231/ 26 Watches, 26 Stories

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Dear readers,

A few years ago, I attended a talk at the Albany Club, that historic bastion of Canada’s conservative establishment, given by Gabor Maté ahead of his upcoming book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, & Healing in a Toxic Culture. As someone with a longstanding interest in the subject — and someone who is decidedly not normal, and never has been — even the 7:30am start time didn’t keep me away.

In her attempt to strike up conversation at our table of strangers, a table mate asked why I was wearing two watches. It was all the more curious, she said, because fewer people are wearing watches at all these days.

The honest answer was that I couldn’t choose between them, so I chose both.

There was a time in my life when I considered my Apple Watch “life-changing.” Cringe, absolutely, but also true at the time. With an accelerometer and gyroscope strapped to my wrist, I was shocked by just how little I was actually moving throughout the day. It gave me the kick in the ass I needed to get up and get walking. I also believed it made me more efficient. New message? Voice-to-text a response back, bam, done.

Nowadays, I wear it less. I’ve become less attached to the data, and I’ve also realized that, ironically, the device designed to make me more efficient was actually scattering my attention and focus. For the same reason, I carry a pocket French dictionary instead of turning to Google Translate.

As for my JLC Reverso, I simply enjoy wearing it. Recently, while getting it re-strapped, I found myself wondering what people are actually wearing these days. Was my old tablemate right? Are fewer of us wearing watches now that smartphones have rendered them somewhat redundant? Probably, yes. When I put the question to you, many of you wrote back to say you’ve opted for an Apple Watch instead.

But plenty of you are still wearing analog timepieces, and unique and ones, at that.

This list includes watches made by long-forgotten watchmakers (unless you’re in the know, that is). Iconic watches and vintage watches. Teddy bear and puzzle piece watches. Watches that have travelled across generations and around the globe — through Iraq, Brunei, Germany, and back again. All of them mean something to you. And, in case you’re wondering, the final count was: 23 analog watches, and three digital.

In a way, what began as a piece about cool watches became another chapter of Silent Witnesses, an IMV series about the clothes — and now, watches — that have borne silent witness to different events and seasons of our lives. Because watches, like clothing, have utility, but they also carry meaning and memory, outliving their owners, crossing borders, and accumulating histories of their own. (Read Silent Witnesses ft. Monica Velosa and Jacquie Young-Sterling.)

Speaking of Jacquie, a quick detour. Per past letters, I’ve been loving the longer sleeve on 440me’s oversized tee (right, wearing size S). However, Jacquie brought over Uniqlo’s mens AIRism oversized tee (left), and the sleeve length and fit are similar, at a fraction of the price! I’m wearing medium and would probably size down to small.

Now, back to the wrists.

It has a mesmerizing optical illusion created by two transparent overlapping geometric discs. I love wearing this watch for dressier events.

Watch, heh, it action:

I have the purple-faced Rolex Oyster Perpetual, which I got in the aftermath of the end of my first marriage. I traded a very fancy, very feminine, Franck Muller watch that was covered in diamonds and not me at all. This was a way to proclaim my freedom and power (I negotiated!). I would never have had the cash for it, and may even have technically lost money on the trade, but I didn’t care. It’s my favourite accessory.

They were a collaboration with Movado. I remember them being $800- $1,200 apiece at the time they were new. I love them. They look like cool weird bracelets, but open up to a little tiny watch that I can’t read without my glasses on. [Ed. note: relatable.]

So it’s built on the Citizen Tsuyosa but the face was hand-painted with the puzzle pieces you see. I believe there were 200 of them made, each piece individually hand painted. It’s modeled after the Rolex celebration watch which is a “holy grail” for me but wildly expensive — I enjoy the irreverence and whimsy of that design from an otherwise very classic brand. It also has a skeleton back which is a fun detail!