The monk who wound his watch.

"Sir, you don't need to do anything, nothing, sir. Just plug it in and (it) will take care of your laundry" exclaimed the anxious salesman trying to sell me a washing machine for what I thought was an absurd asking price.  My thoughts wavered to how we're surrounded by and feel pride in owning devices that are supposedly smarter than we were. A smart-television, a smart-refrigerator, a smart-microwave, a smart-washing -machine, a smart-phone, a smart-watch, the list is endless. "There are options for cold water, hot water, delicates, and there's something called -fuzzy- where our proprietary AI automatically detects the type of clothes you have and chooses a wash and spin cycle" he continued, not knowing that he'd lost me at AI. These devices, expected to think on our behalf, to operate without the need for human interaction, "Where's the beauty in it?" I thought to myself.

Just plug it in and (it) will take care of your laundry

Growing up in the eighties I still remember the time when almost every piece of tech around us required more than expected human interaction. Remember the pencil trick to rewind songs on compact audio cassette tapes? Adjustment of television antennae on the rooftop to "catch" the right signal in order to not miss the 8 pm Chitrahaar? 

In that order, I believe that a mechanical watch is one of the most reliable personal devices one can own. It is not just a time-telling device, rather a form of self-expression, and they need to be cared for. Caring for them is not just a show of respect for the craftsmanship that went into its making, also a privileged relationship you have with a machine that requires an intimate interaction with the owner.

Remember the pencil trick?

We've now shipped our watches all around the world and thought it would be timely to discuss how one can take care of them. This applies to any mechanical watch that one may own, even if it isn't one of ours.

If someone were to ask us for weekend reading recommendations, Gear Patrol wouldn't be on our list. It is a little too busy for what we need on the weekends: A long read on Aeon Magazine, or a City Guide on Roads & Kingdoms perhaps. But then again, when we started putting together a list for how to care for your mechanical watch, we bumped into this rather wonderful piece from a few years ago. All of it, still relevant. 

So do us a favor and read this article

Remember: keep it clean, keep it wound, and keep it dry, and it'll keep ticking.

Best, Nirupesh.