dominate with its quick-fix, doom-scroll allure, there’s a growing sense that people are yearning for something deeper from community members, free of the advertorial shackles that can often bind more mainstream platforms.
It seems that enthusiasts are rediscovering the joy of taking a breather, putting their feet up, and diving into a well-crafted, thoughtful piece about their favorite subject, watches.
To be clear, for many, the magazine never truly disappeared. Sure, the late 2010s heralded the mantra “print is dead,” as marketing budgets shifted toward online, social, and influencers, sending traditional writers into a literal Reel.
Yet, while print endured a tough spell, its rumoured death was short-lived. The allure of longer-form content is making a comeback, and with it, a renewed appreciation for the written word in horology.
Instagram, with its short captions and easy-to-upload photo-led concept, became the de facto meeting ground for the #watchfam years ago. It emerged as the epicentre for sharing, dealing, and debating all things horological.
But as the platform evolved into a realm of transient Reels and Stories, some collectors began seeking a richer experience — one where they could immerse themselves in the narratives behind their favourite brands, dive into nuanced discussions, and savour insights that couldn’t be crammed into a single image or a 15-second clip.
This resurgence of longer-form content reflects a deeper hunger for connection, context, and meaning in the ever-evolving world of watch collecting.
However, like all comebacks, it has come in a new guise in many cases.
Print may still be on the resus table in some cases, but long-form is back with a bang.
Let’s quickly rewind to the early noughties and the birth of the international watch collecting community congregating on the world wide web.
The Vintage Rolex Forum, TimeZone, Purists, O&P; all still going in one guise or another, but not the hotbeds of watch activity that they were a couple of decades ago.
The knowledge and deep understanding of watches, particularly vintage, that we now take for granted were all shared, debated, chronologised, and agreed upon on the watch forums.
I can talk with some level of authority on vintage Rolex knowledge because I was there in the midst of it on the Vintage Rolex Forum (VRF), where the maxi dial Subs, gilt GMT-Masters, and other vintage Oysters were dissected, often in quite heated exchanges, and the resulting knowledge promulgated in perpetuity.
Hours and hours were spent reading and digesting the information, allowing for input from anybody with a login and an opinion. It was a golden era for many.
Then, as digital entertainment developed and people’s attention spans shortened, Instagram became the perfect hangout for watch lovers.
But, in the past year or two, things began changing. The community wanted more detail. More opinion. More understanding. But, still from the authentic voice of community members. So, users looked for ways to make the content more engaging.
Yeah, videos are great, but they’re not conducive to a quiet moment. And so I come full circle; tiny text-filled screens on IG stories and “caption continued in the comments.”
Those who sensed this yearning from their followers found a new place to share their thoughts: Substack.
Essentially a user-friendly newsletter creation tool, Substack has become familiar to the watch community thanks to high-profile ‘stacks from well-known watch writers such as Chris Hall as The Fourth Wheel, Jonny Davies, Tony Traina, and Faheem, author of Screw Down Crown and horological agent provocateur.
Chris Hall captures this shift well: “Watch fans are craving insightful, independent analysis and opinion because they feel like they aren’t finding it at established media outlets. For what it’s worth, I remain a firm supporter of — and contributor to — a lot of mainstream watch media titles, but I think it’s undeniable that we’ve seen a turbulent last few years, and that has fuelled fans’ desire to know what’s really going on. In addition, people generally have become incredibly media-savvy and more inclined to call out bias or conflict of interest wherever they perceive it. We’ve seen some enormous scandals break over the last few years, and those leading the charge to scrutinise the watch industry have either been independent bloggers or serious reporters at respected newspapers, not the media outlets that dedicate their entire output to the world of watches, and that raised a few red flags for people.”
Not everyone is convinced that long-form content is undergoing a major shift.
SDC author Faheem offers a more sceptical perspective. He believes that watch enthusiasts are seeking community-led opinions over what has traditionally been deemed the watch press.
“I believe many collectors are growing tired of surface-level content which feeds them advertising dressed up as journalism — and I think, over time, some mainstream publications will see readership decline. I also think people are less interested in being told what to think and instead prefer being given the tools to form their own opinions. Through SDC Weekly, I’ve also seen first-hand how readers engage more deeply with more objective analysis and nuanced discussions about everything from market dynamics to collector psychology.”
What both perspectives make clear is that community-driven long-form content is here, but its influence varies depending on the audience. For a niche group of dedicated collectors, it is a vital resource, offering depth, knowledge, and independence from industry bias. But for the broader watch community, the dominance of quick-hit content remains intact—for now.
Yet, as collectors continue to crave substance over fluff, one thing is certain: the return of long reads is not just a passing trend. It is a sign that the watch world is maturing, with more enthusiasts demanding thoughtful analysis and storytelling. Whether through Substack, independent websites, or even a well-produced print magazine, serious collectors are once again making time for stories, insights, and deep dives. And if that’s the case, the future of watch journalism might just be brighter—and longer—than we think!