Watches, Pens, and the Craft of Analog Living
Ellen Ashford · July 16, 2026
Sixty dollars changed hands across a kitchen counter on a Tuesday in late January—cold enough that my breath fogged the air indoors, or close to it—and that’s the moment a Seiko 5 landed on my wrist for the first time, with me still silently arguing over whether I’d just made a sound decision. Twelve months … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 11, 2026
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is when calls like this start coming in: a neighbor presses his late grandfather’s Omega Seamaster into my hands, convinced it just needs a fresh battery. It takes a minute to explain — as gently as I can manage — that a mechanical watch has never run on … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 5, 2026
Should you buy the automatic or train yourself to wind the other kind daily? After a decade of watch meets and forum threads, my honest answer is that most people arguing this are arguing the wrong question. They treat it like a contest with a single winner, when what actually decides it is how often … Read more