Top 5 questions I get when people find out I’m a watch reviewer

Fergus Nash

There are a lot of unique jobs in the world, and careers are very rarely planned out accurately. The wristwatch world adopted me in a whirlwind, and I went from preferring not to wear a watch to writing for Time+Tide within the space of about a year. Even if you told me when I was 16 and writing video game reviews for a small and now-defunct magazine called Sticky Trigger that I’d be a full-time writer of anything, I’d probably have been in extreme doubt. All this considered, it never gets old hearing people’s reactions when I tell them my job, and here are the ones I hear most often.

How many do you get to keep?

None, sadly. Watch journalism does have a lot of fun perks, like seeing big-news press releases early, occasionally talking to legends of the industry, and sometimes borrowing review watches for a weekend, but I’ve always had to send them back. Some of the watches I am lucky enough to borrow are worth thousands of dollars, and if every reviewer was allowed to keep one then those companies would find themselves losing a considerable amount of money very quickly.

Watches, like, what you watch on Netflix?

If you’re an avid watch collector or even just a mild enthusiast, it’s easy to forget that watches aren’t relevant to the vast majority of people in their daily lives. They get by perfectly fine with their phones, random clocks, or even just living in blissful ignorance of the time. Their wallets are probably happier with them for it, too. I got this question so much when I started out that I now usually specify wristwatches, and then we all know that I mean. It is true though that I’ve often got to keep a pen and paper with me whenever I watch Netflix’s Drive To Survive, so I can pump out an annual watchspotting article.

Are there really that many watches to fill a magazine?

There are hundreds if not thousands of watches released on Kickstarter alone every year, and that’s just for independent microbrands. There are thousands more watch brands across all corners of the world, and it’s estimated that the global watch industry is worth around 66 billion US dollars. So yes, even if there are a lot of watches produced that aren’t worth covering, we as media have a huge pool of releases to review, and that’s before making room for news, opinion pieces, stories, and whatever other articles get written.

Do you have a Rolex?

It goes to show how cemented Rolex are in the human psyche as a sign of success, that most people assume I either have one or am working towards getting one. The haters will say that I can’t afford a Rolex, and that’s actually true, but I tend to find connection with an individual watch rather than a brand. Those who ask me if I have a Rolex are most likely assuming that watch collecting is all about the collection, when really we know it’s more about the journey.

What do you think of my watch?

Being a good reviewer sometimes means tearing yourself away from your own personal biases, and there’s no greater test for this skill than when you’re trying not to insult someone. The amount of times I’ve been asked this question and then been shown an absolute monstrosity is more than I’d like to admit, but the diplomatic answer of “if you like it, then it’s a good watch” is always tucked under my sleeve. However, there are a few magic moments when someone shows me something cool, unique, or generally surprising, and then we can have a fun and deep-diving discussion.