Of all the themes to emerge throughout 2022, the one that is perhaps the most odious, the one that actually seems like it might do damage to our hobby, is the emergence and normalizing of the watch drop. Over and over again, we saw brands and retailers announce highly limited watches to be made available at a set time all over the world, with predictable results. Websites crash, Instagram becomes a cesspool of negative commentary, and the lucky few who wound up acquiring watches seem to always have a change of heart, and throw them up on the forums and eBay for way more than they paid. Watch enthusiasts and collectors are left wondering if they?ve been had. Days later, when they get the first marketing email they had to agree to receive to even attempt to acquire the watch, they realize that they were.  I should say at the outset: I?m a fan of limited editions. I?m lucky to own some that I think are pretty special in their own unique ways, and when done right they can bring new enthusiasts into the fold. But LE drops are increasingly bungled and not well thought out to begin with, resulting in a downstream negative impact that at its worst can completely turn people off from the larger watch community. At a minimum, the truly ill conceived drops will just ruin your day on Instagram as the algorithm feeds you post after post, and meme after meme, reminding you of the unfolding drama.

I think that part of the reason things can get toxic in the limited edition space...