From the Editor: Here’s to the Next Ten

About a year ago, shortly after taking over the reins of the editorial side of the business for Worn & Wound, I wrote a hands-on piece about the Zenith Defy 21 Land Rover Edition. Prior to then, not exactly the type of watch you’d see around here that often. A thoughtful comment left on that post has stuck with me, in which a reader expressed concern about seeing this kind of watch on a site known for covering the more affordable end of the hobby, asking, “…is anyone reading Worn & Wound for articles about $14,000 watches?” He later adds, “The watch blogosphere is awash in websites catering to the deeply privileged,” a sentiment with which I wholeheartedly agree.

You may have noticed that we have not stopped writing about $14,000 watches in the time between then and now. Nor have we stopped writing about the likes of Seiko, Farer, Brew and G-SHOCK. Our enthusiasm for the accessible, the micro, the unusual, or just plain unconventional has not waned a bit in recent years. Rather, that enthusiasm, how we experience it, and most importantly how we share it, has grown. As a result, we’re able to reach a broader, more diverse selection of enthusiasts and collectors, regardless of the perceived monetary value assigned to the contents of their watchbox. 

The watches we talk about here at Worn & Wound may have expanded a bit, but how we talk about and experience those watches certainly has not. You won’t find us hemming and hawing over the latest celebrity watch sightings, nor what we think might be driving the surge in demand for luxury steel sport watches… and for good reason, those aren’t the kinds of things that make this pursuit interesting to us. That’s not what drives our enthusiasm. If that’s what drives yours, awesome. There are plenty of options at your disposal, and I hope you’ll still make time for W&W every now and again. No judgement here. 

Rest assured, the kind of content you’ve enjoyed reading on Worn & Wound for the past 10 years ago isn’t going anywhere. Content that explores aesthetics, functionality, engineering, precisions, style, and yes, even value. You’ll continue to see some new stuff, too. I hope that gets you excited, and I hope we can adequately share our enthusiasm in a way that you can feel. Whether it’s new or familiar, our coverage will always be grounded in something we find legitimately interesting about it, be it the watch, the brand, or the people behind it.

That Zenith Defy 21 Land Rover, by the way, had a 1/100th of a second chronograph that operates on its own mainspring, gear train, and escapement (beating at 50Hz!). Regardless of the price, that’s pretty damn cool, and that’s why it was published. Look, it’s not my job to sell you that watch, it’s my job to share it with you. That’s the attitude that drives all the higher-end coverage you see on the site these days, and frankly, it’s the same thing that drives our coverage of the other end of the market as well. 

We aren’t here to cater to either the ultra-wealthy or to the pure bargain-hunters, we’re here to cater to the enthusiastic. My hope is that our content provides an approachable platform for all of us to experience that enthusiasm together. 

To do that, I want to create more opportunities for your voice to be heard. Earlier this year we launched our 3 Watch Collection for $5,000: Reader Edition, offering you a platform to share your ideas with us and our readership. I’ve been amazed and even inspired at times with the submissions we’ve received. That’s just the beginning. In the coming months you’ll see more opportunities to get involved, whether it’s through the content on our site, physical events like the Windup Fair, or even regional events outside of NYC.

If you have thoughts and ideas on how you’d like to see your voice represented on Worn & Wound, or even on the type of content you’d like to see more of, I welcome you to email me directly at [email protected] and we’ll chat about it. 

Until then, thanks for being a part of the journey, and here’s to the next ten.