We Come for the Watches, We Stay for the People

NYC Watch Week, a pancake breakfast, and my transition from collector to community member

By @midlifecrisiswatches · 18 October 2026 · 4 min read

It was Saturday, October 17, my last day of NYC Watch Week. I had to leave a day earlier than most. My finale was a late lunch after four hours at WatchTime. Once our drinks arrived and we’d placed our order (admittedly a hurried lunch, since I had a flight to catch), @centralseconds, @chronopursuit, @jasonschmidt79, @bensonqiu and I reminisced about the last few days and swapped random stories.

I asked the table, “What was the best part of the week so far?” I figured @jasonschmidt79 would talk about Indies NYC, @chronopursuit about the CW launch event, @centralseconds about photographing the Andersen Genève pieces, and @bensonqiu about his time with Michael Holthinrichs. Nope. @centralseconds nailed it: “The people.”

We come for the watches. We stay for the people.

Admittedly, I’m relatively new to the people. I know, you’re shaking your head right now because you think I know a LOT of watch people. Maybe.

But when I got back into collecting, I had just moved to Boston, didn’t really know anyone, and started collecting… by myself. I made some internet friends on Reddit, Discord, WhatsApp, and IG, but not many in person. I believe Michiel Holthinrichs was the first true watchmaker I ever interacted with directly, a whole bunch of years ago.

It was Judd at Long’s Jewelers who welcomed me to the Boston watch scene. From there, Brian, Tai, Glen, Spence, Susan, and Will welcomed me and started making introductions beyond Shreve, Crump & Low. Then came David Chang, who runs the iykyk group The Escapement, where I started meeting Boston collectors with marvelous collections. Through David, I met watchmakers too.

David also introduced me to Cameron and Lea of Bucherer in Boston, who have welcomed me and invited my wife and me to some incredible events. Heck, even the Grand Seiko store in Boston has started introducing me around.

I came for the watches, but I’ve stayed for the community.

As many of you know (and probably how you found me), I shoot a lot of watch photography. It’s my creative outlet. I actually believe it’s one of the things keeping me healthier, since it uses parts of my brain that don’t get exercised day to day. Stephen (@talkingabouttime) found me and invited me into his Watch Photography Group on IG. From there it snowballed, and everyone welcomed me with open arms (I think?). We help each other, and nobody has helped me more than @ckstime and @centralseconds (and @enthusedad). They’ve mentored me constantly and given me feedback, sometimes not what I wanted to hear, and they have absolutely raised my game.

After a year or two, I finally met them in person this week. It went straight to hugs, and I had the biggest smile on my face. Their mentorship has gone beyond anything I could have imagined, and I’m grateful. Heck, I even spent most of the day with @centralseconds and brought him into my crew. I got to see him in action and watched intently.

OK, I’m rambling.

Yesterday morning (17th October), I hosted a breakfast for the Midlife Crisis Watches community. I opened RSVPs a few weeks ago, “tickets” sold out in days (it was free, btw), and the waitlist began. Completely organically. We filled an entire section of a restaurant and had to add seats. Pancakes, waffles, and eggs were abundant, watches aplenty, and total strangers brought together by horology just talked. No politics. No business. No kvetching. Just pure horological passion. The breakfast was scheduled for 90 minutes. It easily could have run 180. Friends from Awake, SUF, Sarpaneva, Serica, and many others came and added another dimension.

I walked the halls of Indies NYC, The HYPE, and WatchTime and took selfies with a ton of people. I kept hearing, “Is that MidlifeCrisisWatches?” Or "that guy looks familiar - midlife something.” It was unbelievably flattering and humbling. I think this was my weekend of transition from collector to community member. It feels good. And guess what? It’s all because of you. Each and every one of you. Thank you for welcoming me to the watch community and for spending time with me here, on IG, and beyond.

More on my NYC Watch Week likes, dislikes, surprises, and more on Wednesday. For today, I’m grateful for the community, which is you.