Recommended watching: A new film exploring why we're so obsessed with watches
Time Machines: An Analog Obsession
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“I don’t know if I would call what I have an addiction, but maybe that’s the first sign of an addiction, that I can deny I’m addicted,” actor and watch collector Daniel Dae Kim says as Time Machines: An Analog Obsession opens.
The 26-minute film features interviews from a diverse cast of characters. There’s Daniel Dae Kim, the well-known actor and one-time star of Hodinkee’s Talking Watches. Vintage dealer Eric Wind dives into the history of wristwatches. Meanwhile, Dr. Andrew Dillon, a psychology professor, provides insight into the psychological aspects of collecting and holds a mirror up to collectors.
When you buy a watch, “you are in part buying into an identity by virtue of your possession of this object. Is that real or is it manufactured? Well, of course it’s manufactured,” Dr. Dillon says. Thankfully, he does concede that watches have some inherent value and it’s not all myth-making on the part of your favorite brand. He also points out that most people are collectors of something, whether they realize it or not, and watch collectors aren’t the only crazy ones.
“Are you a fool, are you stupid and naive because you feel some sort of identity tied with an object? No, I think you’d be foolish to deny that all of us are enmeshed in a material world.”
The film was produced by content studio Stage3 Media Works. “A quick search yields hundreds of explanations of what a mechanical watch is and how it works, but the more compelling question is much tougher to answer: Why are so many people obsessed with them?”, the press release from Stage3 reads.
You can rent or buy the short film on Vimeo, and watch the trailer below:
P.S. The cast does a wrist check at the end, and Wind shows off the Heuer Camaro we featured a couple months back.
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