These days it seems that being a grumpy watch writer is all the rage and, frankly, I’m all for it.
Recently, there’s been a lively back-and-forth in the pages of WatchPro, where differing views on the future of the Swiss watch industry have sparked spirited debate.
Meanwhile, over on another platform, another industry veteran aired his frustrations about the state of watches today.
The topics may not have kept me awake at night, but I appreciated the sentiment and admired the venting.
If nothing else, it proved that even the most seasoned voices in watches still have strong opinions that they’re unafraid to air, and that’s no bad thing.
Now, I’m not saying that all watch writers have turned into curmudgeons, but let’s be honest, many of us are at the stage where we buy shoes for comfort rather than style and think “crypto” is a type of crossword puzzle. So, in the spirit of grumbling, I’ll take my turn.
Watch Spots
Can we please take a break from the endless obsession with spotting watches on celebrities?
Awards season just passed, which meant drowning in a sea of “Spotted” articles and Instagram posts about what timepiece was peeking out from under Timothy Chalamet’s cuff or which smoking-hot hype watch Jay-Z wore to Michael Rubin’s White Party.
I understand why it happens—it’s easy content, it drives clicks, and it gives junior writers something to do—but does anyone actually care?
I get it, PR teams are doing their jobs, sending helpful emails informing us that a brand ambassador has been seen wearing their latest model. But it must be a pretty miserable job to sit at your Macbook zooming in on Getty Images, analysing grainy shots to determine whether someone is wearing a Patek or Piaget?
Now, there are exceptions of course. Collector gatherings, auction weekend wrist-roundups, and the occasional eagle-eyed spot of an unreleased model are genuinely interesting (remember the Sir Ben Ainslie prototype titanium Yacht-Master?).
Also, to be fair, when a celeb is seen wearing a particularly interesting and off-the-beaten-path watch, either vintage or modern, collectors can find that fascinating. I know I do.
Maybe I’m talking myself round here!
But do we need to know the details of every red-carpet wrist roll and every footballer’s latest acquisition? I think we can all live without the play-by-play.
Predictions
Speaking of impending events, you may be reading this at Watches and Wonders, but I am writing it a few weeks out from the show.
As someone who has spent many years in this game, I have the usual mix of excitement and trepidation. The long days in the exhibition halls, the back-to-back appointments, the endless racing from booth to booth.
Now, compared to Baselworld, it’s a dream with the incredible hospitality offered and, of course, catching up with the watch community is always a joy.
What’s less joyful is the never-ending flood of “predictions” articles that precede the event.
I remember when these discussions were the domain of watch forums — enthusiasts speculating on what brands might reveal, musing on what Rolex had up its sleeve. It was fun, organic, and part of the charm of being deeply entrenched in the hobby.
But now, thanks to Photoshop and digital rendering tools, these speculations have taken on a life of their own.
Mock-ups that look indistinguishable from real watches flood social media, fuelling expectations that, inevitably, are never met. The effort required to create these wishlist watches could surely be better spent elsewhere.
Plug leaks
Tied to predictions is the matter of leaks. I don’t know if it’s a particularly British thing, but I like things done properly.
Etiquette matters. And when it comes to Watches and Wonders — or any major launch event — the code of conduct is that we wait.
We wait for the moment when the curtains lift and the new releases are officially revealed.
Collectors are sitting on the edge of their seats awaiting the grand unveilings each year and the leaks also spoil it for them.
Leaks strip away that sense of occasion. Imagine if, as a child, you stumbled upon your Christmas presents in your parents’ wardrobe a week before the big day. The excitement would still be there, but the magic? Gone.
Leaks don’t ruin the industry, but they do change the experience. In recent years, some of the most significant launches have been spoiled by low-resolution images circulating online days before the official unveiling. It takes the edge off the moment, and the industry has yet to find a way to combat it effectively.
The grumpy truth
At the heart of all this grumbling is a genuine love for watches and the world that surrounds them. Beneath the tongue-in-cheek collective grumpiness of some watch writers is an enduring passion for horology, and with that passion comes a desire for things to be done right.
Maybe we’re becoming the horological equivalent of those blokes who complain about modern footballers rolling around on the pitch when “back in our day” they would have played on with a broken leg.
But at the end of the day, watches still captivate us, whether they’re spotted on a celebrity’s wrist, revealed in a glossy press release, or uncovered in some dusty corner of an auction house.
If grumpiness is the price of experience, so be it. As Basil Fawlty once said: “Oh happy? Yes, I remember that.”