You might be familiar with the idea that if you make a financial commitment, you’ll be more likely to stick to a New Year’s Resolution. Taking out a new gym membership, for example, or buying smart cycling gear. Well, allow us to introduce the official, practical and entirely sensible MR PORTER Horological Motivation Plan for 2023. That’s right: what better way to cement a new lifestyle choice than buying the appropriate watch first? Think of it as a particularly high-stakes exercise in manifesting. Dress for the life you want and all that. And if all else fails, you’ll still have gained a really nice watch.

Mr Hassan Akhras, a Dubai-based watch collector (AKA @arabwatchguide), has acquired several special Cartier wristwatches over the years, but says he has long been tantalised by one model above all. “The Crash was always like a holy grail for me, the ultimate Cartier watch due to its rarity worldwide and its design,” he says. “It’s definitely not a watch for everyone, but I had to have it in my collection.”

To some people, watches will only ever be a practical means of telling the time. To others, they are so much more. As three more worldly, sophisticated watch collectors shed light on their personal collections in this latest instalment of On My Watch, their stories show why it can be such an irrational and irresistible hobby. We hear from Mr Mark Cho, cofounder and co-owner respectively of menswear shrines The Armoury and Drake’s; Mr Nikolaus Hirsch, CEO of the family-run watch strap specialist Hirsch The Bracelet; and Mr Lex Mak, the Melbourne and Hong Kong-based architect, designer and entrepreneur. As ever, the range of interests covered is broad – from F.P. Journe to Ikepod, NOMOS Glashütte to Franck Muller and Star Wars to Imperial Japan – and illustrates, as ever, what it means to understand watch collecting.

With 2022 behind us, our thoughts have turned to the upcoming Lunar New Year and the fantastic celebrations just around the corner. The annual festival kicks off on 22 January 2023, heralding the Year of the Rabbit. According to Chinese culture, the rabbit is not only a gentle and courageous creature, but those born under this sign are said to possess a natural elegance, as well as an innate appreciation of beauty and craftsmanship. So, what better way to embrace the jubilations than with some prestigious watches?

You might be familiar with the idea that if you make a financial commitment, you’ll be more likely to stick to a New Year’s Resolution. Taking out a new gym membership, for example, or buying smart cycling gear. Well, allow us to introduce the official, practical and entirely sensible MR PORTER Horological Motivation Plan for 2023. That’s right: what better way to cement a new lifestyle choice than buying the appropriate watch first? Think of it as a particularly high-stakes exercise in manifesting. Dress for the life you want and all that. And if all else fails, you’ll still have gained a really nice watch.

Mr Hassan Akhras, a Dubai-based watch collector (AKA @arabwatchguide), has acquired several special Cartier wristwatches over the years, but says he has long been tantalised by one model above all. “The Crash was always like a holy grail for me, the ultimate Cartier watch due to its rarity worldwide and its design,” he says. “It’s definitely not a watch for everyone, but I had to have it in my collection.”