When it comes to a pair of pants or groceries, I generally believe this revolution in purchasing to be a total and complete convenience, full stop. But the ease with which we can summon an item to our homes also introduces a great deal of disappointment, especially when it comes to buying watches.

And look, I know I work for a company with a sizable e-commerce presence – and a particularly awesome e-commerce platform (and I promise you, nobody made me say that) – but what I’m about to say runs a bit counter to the whole idea of online shopping. Apologies to the HODINKEE Shop in advance. If there’s a watch you’ve been pining over – one you’ve spent hours combing through articles about, watching video reviews, and obsessively scrolling forum posts on, this is for you.

Before you digitally swipe your credit card and buy a watch online, take a beat. You’re missing a vital step in the watch-buying process (a step not included in a recent list I wrote about watch relationships). You should always see the watch you want in person before you even consider buying it – and especially if you intend to buy it based on internet imagery alone. To my mind, this is non-negotiable if the opportunity is available to you (excluding certain modern watches from houses Rolex, Patek, and AP, of course). Sure, you can always return something you don’t like, but why put yourself through that hassle if you don’t need to?

Now to be clear, this isn’t a message not to buy things online – in fact, quite the opposite. It’s just an added step in the journey to eventually securing the watch of your dreams. I say this because watches are vastly different in person than any press image, or even live photo can convey. You’re missing the third dimension, and four of the five senses (three, if we’re talking video). This is especially true for those who like to lick their watches.

A photograph or moving image of a watch can only give you so much. They are highly stylized and produced depictions of watches. In most cases, you lose a lot of the nuance. It’s impossible to get a sense of weight, proportion, or overall feel. The wrist model in a photo isn’t you, and regardless of whether or not their wrist size is labeled for context, it’s still hard to get a sense of how you would look in it, or how heavy it would be on your wrist.

Take for example three Rolex watches I once coveted: The Explorer 39mm 214270, the previous generation Explorer II 216570 with a black dial, and the modern Rolex Red Sea-Dweller. What do these watches all have in common? They each feature the modern iteration of a Rolex matte dial. It’s subtle but to my mind it’s one of the most interesting executions of a black dial on the market today. I have never once seen a picture able to capture it. I had to see them each in-person to learn that. I was never really in a position to buy any of these pieces, but seeing these nuances in person, on the dials of watches many consider to be “unobtanium” – well, it felt good.

To best illustrate my entire thesis here, I am using a watch that I have been secretly obsessing over for about two years now: the Zenith Revival Shadow. Ever since Mr. Jon Bues wrote his Hands-On review of the watch back in 2019, I was hooked. With each photo I saw, I found myself thirsting for the watch, more and more. What got me, from the photos in his article, was the high contrast of the white dial text against what appeared to be a matte textured black dial further contrasted by the grey micro-blasted case. Everything was matte, toolish, industrial, and purposeful. A classic design was brought forward in an incredibly modern package peppered with vintage cues via the typography and general dial styling.

There were many days that I found myself looking at my watch collection and thinking, “Which one of you has to go to make way for some new blood?” Yes, I talk to my watches, threaten them even. Other days, I would consider pulling that proverbial trigger and ordering one up on the internet – from the HODINKEE Shop, no less, and this was before I ever even worked here. But I didn’t, plus my wife would likely have ended me for taking an $8,000 gamble. The watch never did leave my mind’s eye though.

In my first year as an editor with the ‘dink, I had the opportunity to review a watch in the same family as the Revival Shadow – the Revival Liberty. It was foundationally the same watch, only nearly every aesthetic feature was different. That watch had a standard steel case, a rich blue dial with red accents, and an equally blue and red strap. I distinctly remember the feeling of wearing it on my wrist and pushing the limits of my imagination to trick myself into seeing the Shadow in its place. I internalized that moment. I now had some sense of what it would feel like to wear the watch I had been obsessing over. It left me wanting it more.

Cut to a few weeks ago, and I finally walked into a situation where an encounter with the Shadow became a reality. I received the tracking information for an incoming package delivery of the watch and felt tremendous excitement. When it arrived at my apartment, I ripped open the FedEx “tear here” tab with aggression and there it was.

I was about to live my Golden Rule and handle – in person – a watch I had considered purchasing online many a time. So what did I notice, and did anything change? Well, I was keenly aware of the size of the watch. Having already experienced the Liberty, the 37mm diameter was nothing new but it was different here. Because it had this sort of, to quote Shawn Jay-Z Carter, all-black-everything aesthetic, the Shadow actually wore smaller – which I wasn’t expecting.

Another interesting thing happened to me when I held it in my hand. The wow factor that I had figured would hit me like a bullet train, simply wasn’t there. It could be that I had built up too much excitement and set my expectations too high, but something about the watch no longer felt magical. That is not to say that I didn’t like it, though. In fact, everything I appreciated about it during my obsessive period remained true when I took temporary possession of it that day in my apartment.

There were other little tidbits that I would never have been able to glean from images or video. For instance, I couldn’t quite get the piece to rest on my wrist perfectly with the OEM strap. It always seemed to slide to one side or another, and the strap wasn’t exactly as comfortable as I had imagined (or recalled from my time with the Revival Liberty).

And that’s when I was reminded of a seemingly obvious fact – every watch isn’t for everyone. And I can appreciate a watch for all manner of reasons without owning it. I maintain that the Zenith Revival Shadow is an absolutely stunning piece of engineering and design. I could stare at the dial all day and not tire of it. Something about the wear experience for me wasn’t quite right, but that’s fine because it will be for someone else. The same goes for that Red Sea Dweller I talked about earlier. I simply can’t support the size of that 43mm case on my six-and-a-third-inch wrist, but I still love that watch.

What I learned from this experience with the Zenith absolutely could not have happened had I not seen it in person. Now that I have sent it back, I still find myself looking at images (including the ones here) and wondering if I made a mistake. At the end of the day, I know that I gave it all I had and left it all out on the field.

Now, this might sound like a pretty convoluted story about something as seemingly simple as buying a watch. But look, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t share what I learned, especially when it comes to things like parting with thousands of dollars. In most cases, my little tale here can be replicated simply by visiting a boutique or authorized dealer near you and going hands-on with a few pieces that you fancy.

To put a pin in this whole thing, I’ll say this. I love the online buying experience as much as anyone, and I’ll soapbox for the watch buying experience on HODINKEE any day of the week because it makes what has historically been a rather stuffy and unapproachable experience easier. But I am not here to soapbox right now. I am here to help you, dear reader.

So next time you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night after a vivid dream about the watch you need, take a beat before sleep-shopping. Get out of the house, find that watch, and check it out in person. You won’t regret it, and future you will thank yourself – and perhaps, me – for it.

Photos, Kasia Milton