In at this time’s installment of My Yr in Watches, Media Supervisor Devin Pennypacker writes about making a giant transfer, buying an extended wanted dive watch, and the inventive power of New York Metropolis.
I do know it’s a cliche, however to say my yr in watches has been eventful can be a fantastic understatement. I had the chance to work on among the most personally fulfilling content material I’ve ever created, made the leap from one massive watch media firm over to a different, uprooted my complete life to pursue new alternatives, and refined my watch assortment within the pursuit of lastly checking off items from the wishlist. Alongside the way in which, I met so many wonderful folks, making new connections all primarily based on our shared bizarre obsessions. It has been fairly the yr.
Earlier this yr, I used to be working behind the scenes making the occasional cameo right here and there for Teddy Baldassarre. With an amazingly gifted group round me, we created content material at a tempo that most individuals couldn’t fathom, launched a retail retailer that had been within the works behind the scenes for fairly a while, and made waves within the trade which have but to settle. Whereas I used to be and stay extremely pleased with the content material I helped create and am very appreciative of the information, expertise, and connections gained via that have, when the chance arose for me to tackle a brand new problem whereas placing my title on the market a bit extra, I took it. Since becoming a member of the Worn & Wound group, I’ve had the chance to satisfy lots of you at our numerous occasions in addition to work together just about, and am simply so grateful for this neighborhood.
This skilled change introduced with it an environmental one as nicely, shifting me from my house metropolis of Cleveland, Ohio to my new house in Brooklyn, NY. The tempo of town, the drive of the folks, and the abundance of alternatives are each intoxicating and exhausting. Working in a inventive capability might be robust, seeing waves of inspiration crushed by durations of robust droughts. Thus far, New York has been all go, no gradual. When an oncoming dry spell begins to threaten my ahead momentum, a brand new occasion, new launch, or new mission springs up. I just lately created my first piece of quick content material for Worn & Wound, visiting the JLC popup occasion in Hudson Yards, whereas spinning up new video content material for the Windup Watch Store, filling me with chaotic pleasure. There shall be extra to return as hopefully I can share moments with our viewers that they in any other case may not have entry to. New York is the place all of it appears to be taking place and I’m excited to lastly be in the midst of all of it.
My watch style and assortment took a flip this yr that I might not have predicted going into 2024. I lastly determined to cull the herd, promoting or buying and selling off a big a part of my assortment that was not getting the wrist time it deserved. Because the saying goes, out with the previous and in with the brand new. Most notably, I added a first-generation Omega Planet Ocean to my assortment. On my record for fairly a while, the unique Planet Ocean caught my eye early on because it graced the wrist of two of my favourite on-screen personalities, Daniel Craig’s James Bond and Jeremy Clarkson from Prime Gear/The Grand Tour. It’s the first time that my further massive wrist proved to be a optimistic, dealing with the big 45.5mm case diameter in addition to any. I’m nonetheless firmly within the honeymoon part with this watch, discovering it painful to take off when working with one other look ahead to a brand new piece of content material. Different items from my assortment have now been relegated to the watch field, and are threatened with the identical axe that swung and missed them final time.
Doubtlessly a byproduct of fixed change, I discovered myself hyperfocused on new releases earlier within the yr solely to have the more moderen slate of recent watches go me by with solely an look. The silver-toned Seamaster is excellent, however more moderen releases within the watch world would seize my consideration instantly solely to see it dissipate simply as rapidly. Possibly this marks a second in my gathering journey the place my style has been refined to a degree the place I do know precisely what I’m on the lookout for or perhaps I simply haven’t had the identical time to pour over the small print, however it’s actually a shift. As I write this I absolutely notice that in just some months we’ll see an onslaught of recent novelties that can as soon as once more spark a fever, however for now, I’m glad to settle in and play the observer.
It appears like 2025 is shaping as much as be a large yr. New content material, new alternatives, and naturally, new watches. I’ll in fact be sharing the journey with all of you thru numerous social platforms and in individual. There’s a quick record of focused acquisitions for the approaching yr, however for now, I’ll preserve these to myself.
