How 15 cubic centimeters make our lives easier
I am not the first, nor the last person to wonder what attracts us so much in watches. And I have no ‘original thought illusion’ either - someone will have sprouted this earlier, in all likelihood many times. But still, this morning I had my first espresso, gazed at my watch (1960s three hander Zenith today) - and asked myself: WHY do we (well, in all honesty, a tiny fraction of the world’s population) invest so much time and money in these trinkets?
My non-substantiated guess it’s the feeling (/illusion) of control we derive from them. While the rest of our lives are largely out of our direct or any real control, we can:
scour the internet and ADs to pick the exact watch we want
take comfort in the knowable, predictable and reliable mechanical workings of the watch (no voodoo black box software or AI in sight)
find some sort of stability and anchor point in a hectic world - this antiquated technology has been around for at least 700 years (first mechanical clock); the first wrist watch came on the scene over 200 years ago.
And watchmakers of course cleverly make use of our weakness by adding reassuring words to their watches’ names (Master, Perpetual, Conquest, Commander…) - JLC is the king of this with their ‘Master Control’ series…
So not a good looking trinket, not an ‘expression of self & individuality’, not a timekeeper and definitely not an investment - but 15 cubic centimeters of steel encased psychological support.
=
Feel free to (dis)agree :-)
Quite new to the world of watches...but looking forward to learn more about it.
All that fancy psychology doesn’t hold a candle to “Ooh… Shiny!!!”
It's the illusion of control, a momento mori. Also it's a cool gadget that is relatively easy to understand. A link to our forefathers.
As I said in other threads, we watch nerds aren’t special. Many other people go to the deepest depths of their hobbies, and that gets them through the day the same way watches get us through ours. Be it designer bags, Magic: The Gathering cards, cars, specific car brands, Warhammer games, comics, Michelin-starred cuisine, you name it. We all need a hobby, and many need to go deep into it to fully enjoy it. We’re just enjoying ours, in the same way others enjoy theirs.
Interesting question 🤔. I think that ALL collecting has to do with creating a semblance of control in our inherently entropic/chaotic existence. We are unable to affect that in a meaningful and impactful way. So we try to meet that percieved need by collecting. Here we are in control, we decide what parameters hold the most value to us. We decide what is good and what is not. It would also explain why almost everyone collects something at some point in their life.
Perhaps one of our psychologist or behavioural scientist friends on this app could shine a light on this.
As I said in other threads, we watch nerds aren’t special. Many other people go to the deepest depths of their hobbies, and that gets them through the day the same way watches get us through ours. Be it designer bags, Magic: The Gathering cards, cars, specific car brands, Warhammer games, comics, Michelin-starred cuisine, you name it. We all need a hobby, and many need to go deep into it to fully enjoy it. We’re just enjoying ours, in the same way others enjoy theirs.
Everyone likes to believe that the thing they're into somehow contains a deeper truth, a more fundamental insight into the Human Question.
Which is, of course, both true and complete bollocks at the same time.