TIME ONLINE
Christopher Ward is delighted that it has stimulated the formation of
www.christopherwardforum.com, the independent online forum. But this excellent global network is not the only source of informed horological debate. Here is a quartet of other opinionated blogs we like.
www.ablogtoread.com
“The most popular watch review and news source online”
Los Angeles-based Ariel Adams gave up a career in law to become perhaps currently the most prolific writer of watches. Postings from his site appear on many other sites and Adams’ own opinions are sought by other media such as the Financial Times. His site, which was started in 2007, claims to be the highest traffic blog devoted solely to the passion of buying and collecting timepieces. That passion comes through in the high-production values, which include superb photography and video reviews. As an avid watch enthusiast, Adams writes a lot of
the copy, backed by a select team of informed watch lovers. The site’s aim is to provide accurate, honest and unbiased reviews and industry information. The scope is remarkable. Content on more than 300 watch brands is listed on the site, from A Lange & Sohne to Zodiac.
www.timezone.com
“The world’s watch information resource”
An independently-owned discussion, information and education web site,
TimeZone.com has an impressive global reach. This US-based business has moderators as far apart as Canada, the UK, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. It offers discussion forums in English, French and Japanese. Anyone can read the discussion forums, but you must register to post.
Founded in 1994, the site has no retail operations and remains independent of manufacturers (although it does carry advertising and has a list of heavyweight sponsors). It’s a huge site for anyone interested in collecting wristwatches and wishing to know more about the industry.
The busiest area is the Public Forum, which receives hundreds of posts a day on watches. The sites Sales Corner is the place to buy, sell and trade pre-owned watches with a price tag below $5000. The TZ Showcase handles watches costing $5000 and more. The Vintage Watches forum concentrates on older watches, while specific watch brands are discussed in the individual Brand Forums. There is a Dive Watch and a Ladies Watch forum too
online Time
THANKS TO THE DEMOCRATIC NATURE OF THE INTERNET, NEWS AND INFORMED VIEWS ON WATCHES SPIN AROUND THE WORLD AS NEVER BEFORE. WE SPOTLIGHT FOUR OF THE WATCH-MINDED BLOGS THAT WE ENJOY AND RESPECT.
For the real enthusiast, TimeZone also runs an online school for watchmaking and a Watchmaking & Repair forum.
The Horologium area contains dozens of in-depth watch reviews and informative articles, while TZ Classics is its archive of thousands of reviews, articles, and posts submitted by TZ members. The Feature Articles section has dozens of interviews, technical reviews, histories, and more.
One of the site’s strengths is that it caters to all watch types, is very well organised and is relatively easy to navigate. Its section on industry news is much admired.
www.watchuseek.com
“The No1 interactive portal to worldwide watches and on-line watch shop” Last time we looked, the forum section of this Netherlands-based site had had more than four million posts on almost 600,000 threads and more than 120,000 members. So you could say it’s popular. Owned and run by Ernie Romers since 1998, watchuseek is first and foremost a platform for the commercial selling of watches. But behind the sales pages there is a lively forum section and a very well- informed blog and news section detailing watch industry developments and new products. What makes this well- designed site particularly interesting is its links to (it claims) “all known watchmakers…lots of interesting unofficial and official watch forums and a large collection of fine watches & accessories”.
The manufacturers’ list certainly seems exhaustive. Christopher Ward is just one of 99 entries under the letter C alone. The site has a clean, contemporary and easy-on- the-eye appearance (designed by a company in Canter- bury, England, we note with interest).
Apart from the many well-written features and general industry news, we like the fact that it has little photos and amusing mini-biographies for 13 of its 58 forum
Orderline 0844 875 1515
moderators – it’s unusual to put a proper face rather than an avatar to the name. This is a very appealing, friendly site and possibly the most popular of the lot.
www.wornandwound.com
Based in Brooklyn, New York City, worn&wound is the vehicle for the thoughts and opinions of Blake Malin and Zach Weiss. They are responsible for a site that looks more like a men’s fashion blog than the other watch specialists mentioned here. It has a clean, even sparse, layout and it supplies its info such as new reviews via Tweets as well as email. In his review last autumn of the Christopher Ward C9 Jumping Hour Zach commented: “As a watch lover I can’t help but be seduced by those epic watches that cost from $6, 000 to $600,000, but as a normal dude, I never expect to own one.” The normal dudes stress that they concentrate on “beautifully designed and well-crafted watches that you may actually purchase: watches within a reasonable price range and watches that fit within a fashion-conscious lifestyle.” One section deals with watches that sell at below $100. To emphasise their fashion credentials, they run a section called “Pairs Well With:” in which they feature a desirable watch and suggest a fashion outfit that would complement it. So the site appeals to watch aficionados and average consumers, but the quality of writing and analysis is admirable. They are certainly thorough – the C9 review ran to more than 2,200 words, backed with their own excellent photos and a neat video. And it showed that the site will happily review positively watches that cost more than $1,500.
The site includes links to just seven other watch blogs, but more fashion and style sites. Founded in 2011 and clearly the work of a talented duo, worn&wound is definitely a site to keep an eye on.
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