nowing this edition was about Japan, the word “humble” came to mind. Being humble is often associated with Japanese people and culture, and it is something that’s very close to our hearts when it comes to our shared passion: watches. There you have it, I had my angle.

No matter how watch savvy we are, let’s not forget that 3700/1A, 5402ST, 6239 and 20217 are just an accumulation of numbers and letters for a useless object. They don’t make you a watch aficionado or a connoisseur. Don’t reduce watches to this, or namedrop them when you speak to someone. Instead, deep dive into what really moves you and not what “watch people” should be into. We all have different backgrounds, experiences and tastes that should take us on different paths while exploring watch culture. Let’s embrace this and get be moved by things that will surprise our fellow wrist adepts. After all, it’s meaningless so let’s make it exciting.

The faceless watch from Margiela in collaboration with H&M

So you can discredit me even more for attacking those icons, I’ll tell you about some of the timepieces I discovered on my journey and why they mean something to me. Should you disagree, please send all your hate comments to our Instagram account, but should you also have questionable watches that you love, please hit us up. We’d love to discover new ones! I’ll pick the worst one first: the faceless watch from Margiela in collaboration with H&M. Yes, I know this is a hard one to defend, but let me at least try: It’s a re-edition of a Margiela accessory from the Autumn-Winter 2006/2007 collection. It screams fashion, which I love, and it’s provocative. It’s not a watch and I admit there is next to no finishing. Ultimately, it questions the purpose of a watch in the modern day.

Then there’s my first real watch: the Rolex Oysterquartz 17014 with a champagne dial (I used the ref on purpose , just to annoy you). I spent countless hours stressing about buying a watch for 3-5k. Between you and me, it was all I had in my piggy bank. Chatting to a friend, he mentioned it, told me its story and I was instantly sold. Why? Because it’s provocative as one of the only quartz Rolex models done well and in a price range that made sense. I pulled the trigger and to this day there is always something happening when I look at the reflections on the bracelet, the sharp edges of the case or when I hear the VERY noisy ticking.

Rolex Oysterquartz 17014

My third love, which brings me back to the original assignment (sorry, Serge, got a little sidetracked there!), is a watch you might consider more traditional and has tugged at my heartstrings since the first day I laid eyes on it: the Naoya Hida & Co NH Type 1D. I tend to love things which yell “I am different,” and yet this watch yells the opposite. I don’t know why but it resonates a lot with me. Hand-engraved Breguet numerals, small seconds at 9 o’clock (yes, a bit of originality), blued pear-shaped hands, the perfect round case with the simplest crown. This just works and you can feel it’s been crafted out of true passion for what a watch should be (type your definition here; who am I to tell you what it is…).

Naoya Hida & Co NH Type 1D

I’ll stop there as I could continue forever, but there’s a breadth of things we can like in watchmaking and that’s why it’s fun. So often our world is perceived by onlookers as something pretentious and money-driven so let’s sit down and be humble. I’d love for people to share watch stories about things that don’t make any sense or that I wasn’t expecting from them. Those three timepieces are dear to me for different reasons. If my choice in watches offends you, please do not complain to Europa Star but rather directly to us. We produce a magazine and do lots of other weird stuff so in case you were intrigued, more than happy to have you onboard.

Peace out.