A hobby that found its way back into my life.

For a long time, watches were barely part of the story.

Back in the 1980s, I wore a TAG Heuer. Then there was a very long stretch when watches mostly disappeared from my life. From roughly the early 1990s until around 2009, I honestly do not remember wearing much of anything on my wrist.

Around 2009, I bought a G-Shock. Then another. For several years, those were basically my watches. They were practical, durable and easy to live with.

Then my wrist became connected.

Around 2017 or 2018, I moved into smartwatches. For a few years I got used to notifications, health information and having a small computer sitting on my wrist.

Eventually one of those watches died. By then I was also getting tired of having my wrist vibrate throughout the day.

So I went back to an old G-Shock.

One old G-Shock changed the direction again.

The strap had suffered from years of swimming and chlorine, so I had the watch cleaned up and repaired.

That small decision reopened something I had mostly forgotten. I started looking at Casios again. Then other watches. Then bracelets, straps, dimensions, lug widths, movements and proportions.

I began noticing how tiny design decisions could completely change the way a watch looked or felt on the wrist.

Somewhere along the way, a couple of G-Shocks became a much larger collection and a much deeper interest than I ever expected.