Beyond their flashy exteriors, high prices, and status-signaling capabilities, there’s a lot to discuss, share, and learn about luxury watches — if you want to. Not only have most of the world’s top watch brands been around for a century or two but many of them also have significantly contributed to the progression of timekeeping and watchmaking (also known as horology in geek-speak.)
Non-watch people obviously don’t get as excited as we do about watches (and by we, I mean watch geeks, freaks, and fanatiques). If your in-real-life people aren’t interested in chatting about timepieces for hours on end, fear not, there are plenty of people on the Internet who are.
Whether you’re a newbie looking to learn, an enthusiast who wants to connect with like-minded folks, or just interested in keeping up with watch news, here are four online communities for watch nerds to check out.
WatchCrunch
A relatively recent addition to the World Wide Web, WatchCrunch is the watch-centric social media platform you didn’t know you needed but are so happy exists. It’s a welcoming community and everyone (from novices to aficionados) is encouraged to share pictures, thoughts, reviews, and the like — and the best part is, it’s super easy to use and not at all clunky like old-school forum sites.
WatchCrunch is home to a wide assortment of watch fan types and all sorts of watches are discussed including entry-level, mid-range, and luxury. The moderators are doing an excellent job of keeping WatchCrunch as a friendly spot and we hope it continues that way!
Reddit has always been home to passionate enthusiasts of any topic, and watches are no exception. The r/Watches subreddit is a lively one with over 1.6 million members. We’re not going to lie, it can be intimidating to join discussions but there is a wealth of opinions and information to soak up if you’re just browsing. The r/Watches subreddit is also a top source for watch leaks if you’re into that type of thing. For example, it was here that news spread about the MoonSwatch launch, complete with pictures, days before the official launch was supposed to take place.
There are also brand-dedicated subreddits like r/Rolex, r/OmegaWatches, and r/Tudor if you really want to go deep on certain watchmakers.
Flipboard #Watches
If you like devouring online content, Flipboard is one of the most beautifully designed apps out there that displays stories, articles, blog posts, and videos in a magazine-like format. The strength of the app is that you can browse by topic and it’ll curate content based on those topics. And the #Watches topic on Flipboard is an active one with timepiece-focused content from everywhere.
Some of our favorite curated content can be found in Flipboard magazines like Watch the Time, Watches for All Occasions, and of course, (shameless plug alert), Luxxee Magazine. You can also comment on what others share and "flip" what you like into your own dedicated magazines.
WatchUSeek
WatchUSeek is a forum community that’s been around for over two decades. Since it was founded, WatchUSeek has grown to almost half-a-million members and almost 20 million posts. You'll find dedicated forums for various brands, price ranges, and even watch-adjacent gear like winders and straps.
Navigating WatchUSeek requires a little bit of a learning curve, but it gets much easier once you get the hang of it. There are some particularly useful sub-forums on there if you want to learn about vintage watches, packed with loads of information shared by seasoned collections.
While Instagram, YouTube, and watch blogs are great sources for watch content, these spaces feel more like a one-way street - influencers create and enthusiasts consume. The beauty of online watch communities like WatchCrunch, Flipboard, Reddit, and WatchUSeek is that everyone can participate.
