My Wife Has No Idea How Many Watches I Own

And at this point, I'm not entirely sure I do either.

There's a certain look my wife gives me when another small padded envelope arrives at our front door.

It's not anger. It's not even disappointment.

It's more of a quiet, suspicious curiosity. And a hard eye roll. That's her Blue Steel. 

"More watch stuff?"

"No. Well, yes. But it's for JMR."

And technically, that's true.

Which is the best kind of true.

It Started Innocently Enough

I didn't set out to start a watch company. Believe it or not, I do run a full time business during the day. 

I liked watches. I liked the mechanics, the designs, the history, and the idea that something so small could have so much personality. 

Then I discovered you could build your own.

That seemed harmless.

Buy a case. Pick a dial. Find some hands. Drop in a movement. Put it all together.

How hard could it be?

As it turns out, considerably harder than the internet makes it look.

But I built one. And then another.

Then I had an idea for a different dial. And a different bezel. And a watch that reminded me of playing golf with my dad.

Before long, I had more watch ideas than I had wrists.

Which, admittedly, is a pretty low bar.

Three Daughters. One Very Understanding Wife. Several Questionable Purchases.

Our house is already a fairly chaotic place.

We have three daughters, which means there's always someone crying, laughing, arguing, asking for a snack, or blaming someone else for something that happened.

And when that madness is done with, and everyone is tucked in bed, I'm sitting at a workbench trying to install a seconds hand that's roughly the size of an eyelash.

It's a fascinating contrast.

My daughters can destroy a living room in under four minutes, while I can spend forty-five minutes trying to move a piece of metal half a millimeter.

Both activities require patience. There is no rushing in watchmaking. There is also is no rushing to providing solutions for the 6 year old who is throwing a tantrum over 1 of her 12 "squishies" that popped. 

Only one has resulted in me quietly questioning my life choices while staring through a magnifying loupe.

My wife, meanwhile, has been remarkably supportive.

Although I suspect her definition of "supportive" involves choosing not to ask how much a sapphire crystal costs.

That's When the Hobby Became a Business

Eventually, I realized I wasn't just building watches anymore.

I was building watches around memories.

I started giving the watches names. Writing down the stories. Thinking about what the next one might look like.

And somewhere along the way, JMR Watches was born.

Named after the middle names of our three daughters.

Because if you're going to turn your office into a small-scale watchmaking operation, the least you can do is give the kids naming rights.

But Do You Really Need Another Watch?

This is a perfectly reasonable question.

It's also one I have ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION of answering.

Nobody needs a mechanical watch.

Your phone tells better time. Your microwave tells time. Your car tells time. There's probably a refrigerator somewhere that can tell time while ordering its own groceries.

But that's never really been the point.

A watch can remind you of a place, a person, a moment, or a story.

It can become something you wear for years and eventually hand down to someone else.

And sometimes it's just a really good-looking watch.

That's allowed, too.

The Business Expense Defense

Now, when another package arrives, I can say it's inventory.

Or research and development.

Or a prototype.

Or a replacement for a part I accidentally launched across the room and will probably discover in 2031.

All perfectly legitimate business explanations.

The fact that I occasionally wear the inventory is beside the point.

After all, somebody has to perform quality control.

And if that quality control happens to take place over dinner, on the golf course, or while enjoying a dirty martini, that's simply the level of dedication I'm bringing to this operation.

So How Many Watches Do I Actually Own?

A reasonable number.

Depending on how you define reasonable.

The truth is, I have no idea where JMR Watches will ultimately go. What started as a curiosity has turned into something I genuinely love doing.

I get to make things with my hands, turn memories into designs, and hopefully build watches that mean something to somebody else.

That's a pretty good return on a hobby.

Even if my office now looks like a small distribution center.

As for my wife?

She's been incredibly supportive through all of it.

And I intend to repay that support by continuing to be extremely vague about how many watches are currently in this house.

Some mysteries are better left unsolved.

— JMR Watches

Built by hand. Inspired by life.