The first time you buy a really expensive watch, it’s very hard. You’re not sure you could justify the cost versus what you’re getting back later. I’ve realized that’s part of the thrill—that it hurts a little bit to get these things. So I got a GMT with this beautiful black dial, a Spring Drive, and I was in awe of it. I was hooked once I had that first one; that was the beginning of my journey.
I find for myself, and other writers that I know, that a big watch purchase is sometimes tied to a big milestone. Do you find yourself engaging in similar behavior?
Yes, I’ve been trying. Sometimes there it’s “I really want to remember this moment, so let me tie this moment to a particular timepiece.” For example, when we announced Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, our new game, we’d been working for years towards this moment. So when we announced it, I wanted to celebrate it for myself. I got a Patek Calatrava, and that was something I’ve been eyeing for a while. I finally got it. I wore it at the Game Awards when we announced the thing. I will forever associate the watch with that announcement. Then, sometimes you’re like, “I just want a new watch. What’s the nearest event, so I could kind of tie it to it.” Even now, I think back [to] when I was shooting episode 2×06—I got a [Rolex] Yacht-Master at the local AD in Vancouver. I tend to think in similar ways.
I got myself a Seamaster when I got my first byline on the site, so I think it’s interesting people do tie a purchase to an event.
I try—I don’t know if you have this—not to get lost in the hype, of like, “Okay, what is the hot watch right now?” It really has to speak to me. I can’t imagine buying a watch blind. I have to try it on, see it, and feel like some sort of connection to it. I often look at the movements. I dunno, maybe it’s my programmer brain. So much of our lives these days are digital, and the engineering effort—forget the artistry for a second, cause that’s another aspect—but there’s such an engineering effort of putting all these tiny pieces and constructing them into this tiny movement that has all these complications that I’m always in awe. Then you add the artistry on top of it. You have to express yourself with such constraints, and they’re size constraints, but also engineering constraints. In some ways, it feels parallel to making video games. That there is a combination of art and engineering under all these constraints. Very, very different things but there’s something about watches that reminds me a lot of that.
Is there a particular movement that you’ve seen that you’ve been just really impressed by, or has stuck out to you for its artistry?
There is. So I’m very bad at remembering reference numbers. There is this Patek chronograph with a salmon dial that’s a manual. The movement behind it, because it’s a manual, you don’t have anything obstructing it. They have such artistry in their movements that when you’re engaging it and disengaging it, you could see all the pieces and how they move it. I’ve stared at that thing forever. I don’t own it, but I need a good event so I can own it.
Is that one next up?
I believe so, yeah.
Is there a standard or go-to piece you wear for, say, a premiere or some other big event?
Oh yeah. For South by Southwest, I got a Vacheron Constantin 222, and that’s been my fanciest watch. That’s the one I go to. Even though it’s gold, it’s relatively low-key with its finish. That’s probably my go-to for nicer events.
What are you wearing today?
I got my AP [lifts up wrist] chronograph blue dial.
Yeah, that’s a nice one.
I have very small wrists, so this one is, I think, 37 or 38 millimeters, I forget now, but it’s on the smaller side of the Royal Oaks.
When was the last time you compared notes with Troy about where he’s at with his collection versus where you’re at with your collection? Do you guys communicate about that stuff all the time?
We try to one-up each other. So every time he gets something new l,ike a few months ago—I’m not sure actually when he got it—he got the Batgirl Rolex. I don’t have a Rolex GMT yet; I’ve been waiting on that one for a while. So he was just making me jealous. When I got the 222, I sent [it to] him and he’s like, “You son of a bitch! You pulled the trigger on that one.” So that is our relationship now, and we tend to annoy people. It’s funny, once you enter that world, it’s kind of like—I assume vegans or something—we annoy everybody around us that is not into watches because we’ll just do these deep dives and talk about them.
