Review: Watch Books and Watch Magazines
This is why you should get these three books and one magazine
A most enjoyable part of the watch collecting hobby is the searching and digging of everything relating to watches, brands, watchmakers and horology in general. While the internet offers the biggest library for research and many forums for discussions among watch lovers, there is nothing that can replace the depth and charm of having a well-written book with beautiful pictures in your hands. For new watch enthusiasts and collectors, there are three books that in my humble opinion are very important to get, one on how a mechanical watch works and various complications, one on the top brands and their well-known models, and another one on the evolution of watch designs. I love watch magazines as well for the in-depth reviews of novelties, interviews of the movers and shakers in the industry and the stunning, super sharp photos. In this article, I will review the books I have purchased and read in the last few years, together with the watch magazines I’m subscribing to. I will have three books and one magazine that I will be happy to recommend.
“The Wristwatch Handbook - A Comprehensive Guide to Mechanical Wristwatches”, by Ryan Schmidt, 2016 - “My Recommendation”
The title doesn’t exaggerate a bit, this 351-page “comprehensive guide” is a must-have “handbook” for every watch lover. There are two main sections, with Section I explaining in detail how a mechanical watch works and Section II focusing on different complications. The book includes tons of watch pictures for illustrations, so it is a great book to learn about watch brands and their famous models as well along the way. It is amazing that this book covers almost all of the watch topics one may think of. For example, I was interested in tide watches for tracking time for high tide and low tide while going to swim in the sea. There are 5 pages in this book describing the “Tidal range / Tide indicator”, including 5 pictures of representative tide watch models from Sinn, Oris, and others. Once I was wondering what “adjusted to 5 positions” or “adjusted to 6 positions” means on the movement, I was able to find the answer clearly explained in the book.
The author Ryan Schmidt grew up in the UK and currently lives in New York. He works in a corporate role at Christie’s auction house and writes occasional articles for the watch press. I listened to an interview of Mr. Schmidt by the Scottish Watches podcast and it was a treat. I would strongly recommend this encyclopedia of watches to any serious watch lover. If you want to just get one book for the watch collecting hobby, this would be the one to get!
“The Watch - Thoroughly Revised”, by Gene Stone and Stephen Pulvirent, 2018 - “My Recommendation”
This 271-page book presents an introduction of top 50 watch brands including their history, founders and current leaders, and the famous and important models with sharp pictures. It is a really great reference book for new watch collectors who need to get the key information about a brand’s history and products quickly. Each brand is covered by 2 to 10 pages of texts and photos. Apparently, more prominent brands get more coverage, so it is interesting to see who the top brands are in the authors’ mind. Patek Philippe gets 10 pages, the most of all the brands. The following heavyweights get 8 pages of coverage, including Audemars Piguet, Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega, and Rolex. The authors had done an outstanding job in curating the representative models for each brand, which makes this book the perfect starting point for a new brand you would like to explore. What you will see is the informative summary and thoughtful highlights compiled by the experts. Two-thumbs up!
“The Watch - A Twentieth-Century Style History”, by Alexander Barter, 2019 - “My Recommendation”
One may think that this book is for the collectors of vintage watches only. Actually, this 331-page “style history” of the last century is especially useful for new collectors and watch lovers. The watch design and aesthetics are a big part of watch collecting and the so-called “style history” is basically the history of watch designs. After reading this book, I was totally convinced that the modern day watch designs and complications are deeply rooted in the historical watch designs and constructions.
For example, we may see that today’s pilot watches have not changed much from the military watches in the 1940s. The world time watch was invented in the 1930s, and the design and mechanism of today’s world time watches from Patek and others are essentially the same. It is fascinating to read about the development and improvements of chronograph, perpetual calendar, dive watch, and watches with time zones over the years. The book of course includes a detailed recount of the birth of dress/sports hybrid watches like AP Royal Oaks in the 1970s and their continued evolutions. Gerald Genta would not have imagined that his designs would become so popular nowadays that these sports luxury watches from AP and Patek are simply impossible to obtain for most watch lovers. When I was curious about the enamel dials, the descriptions of the decorative enamel dials in various decades offered delightful information and vivid pictures.
I would recommend this book to any watch collectors interested in learning more about the history of watch designs and key complications.
“Watches - A Guide by Hodinkee”, 2019
This 261-page book was written by Hodinkee veterans Ben Clymer, Jack Forster, Stephen Pulvirent and a few others. There are dedicated chapters for chronographs, dive watches, travel time, dress watches and icons, etc. Maybe due to high expectations for a guide book from Hodinkee and the fact that the chapters were written by different persons with different styles, this book didn’t come across as a strong offering to me. There are many full page pictures (and this is a huge book) containing only one watch in each picture, which might be better utilized to show more information. Ryan’s handbook is definitely a better guidebook for watch mechanism and complications.
“The Millennium Watch Book - Watchmaking Since 2000 - In Essence”, 2020
This is an even bigger book which is measured 15in by 12in and there are in total 300 pages. This tremendous volume was published and shipped towards the end of 2020, a remarkable feat accomplished during the pandemic. All the writers and GMT Publishing deserve big kudos. The reception has been quite good and this book will turn into a collection of books, with one book to be published each year starting in 2021.
In this book, one chapter is devoted to one year, from 2000 to 2020, together with chapters on special topics such as chronographs, tourbillon, women’s watches and the independent watchmakers. A very special chapter of the book is the “Who’s Who” featuring 85 most important figures in the watch industry today. I certainly learned quite a few influential leaders whom I had no idea about them before such as the CEO of Rolex Mr. Jean-Frédéric Dufour, no relation to the famous watchmaker Philippe Dufour, who was included in the list too. The pictures in this book are really fantastic, produced by super high resolutions original images and the superior printing quality of an Italian printing company.
If you are intrigued by the key developments in the watch industry in the last 20 years, this book would be an authoritative and thorough source for information and photos. It is certainly a book to consider if you have acquired the books I recommended earlier. The only thing is that this is a very big and heavy book, which might make it a bit intimidating to read. My tip is to find a big adjustable-height desk and you may be standing while reading it.
“Wristwatch Annual 2020 - The Catalog of Producers, Prices, Models & Specifications”, 2020
This is a reference book covering 126 brands from the top watch making countries, but it is fun to just browse through it without any specific brands or models in mind. The pricing information is quite useful, as some brands don’t list prices on their websites. For each brand featured in the book, we may find the history, employee number, production number and of course the important models with photos. It is definitely a fun book for watch collectors opening to explore new brands and models.
“The Magic Of Watches - A Smart Introduction to Fine Watchmaking”, by Louis Nardin, 2016
If you were wondering about the author’s name, you are on the right track that the Mr. Louis Nadin comes from the family behind the storied brand Ulysse Nardin. Louis a watch journalist, who used to be the presenter at Watches.tv. The “Magic of Watches” is an introductory essay exploring the reasons for collecting watches, the buying process, the care of watches, and the anatomy of watches. It includes a lot of useful information for newcomers to the watch hobby and may offer something new to long time watch enthusiasts too. However, active and seasoned watch people may find this book a bit too basic.
I picked up WatchTime and Robb Report at the airports and ended up becoming a subscriber to both. As a member of Horological Society of New York, I’m getting free subscriptions to Hodinkee magazine, Europa Star and GMT digital edition. A big shout out to HSNY for this marvelous benefit. As a customer of Patek Philippe, I’m getting subscription to its quarterly magazine. I’m also on the mailing list of F.P. Journal, an annual publication by F.P. Journe. You may contact a FP Journe boutique to get on the mailing list.
Out of all these magazines and journals, if I have to recommend just one, I would choose the “Europa Star” without hesitation. This is a magazine that doesn’t just cover new watch releases, but focus on reporting the watch industry as a whole to illustrate the people, companies and trends behind the watches. For example, the latest issue showcases the top watchmakers, which is a very interesting topic for collectors. An earlier issue looked into the new reality for the watch retailers and interviewed a number of top retailers in the US, Europe and Asia to study the challenges they faced. Many of the contents are quite unique and not readily available over the internet. Furthermore, a subscription allows digital access to all the historical issues, which is awesome for research.
Books and magazines on watches are part of the traditional media and certainly face challenges in this social media era. However, they do offer vast amounts of information and knowledge that are both critical and enjoyable at the same time for us watch lovers. In summary, my recommendations are:
How does watch works? - Ryan’s handbook
Top brands and models? - “The Watch - Thoroughly Revised”
Evolution of watch designs and complications? - “20th Century Style History”
Watch magazine to learn more about the watch industry? - “Europa Star” (free with HSNY membership)
Do you have any useful watch books, journals or magazines to recommend? If so, please leave a comment below. Thanks and happy reading!