John Mayer, an american musician an avid watch collector contributed to the rise of modern era watch collecting. He worked with Hodinkee as a contributor but arguably the most important contribution was the inaugural episode of Talking Watches. With 1.7 million views to date, it certainly amazed viewers because of the watches John Mayer showed but also his uncanny ability to tell the stories behind them. His collection therefore became infamous and is the most important collection for the following reasons.

His collection made talking about watches more mainstream. People became more comfortable about talking about watches with those around them and on the internet. Collections are often very personal, but by explaining the why behind a collection made it much more colloquial.

He reminded the masses that watches are first and foremost a tool. One of his quotes from the talking watches episode was that the "GMT function is one of the worlds best apps”. Liking complications to apps on ones phone reminds us the utilitarian nature of these things we love and that we should treat it that way.

Next, and arguably the best quote from John during the talking watches, he reminds us that watches are for the masses and not just for the upper class of society. Jokingly, his quote of “I clean up dog poop wearing a Patek” shows us to adopted our hobbies into our own lifestyles and not to adopted our lifestyle to be able to enjoy the hobby.

He also urged us to buy what we love when he said that when you buy a watch that we love, it is like “being a watch collector and saying ‘I love the ford focus’”. Watch collecting is about buying watches that we love and speak to us personally and not what everyone else thinks we should buy.

Lastly, and most importantly to Life on the Wrist, John reminds us that stories behind the watches are what makes them so special. He recollected about how he wore his IWC Big Pilot religiously while touring. That stories is what is important to him about that watch and forever will be with that single watch. It also inspired us here at Life on the Wrist to focus on those stories and we probably wouldn’t be here without his collection.

Enjoy!