As the first published piece in this magazine, this article is an introduction. The magazine is called GAUTHIER’S Vintage Watches & Culture. As you can tell from the name, the intended focus of the magazine is vintage watches. And culture.

But why culture? Aren’t the watches enough?

They are. And they aren’t.

But first, why even start a magazine in the first place?

The real, non-commercial function of a magazine, is to create and influence culture. A good magazine stands for something and express a point of view. On what matters and how to live. That’s culture.

As the world of vintage watches gained popularity it also changed. Once, it was fun. Now it is crowded with men who chase mint cases and untouched bezels like monks counting beads. They speak endlessly of sharp lugs and regard full sets as holy relics.

There has also been a tendency toward group-think, mass culture, and subsequent loss of vision and perspective. In a word, blandness. The fun, the style, the expressiveness, and the spirit? It’s been replaced by the dry gospel of the “unpolished” case.

That was not how it began.

In the ’70s and ’80s and ’90s, it was wild. You bought what moved you. A funky dial. An odd case. Something no one else had. Perfection was beside the point.

Some men still live that way and some dealers today still embody that ethos. They favor the unusual over only the archival. They choose the rare and the well-worn. A case that tells a story or a dial impacted by sun and time. A “full set” takes a back seat to a piece looking like nothing else.

And it’s coming back. Slowly.

This magazine is for them and those who aspire to be them. Whosoever believes a watch should be worn, not worshipped. To give voice to that side of collecting who seeks not to preserve, but to produce culture and life. Not to hold merely as vehicles for wealth measured in price-per-millimeter-of-lug-width.

In school I studied anthropology, with a focus on archaeology. That’s material culture. I always loved things. The objects we assign meaning to. Few things hold more significance in our era than a wristwatch. They’re not just steel and glass. There’s life in the metal. They hold memories. Stories worn on the wrist. And it’s also true a good story can fetch a considerable amount at auction.

But watches are not baseball cards. They’re not for grading, plastic wrapping, or sealing away in vaults forever. They’re sophisticated tools that elevate our lives. They were made to be worn, enjoyed, and lived in.

Watch scholars and the rise in knowledge is not to be scorned. We have learned much. That is good. But we don’t want to forget how to feel.

If your watch is so perfect you’re afraid to wear it, then you are not free. You are owned. The result is paralysis. Fear. People buying watches they’re afraid to wear.

We’ve come a long way from the “build-your-own Bubbleback” days when dealers let you swap parts and “Frankenstein” your own timepiece. Today, we understand originality better. That’s a good thing. We value honesty. Very good. But we’re at risk of losing something in the process: the joy of imperfection. The charm of a scratched or faded bezel. The romance of a worn crown.

If you’re so worried about scratching your Tudor Snowflake that you’re afraid to wear it… then the snowflake is you.

Yes, condition matters. Over-polishing is real. But the obsession with “condition, condition, condition” has turned into a mantra that chokes the spirit of collecting. It’s makes enjoyment a secondary concern.

That’s not the way it should be.

This magazine is not an attack on the nerds—I most certainly am one. It’s a counterbalance. A reminder that collecting vintage watches should still be cool. Not cold. Europe gets it—magazines like Full Set, Heist, and more. We’re the disconnected American arm of that same school: the Cool School of Collecting.

And like anything cool, it can’t be one-dimensional. That’s why it’s got to be connected. We won’t stop at watches. Because taste is never limited to one category. Culture matters. History matters. A life well-lived matters. But we’re also here to connect vintage watches to what’s actually good. Not what’s trending on Netflix, but what’s timelessly worthwhile. That’s always up for debate—and that’s the point.

We’re not auctioneers. We’re not investors. We’re enthusiasts and collectors—it’s a better way to be.

Vintage culture is about connecting to tradition. Expressing taste and sophistication. Wearing watches with style. Letting them live. They should ride on our wrists and breathe.

James Bond didn’t keep his Submariner in a safe. He used the bracelet as brass knuckles to punch a man in the face.

So ask yourself: Did you get into vintage watches to express your style out in the world? Or to sit alone and admire them in a box in a dark room?

We choose the former. And we’re building a magazine for those who do too.

Spencer Gauthier, is the founder of GAUTHIER Watches and editor of GAUTHIER’S Vintage Watches & Culture Magazine.

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