Thanks to the growing popularity of watch collecting, there is no shortage of books one can find about watches. Even mainstream bookstores often have a few in stock, while specialty bookstores across the world, from Powell’s in Portland, Oregon to Tsutaya in Daikanyama, Tokyo, have entire sections devoted to watch books. But the watch publishing industry is dominated by brand books, like MB&F: The First Fifteen Years, that celebrate a particular brand or model.

Perhaps because watch collecting is still a nascent hobby, there have not been many (if any) memoirs written about watch collecting. And while Time on My Hands by Mitch Katz is highly educational at times, it succeeds most as a personal story about one man’s long journey down the rabbit hole of watch collecting.

Initial thoughts

As hard as it is to find a book written by a fellow collector, it’s rarer still to find one that recounts events that formed the basis of one’s own watch education. I first became aware of Mr Katz in 2008 when I joined the Purists forum, which is also where I became acquainted with SJX. When I was at university, the forum served as my nightly reading, and the wisdom I gained reading Mr Katz’s posts, and those of fellow Purists, helped me get up to speed on the many nuances of the watch industry.

In Time on My Hands, Mr Katz shares the ups and downs of his own watch journey, from its humble beginnings, featuring a quartz Hublot, to its spectacular highlights, which include a who’s who of the great contemporary independent watchmakers. Living vicariously through Mr Katz, we also get to find out what happens when one accidentally drops a Vacheron Constantin Copernicus Celestial Spheres face down on ceramic tile.

Ultimately, Mr Katz’s willingness to follow his heart is the through line that explains his diverse collecting habits. The story unfolds by following his collecting journey, describing how he made various decisions, and the thought processes that would ultimately compel him to buy (or not buy) a specific watch.

Another key theme in Mr Katz’s collection is innovation. Repeatedly, we see how Mr Katz was drawn to watches like the Ulysse Nardin Freak or the Frederique Constant Slimline Monolithic, while sparing barely a thought to mainstream watchmaking. This focus on innovation was a double-edged sword in many ways; Mr Katz was often an early adopter of new technology, which meant he experienced more than his fair share of warranty servicing.

The Ulysse Nardin Freak; the author owns an identical example and even had a birthday cake modelled on the watch

Following your heart

In today’s Instagram-fueled collector community, it is refreshing to see a collection like Mr Katz’s. That is, one without a Patek Philippe, Rolex, Cartier, or Tudor. On the contrary, Mr Katz is drawn to experimental designs like the TAG Heuer Microtimer, the first and only mechanical chronograph capable of measuring 1/1000th of a second.

This aspect of the book makes it a worthwhile read for new collectors, exposing readers to an alternate universe of obscure and interesting watches, and revealing how rewarding and educational it can be to take the road less traveled. That’s not to say Mr Katz avoids the mainstream entirely, but his collection is impressively diverse, spanning more than 50 brands.

In fact, I speculate this might be the only collection that contains both a Daniels Anniversary watch by Roger Smith, and a Zodiac Astrographic. The collection also includes a few pieces that reveal his connection to the Purists forum, like the St Gallen Rescue and the Don Corson Dresdener 3.

A yellow gold Anniversary like that described in the book

A patron of independent watchmaking

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that Mr Katz rarely, if ever, appears to have been motivated to collect for financial gain. Rather, he collected what he liked, always listening to his heart and only buying certain models that he found compelling. This may sound naive in a world in which the prices of watches are tracked like stocks, but this was the predominant attitude among an influential segment of the collector community in the 1990s and early 2000s.

It has always been the curious collectors like Mr Katz, willing to take a chance on something new, unique, and interesting, that have funded moon shot projects like the Microtimer and helped launch the careers of independent watchmakers like John and Stephen McGonigle. By doing so, they helped shape the contemporary watchmaking landscape for the better. By sharing his story, Mr Katz will hopefully inspire others to follow their own interests and avoid the pitfalls of conformity.

Time on My Hands (ISBN 978-1964014494) is available at bookstores and online as a paperback, hardcover, and e-book.

[Editor’s note: I was familiar with Mitch from online watch forums, having seen his posts over the years. We never met in person, but existed in the same space and period in terms of watch collecting. As such, many elements of his book are echo my experience; we have common friends like Jeff Kingston, and in fact own some of the same watches. For me, his book is both familiar and nostalgic.

One aspect of the book that stands out are the industry personalities Mitch mentions, particularly Rolf Schnyder. Rolf passed away a long time ago, but he was a big personality and true entrepreneur of the type that is now rare in the industry. Not only were there more of such individuals in the time that Mitch describes, they were also more accessible because the industry was smaller and watch collecting niche. It’s worth a read, particularly for more recent comers to the hobby since its describes a time and place that is long past.

– SJX]