My aim with this book is to educate watch enthusiasts, salesman, and anyone interested in watches from a watchmaker’s perspective. It’s full of information that everyone should know.
Anthony L.
100+ No BS Watch Tips is a book written for watch enthusiasts and salespeople in a style that’s neither boring nor dry.
In this post, I’m going to share with you what I think of it.
What I like
- The tone is conversational, authentic, and straightforward.
- He uses humor and wit to teach valuable lessons.
- Anthony L. has a lot of experience, and it shows.
This book isn’t a traditional book about watches or watchmaking. It’s not even a traditional book, period. That’s because it’s made up of 103 separate watch tips and some general tips.
It feels a bit like browsing a social media account. Not that weird because No BS Watchmaker is very active on both Facebook and Instagram.
The book feels authentic. What you see is what you get. It’s conversational, straightforward, and raw. He uses humor and wit to question the status quo and that feels like a breath of fresh air.
The watch tips aren’t in any particular order. You can read the book in any order you like, which also adds to the casual vibe.
Anthony L. is a veteran in the watchmaking world. His knowledge is extensive and he has interesting stories to tell. You can expect some fascinating charts and tables and you’ll learn interesting information that you won’t find anywhere else.
What I don’t like
- Despite the title, the book has few watch tips.
- There’s a lot of venting going on.
- The images are of poor quality.
- It has many spelling errors and grammatical mistakes.
With a title like that, you suspect the book is crammed with watch tips, but it’s not.
I’ve counted them and only 10 to 15 of the more than 100 tips are watch-related. The rest of them are either related to watchmaking or have something to do with the (bad) behavior of salespeople or customers.
Talking about salespeople and customers. As I said before, Anthony has been in the watchmaking business for a long time and it appears that he had loads of negative experiences with salespeople and customers. I understand why this can be frustrating, but many of the watch tips are actually him ranting about how many customers are douchebags and about how watchmakers are treated like crap.
If you’re familiar with his Instagram, you might be aware of this style, but a little less venting and a little more information would’ve been nice.
The book also has many spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. For example, at the top of page 75, it says: “COSC is short for it’s French name, Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres”.
Of course, it should be “its” and not “it’s”. I don’t want to be a spelling Nazi here, but these errors add up.
Another thing that adds to the unprofessional look and feel is the images. They appear to be scans of photocopies and some of them are so bad that they’re difficult to read.
A couple of pictures taken by a professional photographer would’ve made a huge difference.
Websites like Fiverr and Upwork are full of graphic artists who can turn photocopies of charts and tables into clean files that are perfectly suited for printed matter.
Do I recommend it?
The No BS watchmaking crash course is amazing and his Instagram feed is both entertaining and educational.
Unfortunately, 100+ No BS Watch Tips has been a bit of a disappointment. It’s a shame because I know he can do much better.
Still, it’s an enjoyable and informative book to read while sipping a beer in the garden. Especially if you’re interested in the technical aspect of watches or if you’re an aspiring watchmaker.
Click here to buy your copy.
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