Playing with Barbies

Giving my watch collection the attention it deserves

A couple nights ago, I decided that my watch collection was overdue some attention. I’ve become rather lazy when it comes to my watches, always reaching for the couple that are close at hand, while the rest remain scattered among a number of watch rolls, hard cases, and drawers around my office. So I cleared off the dining room table and laid out all my watches. It had been a long time since I simply took the time to enjoy my collection—swap straps, wind up a few, and reorganize things, the horological equivalent of a teenaged girl dressing up Barbie dolls in different clothes. It felt a little like the old days, before watches became part of my professional life, just having fun with them the way I used to: marveling at the enamel dial of an anOrdain, spinning the bezel of a Synchron Military, or listening to the satisfying ratchet while winding up my CWC chronograph. I really took my time that night, with a fire in the grate and a whisky at my elbow.