What Grinds My Gears: Know Your History

This is a new series in which I describe everything I dislike about watch collecting. They may or may not be hot takes. What I hope is that it generates discussion on the expansion of why we collect watches, and how that branches out into other aspects of our lives.

Timekeeping at the Edge of the World: Four Watches Across Iceland

Iceland is a place of extremes: glaciers, geothermal hot springs, and black sand beaches shaped by volcanic fury. It’s also a place where time seems to slow down and I thought it was ideal for reflecting on both nature and time spent with family—shaping memories I’ll never forget. Watches were also part of the journey, of course. And as I prepared for the trip, the exercise behind choosing which timepieces to bring was something I deeply enjoyed. Now that I’m back, I just wanted to reflect on those choices and how they played a role in my first trip outside the US since the COVID era. I needed it, and it was awesome.