My First Automatic Watch

I opened my watchbox this morning and grabbed a watch that has been largely MIA this year. It was my first automatic watch ever, the Jack Mason JM-A101.

I remember seeing an ad on Instagram for this watch and I was intrigued. I had never considered an automatic watch up until that point and seeing the movement through the caseback seemed otherworldly to me. Aviation has been a field close to my heart and I hold that had I not gone to medical school and was better at physics in my early days I would have done aerospace engineering. There was some untenable quality about this watch that spoke to me and I bought it.

That had to have been 5 years ago at this point, maybe longer. Lots has happened since then. I finished Residency, got my first real doctor job, got engaged, bought a house, and got married. And perhaps I took for granted that this watch has been there the entire time.

As my interest in watches grew, I bought new pieces and the JM got less and less wrist time. It ended up in the "Secondary Box," the box where the pieces outside of my usual 12 reside. I would look at the box from time to time but would inevitably end up pulling something from my primary box instead. I've even considering parting ways with the contents of the "Secondary Box" entirely, the pieces within getting little to no wristime even now.

Yet, wearing this piece again today, I was hit by the wave of nostalgia that reminded me of why I chose this watch. Just for fun, I swapped the stock leather band for the Valour strap from Wristcandy Watch Club. It breathed new life into the watch and now wears as a Do It All field watch! Moreover it filled me with that excitement I had when I first bought the watch, not only for this specific piece but for watches in general.

So, friends, I encourage you to look back to those pieces that have sat unworn. Reflect on who you were then and who you are now and appreciate that even the watches that sit unworn have been there to see you grow. Wearing the JM again has reinvigorated my interest in both field watches and aviator watches and has given me an idea for a new watch build! Reconnecting with the singular piece that started my journey into watches has meant a lot and I don't think I can ever part with it!

Show me some of your "Unsung Heroes."