Watches Get Their Own Special Observance
There are designated days to celebrate introverts, search and rescue dogs, letter writing and much more.
Now there is a day for watches, too. The first World Watch Day is scheduled on Oct. 10, a date chosen because watch hands are traditionally set to 10 past 10 in photographs.
'We are convinced that watchmaking needs a highlight,' said Aurélie Streit, a vice president of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, an industry organization that is one of the nine founding members of the nonprofit association behind the event. 'There are initiatives scattered around the world, but we decided to do something more organized and to put everyone together.'
Some of the association's members include the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève, an annual industry awards event; the Horological Society of New York; the Chinese media group Hantang Culture; the French newspaper Le Figaro; and Europa Star, the Swiss watch industry magazine. (Official World Days are designated by the United Nations or UNESCO to raise awareness or to marshal action on important topics; organizers said UNESCO had been asked to recognize the watch event and they were waiting for a response.)
Nicholas Manousos, the executive director of the Horological Society of New York, said the day would be 'a reminder that time connects us all,' noting that it offered 'a moment to celebrate the art and science of horology.'
A 24-hour streaming event is planned for the inaugural World Watch Day, although the platform has not yet been determined. Featuring segments submitted by watchmaking professionals and enthusiasts and curated by the association, it is to begin at 10:10 a.m. in the world's easternmost time zone — which, at 18 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time (E.D.T.), means the observance actually will begin Oct. 9 in New York — and is to end at 10:10 p.m. in its westernmost time zone.
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