It’s a ‘superhero cape’ for the wrist

WONG I totally hear you about the superhero cape. There was a time when, intellectually, he could appreciate a watch like a Richard Mille, but he didn’t understand why some people were so crazy about it. Until I put one on and thought, yeah, now I’m a baseball player. And because people are a little surprised at first because you’re a woman who likes watches, I think we enjoyed that feeling of flipping the script and getting people to think about what it means to be a watch collector.

Do you consider yourself a collector, Suzanne?

WONG I don’t know if I would call myself a collector. I know collectors who have watch rooms and don’t know what they have. I know what I have.

WINTERS Don’t put up the barriers. Do you have more than one watch? Then you collect watches.

WONG Everyone has more than one pair of shoes, but they are not shoe collectors. But hey, you know what? I’m going to go out and say I’m a watch collector because I’m really dedicated to curating what I have. If you identify yourself as a collector, it implies some kind of intent. It implies that you are making a statement.

WINTERS I felt similar in gaming because at first I didn’t play many games and if someone asked me if I was a gamer I would say no because there was a kind of bar. And who does the bar? Am I choosing these things and keeping them safe and choosing each day? It is better to be more open with such words than closed: “You are only a collector if you collect rare watches.” All of those become barriers for other people to join the community.

Have you been to a watch show yet, Lydia?

WINTERS I really wanted to go to Clocks and Wonders this year, but next year for sure. I’ve been to a couple of meetings. I was in New York when Finished had a meeting. Completo is all about attracting more women and people of color to watches. I experienced the best version of a watch meeting at my first meeting because it was such a diverse group.

When I was at that event, no one asked me if I was there with my partner. No one assumed that my level of knowledge was low. And everyone was excited about everyone’s watch. Openness drives openness, and diversity increases diversity and representation. The more you keep moving that needle, the more people feel welcome to join. If you’re in the Watch Femme community, you can ask the most basic question and no one is going to say, “Oh my gosh, you don’t know what a spring bar is?”