Kevin Rose Explains His New Watch App: Watchville
There’s a good chance you are currently reading this article on the newly launched Watchville App. If that’s so, welcome to Haute Time! And for our regular readers online, well it’s probably only a matter of time before you start reading us on your mobile, thanks to Kevin Rose’s latest tech creation.
Like many of us, Rose’s passion for watches was passed down to him from his father.
“My dad passed away, and he left me his Rolex, and I would wear that out to honor him from time to time. It felt like something I was proud of,” said Rose.
Since then, Digg’s co-founder admits he’s become “addicted by the creativity […] and the attention to detail,” that goes into manufacturing mechanical watches, and began feeding his curiosity through specialized websites like ours.
“I started getting really into watches, and reading all the blogs like Haute Time, and HODINKEE.”
He says he fell in love with the subculture that he discovered there. “These people were so passionate. They know every single caliber, they know every single complication, and they care about the littlest details on every single watch,” said Rose. “Those are the true collectors.”
So Rose decided to build Watchville for people who share his passion. Simply put, Watchville pulls together the latest watch news from all the top watch blogs, including HODINKEE, Watches by SJX, and Haute Time of course!
Users of the App get access to a news feed overview with all the latest headlines, and more importantly, notifications when new articles are published, meaning those hours spent going from one source to the next are a thing of the past. Instead, you’re in control!
And the most exciting aspect of the App will be to see the convergence of collectors to a single source, thanks to an article-sharing tool that should increase social interactivity between watch enthusiasts.
“It’s a fun little project,” said Rose, explaining why he launched the application free of charge. “Primarily we are collectors and fans, and we just want to see what’s out there and how the community reacts.”
But the App is so much more than a news aggregator. Wacthville will help watch collectors set their watches to the most precise time available using an atomic clock tool.
Watchville will be particularly interesting to collectors who own a moon phase watch. Indeed, the App features a built-in moon phase calendar making it simple to set your moon phase complication. UTC time and leap year information is also included.
Rose cited F.P. Journe, Patek Philippe, and A. Lange & Söhne as some of his favorite brands, but he’s also a fan of independent brands such as Ressence. And in regards to his first Rolex. “That one, I’m never parting from. It’s a special piece.” Again, Rose proves to be one of ours!
Watchville is available for download here. For more information, please visit the official Watchville website.
