I’m Not Trying to Build a Watch for Everyone

I’m not trying to build a watch for everyone. That probably isn’t the first sentence they teach you in business school. But it’s true.

There are plenty of watches out there built to appeal to as many people as possible. Safe colors. Familiar shapes. Names that sound vaguely adventurous. Spec sheets designed to make sure nobody has much to complain about. They made 2,000 of them and have to sell them.

That’s just not really what I’m interested in doing with JMR. I make a few. And I don't have to sell them. This is a hobby. I do have a daytime job. 

I’d rather make a watch that reminds one person of something. A round of golf with their dad. A beach vacation when the kids were still little. A late night rocking a newborn back to sleep. A trip to Italy with your wife where you drank too much espresso, probably enough red wine, and somehow decided years later that the lemon trees deserved a spot on a bezel.

Those are oddly specific things. That’s kind of the point.

The Story Comes First

Most JMR watches don’t start with me saying, “I need to make a blue watch.” They usually start with a memory, a place, a person, or some little thing that stuck with me.

Pin High came from twilight golf with my dad. A Yacht More came from my daughter saying “a yacht” instead of “a lot.” Night Watch came from those newborn nights when the rest of the house was asleep and somebody very small had other plans. Positano Notte V came from my fifth anniversary trip to Italy.

After that, I start looking at cases, dials, hands, bezels, movements, and straps, trying to figure out how to make the watch feel like the thing that inspired it.

It’s probably not the most efficient way to design a watch. It is actually quite frustrating, and I’m fine with that.

You Might Not Get It

And honestly, you might look at one of the watches and not get it. That’s fine too.

Maybe golf means nothing to you. Maybe you’ve never been to Positano. Maybe you hear “dirty martini” and think that sounds terrible.

There are plenty of watches out there for you.

But every once in a while, someone sees one of mine and says, “That reminds me of…”

That’s the reaction I’m after. Because that’s when it stops being only my story. Now it’s connected to something in yours.

And I think that’s a lot more interesting than just making another watch with a nice dial.

Specs Still Matter

None of this means the actual watch doesn’t matter.

I still spend way too much time thinking about movements, sapphire crystals, case proportions, water resistance, bracelets, straps, and all the other tiny details that normal people generally do not want to hear me talk about.

The watch still has to be good. But I don’t think good specs are enough of a reason for a watch to exist.

There should be something behind it. A place. A person. A joke. A memory. Something worth carrying around on your wrist.

Probably Not for Everyone

JMR will probably never make the perfect watch for everyone.

Good.

I’d rather make a watch that means something to somebody. And if that means a few people look at one and think, “I don’t get it,” that’s fine. It probably wasn’t meant for them.

For the person who does get it, though, that’s the whole point.