So You Want To Learn More About Watches...

When I first got into watches, I was determined to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. I was reading all the usual suspects: Hodinkee, aBlogtoWatch, Fratello. I was frequenting YouTube for hands-on reviews and long-form expert conversations. I was even posting on message boards asking for research recommendations: important moments in watchmaking history, underrated brands, unique movements. 

During this time, I remember wishing that I had some type of handbook: a personalized guide to learning about horology. Sure, I was finding plenty of good resources, but I was also sifting through articles, videos, and podcasts that I would soon figure out were not worth my time.

Today I’d like to take a stab at composing this handbook, or at least a basic version of it, recommending resources that I’ve found beneficial/entertaining in my years of watch enthusiasm.

My first draft of this article was ordered from beginner-friendly to advanced, but I decided to just shuffle them all together. Nothing on here is particularly dense or difficult to understand, nor is anything so basic that it wouldn’t be interesting to seasoned collectors and enthusiasts. Scroll around, see what you find interesting, and dive in.

Hodinkee’s Talking Watches

Talking Watches, a Hodinkee video series approaching its 11th year in production, is in many ways the preeminent piece of watch media. It’s one of the most common gateways into the hobby. In fact, I distinctly remember watching Talking Watches With JJ Redick years before I’d ever bought a watch (and while JJ was averaging six 3s a game on 47% 3P shooting).

Talking Watches features guests ranging from industry vets to A-List celebrities, showcasing a wide variety of collecting perspectives. It’s a great way to understand why people love these little mechanical objects and how they choose to enjoy/interact with them. The production quality makes the series easy to digest, despite many episodes getting into the nitty gritty of enthusiast nerdom. 

Some guests whose episodes I recommend are Jeff Stein, Bill Higgins, Wei Koh (more on him later), Fred Savage, François-Henry Bennahmias, and of course, every episode featuring John Mayer, John Goldberger, and/or Ed Sheeran.

Horological Society Of New York Lectures

Image Source: HSNY

The Horological Society of New York (HSNY), founded in 1866, is a non-profit organization “dedicated to advancing the art and science of horology through education.” HSNY hosts events, watchmaking programs, and live/recorded lectures. You can watch these lectures in full (for free) on their YouTube channel. They host a wide range of authoritative lecturers, many of whom are mentioned elsewhere in this article. Topics span from hyper-technical, such as a deep dive on engine-turning (guilloché), to industry analysis, like examining the impact of mass production in the watch industry. 

Some of my favorite lectures include Horological Homecoming: The Hidden History of WWII Watches by Cole Pennington, Collecting Vintage Watches (Parts 1 & 2) by Eric Wind, and Time Is Money: How To Make a Living In The World of Watches by John Reardon. 

Local Redbar Meetups

Image Source: Gear Patrol

Redbar is “the world’s largest watch enthusiast and collector community.” With chapters present in most major cities (and many minor ones), you’re probably closer than you think to a group of likeminded nerds looking to show and tell.

Local Redbar meetups usually occur on a monthly basis. Members bring some or all of their watch collection to share with fellow enthusiasts. This is a great way to meet local collectors and actually get your hands on some cool watches. 

As Redbar continues to grow and evolve, more and more chapters are hosting partnered events with brands who present and showcase their watches. Again, if you’re really looking to learn, this is a great (and free) way to handle a bunch of watches and figure out what piques your interest.

Menta Watches

Image Source: Walt Grace Vintage

Menta Watches, founded by Adam F. Golden, is not just a website for buying vintage watches, it’s one of the fastest growing YouTube channels in the watch space. Adam is a savant when it comes to vintage and is well-connected in the dealer/auction world, providing in-depth hands-on content with some of the most desirable pieces on Earth. His production quality is phenomenal, he’s not afraid to make a long video, and his channel is constantly improving.

A few videos to check out are Adam's recent sit-down with Eric Wind, any/all of his auction preview videos, and his Watch Stories series.

GQ’s Box + Papers

Box + Papers is GQ’s weekly watch newsletter written by Cam Wolf. Cam’s writing style is super fun and approachable, often incorporating his own personal experiences and pop culture references, but never sparing detail in terms of the watches themselves. Some installments focus on a particular watch, such as How to Fix a Rolex That Was Eaten by a Cow and Left in a Field for 50 Years (yes, you read that correctly), while others examine broader industry trends, such as Are Watches Actually Getting Smaller?

Every Friday I look forward to the latest Box + Papers hitting my inbox. I’ve learned a ton from the newsletter and wish I knew about it sooner.

Hodinkee (Past and Present)

Since its inception, Hodinkee has showcased some of the greatest writing and photography in the watch industry. As the largest horological publication out there, they have unparalleled access to major events and releases (e.g. getting the first meetings at trade shows). While some of my favorite writers have moved on from Hodinkee, the site today has no shortage of talented individuals churning out high-quality content. 

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the site, so I’ll just list a few of my favorite articles from over the years (in no particular order).

My First Watch by Danny Milton

The Man With The Golden Sub by Cole Pennington

The Surprisingly Not Totally Boring Search For Who Invented The Spring Bar by Jack Forster

The Reverso That Revived The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso by Tony Traina

Getting To The Bottom Of The Omega Ploprof by Cole Pennington

The Plea For Proportionality by Malaika Crawford

Appreciating a 34mm Omega Seamaster by Danny Milton

The Patek Philippe 2526, And Why It’s A Watch To Pay Attention To by Ben Clymer

The entire Bring A Loupe column, specifically those written by Eric Wind, but Isaac Wingold and Rich Fordon have been excellent successors.

Anything written by Joe Thompson

YoureTerrific

Evan, otherwise known as YoureTerrific, makes some of my favorite watch content on YouTube. His cinematography is consistently excellent, showcasing watches over colorful backdrops with clean compositions. His narration is equal parts informative and hilarious, always providing a healthy perspective on just how absurd it is to love and collect luxury watches. To that point, Evan’s sub-10-minute videos feature watches of all price points, from the $15 Casio F91-W to the $25,000 time-only Parmigiani Tonda PF Microrotor: back-to-back videos a couple months ago.

Some of my favorite videos of Evan’s include his look at the Christopher Ward Bel Canto, his many videos on the Omega Ploprof, and his interview with Max Büsser. 

Watches Tonight With Tim Mosso

Every Monday, Tim Mosso from the 1916 Company (formerly Watchbox) hosts a livestream dedicated to a particular watch-related topic. The topics most often center around Rolex, Omega, and/or Patek Philippe, but if you know Tim Mosso, you know that he’ll find a way to sneak in references to high-end independents. Tim’s written briefs on the topics at hand are always well-considered and he masterfully intertwines responses to live questions and comments throughout each episode. It’s always nice to catch Watches Tonight live, but don’t worry, there are 200+ episodes archived on YouTube for you to catch up on.

The Everest Journal

I’m going to take a moment to toot my own horn (in the midst of tooting everyone else’s). My name is Skyler Nielsen-Sorensen and I am the Editor of the Everest Journal. I’ve had the privilege of traveling the world to write about watches, and if this article is any indication, it’s something I truly love to do. I’ve written a couple hundred articles at this point; here are a few that I’m proud of.

Why I Modified My Great-Great-Grandfather’s Watch

An Interview With Romaric André Of Seconde/Seconde

The Beauregard Ulysse And Its Epic Of An Origin Story

An Interview With Ryan Chong, Head of Watch Operations at Bezel

The Double-Edged Sword of Limited Edition Watches

Hands-On with the Laurent Ferrier Classic Moon

Our Experience at The Patek Philippe Museum: Earth's Horological Hub

Revolution Watch Magazine (Symposiums)

Founded in 2005 by Wei Koh and Bruce Lee (no, not that Bruce Lee), Revolution is an OG in the modern watch media space. It quickly became Singapore’s most internationally successful print media title, per Forbes, and today it exists both in print and online. Of course, Revolution has excellent written content, which I’d also recommend, but I particularly enjoy their symposiums led by founder Wei Koh, most recently at Geneva Watch Days. Wei is a talented host and moderator and always curates a well-rounded group of participants for any given topic.

Some of my favorite Revolution Symposiums are Wanna Buy a Watch: Major Evolutions in the Secondary Watch Market (2024) and Watches, The New Asset Class (2023).

Wrist Check Podcast

Wrist Check Pod–hosted by Perri Dash, Rashawn Smith, and Ben Gruillon–is among my favorite watch podcasts. Not only do they host phenomenal guests, from artist Larry June to Bezel’s Head of Watch Ops Ryan Chong, they always seem to create a laid back, comfortable environment for their guests which makes for great conversation.

What I love about Wrist Check Pod is their focus on storytelling: while watches are at the forefront, Perri, Rashawn, and Ben always get to the why behind a watch, “celebrating the art, design, and cultural significance of timepieces,” as described on their channel. 

Some guests whose episodes I recommend are Yoni Ben-Yehuda of Material Good, Hodinkee founder Ben Clymer, and as previously mentioned, Larry June. Good job WCP.

Collectability

John Reardon’s Collectability–composed of written, video, and podcast content– is the authority on vintage and pre-owned Patek Philippe. John Reardon worked in the Sotheby’s Watch Department for ~5 years beginning in the late ‘90s before taking on a role at the Henri Stern Watch Agency (Patek Philippe USA) for about a decade. He then returned to the auction world, serving as International Head of Watches at Christie’s for five years before launching Collectability. If you love Patek Philippe, this is a must-read/listen/watch.

The Vintage Watch Podcast (and Significant Lots/Watches)

Hosted by Charlie Dunne and Eric Wind, The Vintage Watch Podcast is a gem in the ever-expanding landscape of horological podcasts. Eric Wind, founder of Wind Vintage, is a global authority on vintage watches. The same is true of host Charlie Dunne, Vice President, Senior Watch Specialist at Wind Vintage. Both are (obviously) very knowledgeable when it comes to watches, but they’re also just friends who clearly enjoy chatting with each other. The banter is unmatched and always makes for a great listen.

If you’re looking to get in shape, throw on this podcast and do a pushup every time they mention a 4-digit Submariner. 

Episodes usually touch on multiple topics centered around vintage watch collecting, auctions, and/or listener-submitted questions (e.g. How should I maintain my vintage watch? How should I insure a valuable watch?). Charlie and Eric also host interviews on occasion, most recently JLC’s Product & Heritage Director Matthieu Sauret.

If you’re like me and you ripped through every episode of The Vintage Watch Podcast in short order, go ahead and check out Significant Watches (previously Significant Lots): a similar podcast hosted by Charlie Dunne and Hodinkee’s Tony Traina, featuring Eric Wind and collector Gabriel Benador.

Final Thoughts + Honorable Mentions

As the world of watches continues to grow, so too do the ways we engage with it. There have never been more resources available for both seasoned collectors and newcomers alike. While these picks reflect my journey learning about watches, yours will likely be different. What resonates with you might not resonate with others, but that’s the beauty of this hobby—there’s always something that grabs your attention and pulls you in deeper.

Feel free to share your picks in the comments below, and with that, here are a few honorable mentions.

The Grey NATO

James Stacey and Jason Heaton’s podcast about “travel, adventure, diving, driving, gear, and most certainly watches.” They just had their 300th episode. There’s also an accompanying Slack community full of watch enthusiasts.

Longitude by Dava Sobel

The subject matter of this book predates wristwatches, but provides fascinating insight into the life of clockmaker John Harrison and his (surprisingly treacherous) path to create a clock that would solve the longitude problem.

Justin Hast

Justin Hast is a watch/design lover, writer, photographer, consultant, and content creator with an infectious positivity about him. I’ve long been vaguely familiar with his work, but just recently started binging his Two Watch Collection series. I recommend you give him a look.

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas

Fair warning: I still haven’t finished this book, but thus far it’s been a goldmine of insights into the inner-workings and meaning of luxury, past and present. If you want to step into the shoes of the people who run these watch brands (or the holding groups that own these watch brands), this is a great place to start.