Grinding Gears

The old is what's new in how we receive our horological news

One of the earliest examples of written satire is the Papyrus Anastasi I; an ancient Egyptian artifact dating back to the late 2ndmillennium BC. The Papyrus Anastasi I included satirical (some might even say, “cheeky”) text and was a used as a guideline for scribes during the Ramesside Period (Nineteenth and Twentieth dynasties).

Satire, you see, is as much a part of our civilization as time itself (or rather, the ways we tell time, since technically, the Antikythera Mechanism was invented sometime around 86 to 82 BC). And with satire –to this day – playing such a significant role in the entertainment business, faux news channels, and even luxury brand marketing, we at Dubai Watch Week decided it was time for us to dip our toes into the satirical pool.

Introducing Grinding Gears; a brand-new Dubai Watch Week column that aims to pull an interested reader in through parodied headlines and subjects sprinkled with satire while educating each on a variety of topics relating to timekeeping, trends, and horological history.

The purpose of Grinding Gears isn’t to fool a potential reader through click bait (okay, maybe it’s a little bit click bait, but wait, hear us out), but rather to remind all of us that horology doesn’t have to be a serious subject; that this community deserves to have a little fun and that hey, if we learn something about Larcum Kendall or Adolphe Nicole or which watch dial contains the most patterns of guilloché in the process, that’s not such a bad thing, right?

We are looking forward to bringing Grinding Gears to the screen of your choosing once every month. It will be able to be found on the Dubai Watch Week web page under the “Digest” section alongside other industry-related articles. You can also sign up for the DWW newsletter if you are interested in knowing more about our content, Horology Forum, or Dubai Watch Week, itself.

Grinding Gears is coming your way, as is satire, parody, and maybe even a little bit of mayhem. Will feathers be ruffled? Possibly. Will eyes roll? Likely. Will you, the reader, be entertained while also learning a little in the process? Well, that is the end game here, so if you are a fan of the concept, and you are happy with the product once we introduce our first piece next month, feel free to tell your watch-loving friends, because we would love the chance to put a smile on their faces, too.