WatchFluent — learning watch references by playing

I've been interested in watches for a while, slowly building up a collection and trying to refrain from buying anything seriously expensive.

I'd been enjoying a bunch of the popular watch influencers' content when I came across a particular Nicole Lennard video where he meets up with Adam Golden of Menta Watches. Around a minute in, Adam names the reference of a watch, and it sparks a conversation about who's better at calling references — him or Nico. I thought it was pretty cool to be able to rhyme off these reference numbers, so I figured the easiest way to learn would be to first learn how reference numbers work and then just get some reps in.

But it's hard to practise looking at watches and guessing the reference number, and you need volume to learn it quickly. So I built WatchFluent: a timed game that shows you a photo of a watch — Rolex, Vacheron Constantin, Richard Mille, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Cartier, and others — and a few candidate reference numbers. Guess the right one before the clock runs out, and see how many you can clear in a session.

I also wrote a short article on how to determine the reference number of a Rolex Day-Date. It explains the details to look for, such as bezel type, material, and bracelet. I had planned to write a few more and build it into a bit of a learning platform, as I think it's quite a cool niche. Admittedly it hasn't been my top priority, though it would be cool at some point to develop it further.

The clip that started it:

If you like watches and want to build out WatchFluent more, send me a message.