The Writing Life, vol. 5

The joy of becoming irrelevant

A couple of weeks ago, I got an invitation to the annual Watches and Wonders fair in Geneva, followed by a flurry of emails from different watch brand reps requesting appointment times. Last year, I got invited for the first time in over five years. I had stepped away from a lot of watch coverage I used to do for outlets like Hodinkee, Gear Patrol, and Outside around the time COVID-19 changed the world, and travel. I started this Substack in 2020 as well. With my narrower focus and much smaller audience (besides The Grey NATO podcast), I was of less use to big brand public relations. I don’t blame them. It’s their job to maximize exposure and I had chosen to be, well, less exposed. So when I got invited last year, it was a surprise to me. I’ll admit I was flattered and thought a return trip to Geneva might be fun—like an aging rock band on a reunion tour. Maybe time to get my foot back in the door.

As with so many years, a lot has changed in the past 12 months. My priorities have shifted, the world has changed, and I’m a year older. So I turned down the invitation to Watches and Wonders 2025. Have I shot myself in the foot? After all, W&W, at least for more “up close” press access, is invitation only and turning it down might just mean I’ll be off the list entirely after this. Maybe I have self-sabotaged my on again/off again watch writing career once and for all. But it’s not like I haven’t done it before, like when I turned down staff writing positions in favor of remaining stubbornly freelance, or when I declined an Editor-in-Chief position at one of the major watch magazines in the US. I’m at peace with my decision to not go to Watches and Wonders this April, and will embrace the “JOMO” (Joy Of Missing Out).