The world of mechanical watches can be pretty intimidating. Especially now when prices have shot into the stratosphere. It was a different industry back in 2015 when I bought my first so called nice watch, although many of the questions I had as a prospective watch buyer still hold true with new watch buyers today. What exactly am I looking at? What should I be looking for? Who do I talk to?

Honestly, it’s gotten a lot harder. Most of the watches you’ve heard of simply aren’t available unless you “know a guy”. And even if you know a guy, that pretty much just guarantees that you’ll be put on a years long list. Its frustrating. Trust me, I know.

Availability aside, most people struggle (I myself for sure did) with figuring out what was the correct first purchase. I think you go back in forth in your mind a bit about what you’re looking for and more importantly do the ever fun internal battle of seeing how comfortable you are stretching beyond your arbitrarily calculated predetermined budget. While most people just think Rolex and call it a day, the sheer amount of available brands and types of watches does make this harder than it seems. Pair that with the fact that Rolex has essentially decided for you that you cannot have one (more about this eventually), the choice becomes that much harder.

I suppose I’ll start by talking about my first watch: an IWC Portofino. I chose this watch after watching an old John Mayer and Kanye West video, where he mentioned the iconic IWC big pilot. I remember strolling into the IWC boutique on Madison Avenue right after my small signing bonus hit the bank account and walked out with what I thought was my first real watch. And I love that watch. It has the most sentimental value to me of any watch I own. But I wouldn’t have bought it again. I think that’s something important to point out.

Typically the only way to not fuck up watch purchases is to go through multiple years fucking up watch purchases. It’s certainly all part of the journey, but I’ve made so many mistakes in my few years. I hope this site helps people minimize that time period fucking up watch purchases and gets people started on the right foot.