Mechanical wristwatches are one of my many obsessions. My first mechanical watch was a Stowa Antea KS. There’s just something fascinating about knowing that the breakfast you eat in the morning can end up powering your watch. The banana you eat is converted into chemical energy in your body, which is then converted into mechanical energy as your body moves. As your hand winds the watch, mechanical energy is stored as potential energy in the watch’s spring, and voilá - the watch lives!

Alright, enough with the romantics - Stowa makes exceptional watches. Stowa is a German watch company that has been around since 1927 and prides itself in making high-quality watches that are simple, legible, and understated. I can’t stress enough how well-made Stowa watches are. When you buy a Stowa, you are buying a watch that was thoughtfully made by the hands of a skilled watchmaker - not some heartless industrial robot.

In fact, when I sent in some questions about my watch after I bought it, my questions were answered by none other than the actual owner of the company, Jörg Schauer!