If there?s a defining theme within the horology hobby as we head into the final throes of 2018, it?s that watches truly are for everyone. The community of people that collect and enjoy wristwatches has developed into an undeniably diverse one that is increasingly comprised of people from disparate age groups, professions, and financial backgrounds. A great example of the zeitgeist of inclusion the watch hobby currently fosters is the emergence of an unexpected new champion that?s best known for his work in circles that prefer spiked gauntlets to vintage Rolexes when it comes to what adorns the wrist: Norwegian guitar hero and composer Ihsahn.

Ihsahn 1997, with Emperor

Ihsahn 2018

Formerly the driving creative force behind seminal black metal powerhouse Emperor, Ihsahn?born Vegard Sverre Tveitan?has enjoyed a truly anomalous career arc in his successful ascension from black metal?s incredibly insular underground to his current station as a well-respected solo artist, composer, educator, and revered guitarist. While there are no two ways around the fact that black metal is scary music often made by some legitimately scary people, Emperor has always been considered a wildcard among the pack of the early true Norwegian black metal bands in that they brought substantial nuance and musical sophistication to the form, well beyond that of their peers. The sophistication of Emperor?s music was undoubtedly a byproduct...