FROM THE EDITORS Letters + Events
Franck Muller’s
Vanguard Heart
Skeleton watch.
Nancy Olson
Managing Editor | [email protected]
SOMETHING’S MISSING
I
work remotely, from my home office in Houston. So not much has really changed in my day-to-day work life since
the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the directive to stay home. Most of my daily socializing with colleagues
and clients has heretofore been on the phone and via email, and the same remains true.
In the past, if I needed a bigger hit of socializing, I’d call on my local
friends and colleagues to meet me for lunch or a drink after the
workday. Business travel was also a frequent and wonderful way to
stay in touch with colleagues from all over the world, sharing stories,
ideas and new products. Ah, the products: all those debut watches just
waiting to be handled.
Sadly, these interactions are no longer available to me and won’t
be for the foreseeable future. And now that virtually everyone still
employed is working from a home office—aside from my heroes in
service industries—isolation is the name of the game to protect my
health and that of others.
But people are resourceful, and we’ve jumped on the bandwagon of
video communication tools to meet our human needs. We express our
feelings with emojis, and we blow kisses to our loved ones on screen.
8 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SPRING 2020
I’m so grateful to these substitutes for all they provide, and more
importantly for their insights. They can never fill in for what we’re
really missing though.
Just like a picture of a watch can’t compete with experiencing the
real thing—touching its finish, watching it beat—so too screen images,
even moving ones, can’t substitute for the flesh-and-blood company
of others. We are sentient beings, and the more senses we use in any
interaction, the better that interaction is.
I wish you and your loved ones good health and good books in the
weeks ahead. And in the meantime I’m sending you a great big heart.