Bites: 5 signs of the lady and gentleman enthusiast UPDATED: Timefactors release this weekend

Happy Tuesday Crunchers!

*** See 'Latest Watches' Section for Timefactors Info ***

So what on earth could I possibly teach you classy fellas and ladies about gentlemanly watch wearing?? Well, my ramblings in this week’s newsletter are in fact more about what you amazing guys and ladies have taught me over the course of the past year while we've been sharing this small corner of the internet together, but before we get into all that, lets take a minute to talk about Cocaine Bear!

For those of you who have been buried so deep in your watch box that you haven’t heard of this film, it is very much what it says on the tin. Based on a true story about a bear finding (and eating) trafficked cocaine lost in the wilderness of Tennessee in the 1980’s. This film is an absolute gem for watch spotting! Casio’s, Swatches and loads of others that I didn’t recognise. The internet wont even tell me what these watches are, so I need someone to volunteer to go watch it and update me on what you can identify!

Now, let's start with our weekly rundown of events, new watches, hot posts and super articles, and then we can talk about the lady and gentleman watch enthusiast.

The New Member Welcome

A big WC welcome to some of our newest members who I have seen posting this week… @JB28JB, @Beltane63, @OnePingOnly, @MadShepard, @SIMON.KILVINGTON, @Andylaverick, @L_Dogg, @Arthur_Mo, @arment, @Mitchellb67, @Maxibaby, @Big_g_0709, @Randallj, @Dgward, @Scottro, @TexasTBone, @cmike0210, @AdamZeee, @CurtWatchGuy, @NightWatch.

Meetups and Events

Check out @SurferJohns post and pics from his recent EPIC two day meetup in Ventura! (Post from day 2 here!)

Upcoming Events and meetups:

Portland Oregon Watch Crunch Meetup, 28th Feb

District Time by Tsao Baltimore: watch event – Washington – 4th-5th March

Birmingham Clock and Watch Fair, Birmingham, UK – 12th March

London WatchCrunch Meetup: Part II, London, March 31st

Watches and Wonders 2023, Geneva, Switzerland – March 27th – April 2nd

WatchCrunch Meetup @ Watches and Wonders – Geneva, Switzerland – April 1st

Windup Watch Fair 2023, San Francisco, CA – April 28th – 30th

Cruise ship Meetup! New Jersey to UK – 5th May

Windup Watch Fair 2023, Chicago – July 14th – 16th

Windup Watch Fair 2023, New York – October 20th – 22nd

Let me know if you know of any other meetups and I’ll add them to our weekly calendar.

Last weeks photography theme of ‘Tool watches Tooling’ was set by @BigIona. You can see his runner up photograph choices in this weeks thread, along with this weeks guest judge @TheSharperTheBetter’s competition theme.

@BigIona chose two winners from last week, one in the the category of ‘active tooling’ taken by @DeepCmonkey, and one in ‘passive tooling’ taken by @IanCognito.

Big congratulations to both of you!

@DeepCmonkey

@IanCognito

Here are this week’s watch releases. I have to say, I never realised how many watches were coming out EACH WEEK until I started compiling this list!

If I hear about any watch releases that I think folks would want to know about before the next newsletter then I’ll update this post.

***

Copied from an email from Timefactors to my inbox today:

The store will be open on Sunday 5th March at 1400hrs [UK]

This weekend's store opening sees the first availability for this year of the Smiths Everest Honeycomb, plus there will be more availability of the Everest Expedition. Strictly limited to one per customer.

Top row left to right: New citizen colours, New Sinn, Beautiful new enamel dial H.Moser & Cie, A look at the new Christopher Ward colours

Second row: New Parmigiani, Neicarl, New Nomos, New Meistersinger, New smaller sized RM

Third row: Arcanaut Arc, Circula, Ochs und Junior, Ztage, New Longines

Fourth row: Hublot Tourbillon, Armitron new releases, Raymond Weil small seconds, Wu Tang G-shock, Airain

Fifth row: Louis Erard small seconds, Nivada Grechen meca-quartz, Gold G-shock Casioak De Bethune Titan Hawk Hanhart Fleiger

Here is this week’s selection of hot topics that got people chatting:

@Lax019 has the same horology axe to grind as TGV, and others happily join in the discussion: Horology – Really?

@Skinflint takes an alternative look at homage watches through the lens of guitar designs: Homage watches – My version of the truth

@DixonSteele opens up about those little things that are supremely annoying: Watch pet peeves

@rowiphi opens a whole can of worms when he brings up one of his OCD triggers: Trigger warning OCD rant

@Gasworks has put up for charity auction his gorgeous one of a kind limited edition WC watch which was built with the community hive mind: Project Build a Camel Auction.

This week’s selection of longer posts are a combination of fun, informative, rants and reviews.

@Shakespeare has created a brilliant series of posts about The Beatles and their watches. Find Part VII here, but check out the other instalments in this series which he as linked to in the post: The Beatles and their watches: Part VII The Pocket Watches.

@Edge168n has returned from London in his latest column for the watch-spotting enthusiast, filled with loads of nuggets of watch info and lovely pictures: Watch in the Wild: Home by the sea

@LRFAntiqueWatches has written about Elgin, Waltham and WWI military watches in this week’s vintage article: WWI US Army surplus watches sold to the general public

@Chronoguy does another ChatGPT collaboration and schools us on Doxa heritage: A brief history of Doxa

@Aurelian rants in a most eloquent way about ‘The collectors journey’ and ‘Watches that speak to us’: My Holden Caulfield problem

@Porthole feels Chrono24 (and others) are missing the point of watch collecting: Just stop – and that’s about it from me

My pick from the reviews section this week goes to @Ryan_Schwartz and his fun and humorous look at a vintage Doxa: Oris 1950s military watch review.

I bet a lot of you think you already know what I'm going to say... 'Wear the correct watch for the occasion', 'Don't wear your watch loose', 'Don't wear a watch too small/large'.... but you'd be wrong.

I'm sure many of you have seen those YouTube videos about 'How to wear a watch?', 'Watch wearing mistakes', ' Watch rules EVERY guy should know!'.... It's generally all the same advice about the aesthetics and style of watch wearing, and there's nothing wrong with any of these suggestions for people who are new to the watch game. It's good to learn the rules... and then learn how to break them... but that's not where I'm going today.

Today's discussion was sparked by @meremortal and his review of the Straum Opphav.

From @meremortal:

"This is a classic gentlemans dress watch with all of the quiet understatement a true gentleman desires."

Now this got me thinking... Which watches would I imagine the gentleman/lady enthusiast wearing?

After some thought, and consideration of the many interactions I've had with watch-people both in person and online, I came to the conclusion that gentlemanly watch wearing is not about the type of watch you wear, where on your wrist it sits, what colour strap you pair with a blue suit or if you choose to go big or small. To me it's much more to do with attitudes and behaviours.

Over the years I've picked up on some traits and habits that the real gents and ladies of the watch collecting world all seem to demonstrate, so here are my observations....

1. They appreciate the diversity of the watch world

Nothing says class like being open minded and non-judgmental. Even if a watch isn't to their taste they enjoy the variety of styles in the watch collecting game and retain an open mind when engaging with other people and their collections. They never look down on others purely due to a difference in watch choices and they understand that the diversity in the watch world gives us opportunities to learn and challenge our own ideas. They do not use their watch choices as a reason to feel superior to others.

2. They have passionate discussions

They show class through the way they treat others, showing compassion and being humble, but they will also call out the watch snobs when needed. They are honest when expressing their opinions, but will do so with respect and discretion. They understand that expressing a difference in opinion is not an attack on a person's character and that there is much to be gained from a good debate.

3. They make up their own mind

They listen to a variety of view points on watch topics and brands before coming to their own conclusions. They understand they are not immune to the power of influence but they see it for what it is and do not mindlessly join in the group-think. They do not shy away from questioning and challenging the status quo when needed and are equally happy to have themselves challenged in return.

4. They celebrate their personality

They see watches as an expression of their personal style and an opportunity to display their personality. They are confident in making their own choices and are equally as open to admitting when a choice didn't work out as planned on the wrist. They enjoy their own watch journey (sorry @Aurelian!) and are happy to see others enjoying theirs.

5. They enjoy their watches, but are not defined by them

They don't let watches rule their life. They don't let them define their identity. They don't let them define their own personal value. They understand that what gives us value is from within, our confidence and our self-esteem.

So these are my thoughts after 18 months of interacting with this wonderful watch community and the numerous ladies and gents that I have had the pleasure of chatting to both on here and at our meetups.

So what are your thoughts?

What do you see as the signs of a gentleman/lady enthusiast?

Is the 'gentlemanly watch' a real thing, or all subjective?

Is it just about which watch you choose to pair with a blue suit?

That's me done for another week. Take care folks, and stay classy.

Kaysia.

P.S. I score about a 2.5/5!

Banner photo: A gorgeous photograph from @chunghauphoto. One of many lovely gents on WatchCrunch.