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May 9, 2021May 9, 2021

A Boy and His Watch: Joining Joe & Watches

By Andreas

Many of us have read “A Man and His Watch.” It has become essential reading for the watch enthusiast, as its memoir format eloquently captures our deeply personal fascination with watches. However, it leaves the lasting impression that one must be male, famous, successful, or a noteworthy person in the world of watches to be included in its pages. When Leonard asked me to join Joe & Watches as Writer and Co-Editor, I saw an opportunity to build a platform for passionate, independent voices with the only prerequisite being the desire to produce great work. To express this ethos, and introduce myself, I want to take you back to the beginning, when my watch journey began.

Receiving my first watch, Christmas 1985

We pride ourselves on knowing everything about our watches, but I didn’t know much at all about my first watch. This Timex Camper was a gift from my mother on Christmas, 1985, intended to help me be a more punctual 9-year-old boy. I didn’t know the diameter, the movement, type of lume, or that MacGuyver wore it. All I knew was that I had to wind it every day and it was meant for a soldier. Riding dirt bikes through the suburban streets, playing tag in the woods with my friends, and getting beaten up at school, where I hadn’t spoken a word in front of anyone since second grade, I wore my watch like a soldier.

Late at night, I’d wake up, gaze in fascination under the covers at the fading lume, and dream about being a different person: older, more confident, decisive, a fighter unafraid of standing up for myself. With a blue ballpoint pen, I dug my initials into the green nylon band to claim my watch, but it might as well have been a contract I signed with myself to be stronger. It took a while, but I achieved those things. In 1987, before my 11th birthday, I started talking in school again and stood up to my bullies whenever they came after me, but I was still afraid.

When a bigger, older kid who had been nice to me during my silent years stood over me one day and asked to borrow my watch, I buckled and handed it over. Just like that. For weeks, he’d been telling me how “rad” my watch was and kept asking me where I got it. I suppose he finally got tired of dropping hints. “I’ll give it back next week,” he said, casually cinching the strap to his wrist. The rest of the day, I habitually flicked my wrist to check the time, only to be disappointed by a dirt-encrusted tan line. I felt naked, but worse, I’d betrayed myself.

A week came and went, and every time I saw this kid pass in the hallway, wearing my watch, I felt sick with rage. Yet, whenever I verged upon the courage to demand it back, he seemed to grow taller and stronger with my watch on his wrist. Weeks later, my watch was gone, and for the next few days, his wrist remained barren. As we passed in the hallway between classes one day, I fought back the fear and approached him.

“Where’s my watch?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“I lost it. Sorry,” he said, breezing past me.

Though I’d handed my watch to him freely, I knew in my heart it had been stolen.

Sometime later, a watch that looked suspiciously like mine appeared on his wrist. Without thinking, I stood in front of him in the hallway.

“You found it! Can I have it back now?”

“This one’s mine. I finally got one.”

I was so nervous, I could hear my pulse pounding in my ears.

“It looks kinda beaten up… If you show me the strap and my initials aren’t there, I’ll leave you alone.”

For some reason I’ll never know, he turned over his wrist without protest. There in the fluorescent light were my faded, runny, blue ballpoint initials. Without a word, he sighed in resignation, took the watch off his wrist, and handed it back.

“Take good care of her. She served me well.”

Giddy with pride, hopped up on adrenaline, and confused by his unusually mature phrasing, I returned the watch home to my wrist, and didn’t take it off again until it stopped ticking not long afterwards.

I’d love to tell you the watch in the photo is the same one from my story, but mine is long gone. After all, who needs a cheap, disposable, plastic watch that doesn’t work and can’t be repaired? When I recently bought another 1980’s Timex Camper from someone else’s past, it failed to fill the void. Not only was this watch on my wrist when I started becoming a man, but it played a central role in my transformation. It had my initials on the band, and my scratches on the crystal, but now it’s under decades of garbage in a New Jersey landfill.

This regret has ignited my love of watches: forming new bonds with them, being a good steward of the pieces I own, and now, writing about them for Joe & Watches. Like many of you, I’m an enthusiast and an eternal student, not an expert. My perspective as a professional filmmaker with a background in writing, photography, art, and design, manifests in a need to communicate and share ideas. It is my sincere goal that my contributions will add to the richness of the experience here at Joe & Watches.

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New post every Sunday morning

Update:
Joe & Watches welcomes Andreas (@typebflieger) as Writer and Co-Editor!

Coming in May:

– A Boy and His Watch

– Vaer D5 review

– Display case backs: yea or nay?

– Omega Speedmaster Reduced

joeandwatches

Short version: this one wins over the Tudor Pelago Short version: this one wins over the Tudor Pelagos. 

Full version:
A while ago I had an interesting discussion with a fellow student at h man and good good friend. I admitted that my trustworthy Tissot Seastar yet again got more wrist time than the Tudor Pelagos. I started thinking in terms of if I would part with one of them, it might well be the Pelly. And that’s exactly what happened.

Better yet; this became my choice for the weekend getaway from my decimated collection. The true watch experience is not correlated much with the price of a watch. I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy a great deal of watches but this one hasn’t left and most likely won’t. The Tudor Pelagos is in good hands, but not mine. And will hopefully get the wrist time it deserves. 🖤🖤🖤
#tissot #tissotseastar
U1 photo session 🖤 #sinn #sinnspezialuhren #si U1 photo session 🖤

#sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwatches #sinnu1 #watch #watches #germanwatch #germanwatches #divewatch #sinnfanclub
Sinn U1. No further words are necessary 🖤 #sin Sinn U1. No further words are necessary 🖤

#sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub #sinnu1 #germanwatch
Looking at passing on the Sinn 104 St Sa A B E. 16 Looking at passing on the Sinn 104 St Sa A B E. 1650€ Hit me a dm if you’re interested. 

#sinn #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub @sinnwatchclub
Grab a cup of Joe and check out the fresh post on Grab a cup of Joe and check out the fresh post on Group Thinking on the blog (link in bio☝️). Also very happy to welcome fellow watchman Asim @sinngram as writer to the blog 😎☕️

#watch #watches #groupthink #rolex #omega #patek #audemarspiguet #tagheuer #joeandwatches
New watch-related alert: Horology Deck 🃏 😄 New watch-related alert: Horology Deck 🃏 😄

#horologydeck
His & hers 💙 #sinn #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub His & hers 💙

#sinn #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub #sinnspezialuhren #sinnu1 #sinnu1b 
#sinn556 #sinn556ib #watch #watches #divewatch #divewatches #pilotwatch #pilotwatches #germanwatch #germanwatches #practicalwatch #wristwatchcheck #joeandwatches
Here’s a longer piece on my favorite watch: the Here’s a longer piece on my favorite watch: the Sinn U1 😉☕️

#sinn #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub #sinnspezialuhren #sinnu1 #sinnu1b 
#sinnu1se #sinnblu1 #diverwatch #diverswatch #divewatch #divewatches #germanwatch #germanwatches #watch #watches #practicalwatch #joeandwatches
Friday 💙☀️ #sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwa Friday 💙☀️

#sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub #sinnu1 #sinnu1b #u1 #watch #watches #divewatch #divewatches #practicalwatch #germanwatch #germanwatches #joeandwatches #wristwatchcheck
Coffee & today’s watch: Sinn U1 🖤🤿 #sinn Coffee & today’s watch: Sinn U1 🖤🤿

#sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub #sinnu1 #divewatch #divewatches #watch #watches #germanwatch #germanwatches #joeandwatches #coffeeandwatches #practicalwatch #wristwatchcheck
Check out the new post by @typebflieger on joeandw Check out the new post by @typebflieger on joeandwatches.com (link in bio)☝️

📸 @typebflieger 

#meistersinger #watch #watches #germanwatch #germanwatches #joeandwatches #practicalwatch
🖤 #tudor #tudorwatch #tudorwatchclub #tudorpel 🖤

#tudor #tudorwatch #tudorwatchclub #tudorpelagos #pelagos #watch #watches #divewatch #divewatches #wristwatchcheck #practicalwatch #joeandwatches
Sunny morning. ☀️ Wrong date 😂☕️ #sinnw Sunny morning. ☀️ Wrong date 😂☕️
#sinnwatches #sinnwatch #sinnwatchclub #sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnu1 #sinnu1se #divewatch #divewatches #germanwatch #germanwatches #watch #watches #practicalwatch #wristwatchcheck #joeandwatches
U1 SE on NATO strap means one thing: summer is her U1 SE on NATO strap means one thing: summer is here🖤☀️

#sinn #sinnu1 #sinnu1se #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub #watch #watches #germanwatch #germanwatches #divewatch #divewatches #practicalwatch #wristwatchcheck #joeandwatches
Coffee o’clock ☀️☕️💙 #sinn #sinnspez Coffee o’clock ☀️☕️💙

#sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub #sinnu1 #sinnu1b #watch #watches #germanwatch #germanwatches #divewatch #divewatches #joeandwatches #wristwatchcheck #practicalwatch
I was very close on selling the U1 S E but am so g I was very close on selling the U1 S E but am so glad I didn’t 🤩 Anyone else who’s got a weakness for the U1 series? 🖤💙🖤💙

#sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub #sinnu1 #sinnu1se #sinnu1b #sinnblu1 #watch #watches #divewatch #divewatches #germanwatch #germanwatches #wristwatchcheck #practicalwatch #joeandwatches
New watch alert 🚨 commissioning the new summer New watch alert 🚨 commissioning the new summer watch 🤩💙☀️

#sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwatches #sinnwatchclub #sinnu1 #sinnu1b #watch #watches #divewatch #divewatches #germanwatch #germanwatches #joeandwatches #wristwatchcheck
NWA 🚨 Sinn U1 B 💙 Donned the summer strap i NWA 🚨 
Sinn U1 B 💙
Donned the summer strap immediately 😄☀️🍻

@sinnwatchclub 
@sinn_spezialuhren 
@oslourservice 

#sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwatches #nwa #sinnu1 #sinnu1b #watch #watches #divewatch #divewatches #germanwatch #germanwatches #practicalwatch #wristwatchcheck #joeandwatches #sinnwatchclub
Waiting wrist shot: U1 on black Zuludiver combat N Waiting wrist shot: U1 on black Zuludiver combat NATO. 🖤

@sinn_spezialuhren 
@sinnwatchclub 
@zuludiver 

#sinn #sinnspezialuhren #sinnwatchclub #sinnwatches #sinnu1 #u1 #watch #watches #divewatch #divewatches #practicalwatch #germanwatch #germanwatches #wristwatchcheck #joeandwatches
Display case backs, yea or nay? New post on joean Display case backs, yea or nay?

New post on joeandwatches.com

Link in bio☝️

#joeandwatches #tudor #tudorblackbay58 #alangesohne

Photo: www.alange-soehne.com
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