2 years later as a watch geek

“A Man & His Watch” by Matt Hranek

The first time I read this book was merely 2 years ago, when I was just at a very early stage of becoming a watch geek. I was new to this obsession and knew almost nothing about horology and I read this book to better inform myself, which helped a lot.

Now, 2 years later, I have watched thousands more hours of YouTube reviews, doom scrolled even more IG reels, read various watch blogs, visited ALL the watch bazaars in Jakarta, established rapport with some re-sellers and ADs, went to a “pilgrimage” to Nakano Broadway, visited vintage watch market in Bangkok, Soviet watch hunting in Hanoi, even found a rare Kurono Toki in a small bazaar near my house and brought it along to Kurono Salon in Tokyo. It was surreal.

And of course, in the past 2 years I’ve purchased more watches. From buying a Grand Seiko SBGM221 in its flagship store in Ginza; to buying my GADA grail watch Omega Aqua Terra; travelling to a dodgy mall in the harsh part of my city just to meet a guy who sold Studio Underdog Watermelon (and decided to buy it); buying 2 local microbrands, Rivelta and Lima; to buying my very reliable Tudor Pelagos 39 that I eventually wear to snorkeling in Bali, hiking in Bukit Bentang, cave trip to Ninh Binh, watching football matches at the stadiums, and all sorts of concerts and music festivals.

And then there were the ones that get away, like the Zenith El Primero reverse panda that was about 60% discounted from retail price (but I just had to think about it for a day and it was already gone); or the ones that I’m interested to buy but never really convinced, like the Breitling Navitimer 41 that I have tried on like 6 times at different ADs but never purchased.

So, why re-reading this book after only 2 years? Because I am longing to read more books about watches, and quite frankly there’s not a lot of them. So I thought, why not re-reading it, only now with a more understanding of this damned hobby/disease/mental illness.

And I must say, it’s an even better reading now when I understand the watches, the models, the history, and the contexts a little bit better. It reminds me why I appreciate the likes of Sinn 556 F.A.Z more than any of Rolex’s mainstream names. It is also fitting that I read a book about the sentimental value of watches before I go to Kyoto next month and planning to visit Kuoe and engrave a certain Old Smith 90-002. Sure, a relatively cheap microbrand, but like what Mario Andretti said about his watches, this would be one of the “trophies” that I will cherish.

It’s always a blast reading this book, but please oh mighty please make a 2nd book for this.