Weekend Edition Back To School, HODINKEE Style

A famously outdated rule in fashion is that Labor Day is the last time you're supposed to wear white outdoors until next summer rolls around – and for many more, it's a time for serious shopping with discounts galore. (Why yes, in fact, we do have a Labor Day Weekend sale going on in the HODINKEE Shop!) But for me, this weekend always represented the final vestige of summer fun before heading back to school.

So for this Weekend Edition, I've decided to focus on education. There's so much to learn about watches and watchmaking that it can be exhausting and overwhelming at times, but it's also one of the reasons I enjoy what I do so much. It can be incredibly fulfilling and entertaining to go down one of the watch industry's seemingly bottomless rabbit holes. I'm not exaggerating when I say that you can absolutely spend an endless amount of time and energy researching everything there is to do with a specific topic or timepiece. 

The intersections of history, culture, engineering, and business with horology are just a few of the many, many areas to dig in deep and explore. And HODINKEE – I'm proud to say – has spent the past 14 years building the single best, living, online archive of in-depth writing on all things watches.

Every watch, every collection, and every company has a story to tell. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't learn something new. So here are six of my all-time favorite HODINKEE In-Depth stories and deep dives. Happy reading. 

In-Depth: Joe Thompson's Complete Guide To The Modern Era Of Watchmaking

The professor is in. Joe Thompson is a legend in the world of watch writing. After 40-plus years of observing and reporting on all the happenings in the watch world, with a special emphasis on the business beat, Joe retired at the end of 2020. He spent his last few years in the space serving in a variety of capacities at HODINKEE, including as our Editor-at-Large and Executive Editor, and he was never afraid to jump in and write when he felt there was a story to be told. One of his best pieces was a four-part series that stretched over 15,000 words and told the entire history of modern watchmaking, all the way from the 1970s Quartz Revolution to the dawn of Apple Watch. This is essential reading. 

In-Depth: A Detailed Survey Of The Split-Seconds Chronograph And Its Cousins

One of my absolute favorite HODINKEE technical stories is this deep dive into the intricacies of the rattrapante chronograph, one of the most complicated and prestigious complications out there. HODINKEE contributor and former intern PH Zhou does an incredible job of clearly and concisely describing the many different ways watchmakers have attempted to split a second. 

In-Depth: A Brief History Of Modern Rolex Balance Springs

Mr. Danny Milton's fondness for Rolex is well-known, and his interest in the behemoth organization is far deeper than just historical and cultural. In my favorite Danny story, he explores the complex world of Parachrom and Syloxi to unearth the key differences and significance of all of the different balance springs produced by Rolex today. It's a subject I knew nothing about, but after reading Danny's story when it was first published two years ago, I felt like I was ready to transcend all the way up to Rolex heaven. 

In-Depth: Deciphering Dive Watch Markings

I don't consider myself a dive-watch expert by any means, and yet I still own more dive watches than any other type of watch. I'm sure I'm not alone there. Jason Heaton's 2018 treatise on all the various forms a dive watch might take helped me better understand all the details and functions my dive watches have that I may have otherwise dismissed. There's plenty of depth to explore below the surface. 

In-Depth: Does A Watch's Frequency Actually Matter?

Here's a little shameless self-promotion. Although I've written numerous technical-oriented stories for HODINKEE over the years, they tend to lean into the realm of high-priced esoterica that is absolutely fascinating but perhaps a bit alienating. One story I wrote recently that I think will benefit any watch enthusiast, new or old, is my examination of frequency in watchmaking. Every story we publish typically lists a beat rate in "hertz" or "vibrations/beats per hour" – but the question I wanted to answer was how exactly did that impact an individual's personal ownership experience. It's important stuff, and I hope it helped clear up an aspect of watchmaking that is commonly mentioned but rarely discussed in depth. 

In-Depth: Luminous Dials, What Makes Them Glow, And How To Spot Their Differences

Radium. Promethium. Tritium. LumiNova. Super-LumiNova. These are all names you likely know already, but what's the difference and how has the application of luminous materials evolved in watchmaking? This four-year old piece should answer any and all questions you might have about your favorite glow-in-the-dark watches. You're never too old for a nightlight.