Shedding Light on Unknown Terrain: Unearthing the Nuances of Gatekeeping versus Curation in the Watch Industry

The world of luxury watches often carries misperceptions, mostly around the fine yet crucial difference between curation and gatekeeping. More often than not, hardworking media entrepreneurs in this realm find themselves erroneously labelled as ‘gatekeepers’ or accused of being transactional. Such criticisms often arise from salaried writers surrounded by corporate backing. Unacquainted with the challenges faced by independent business owners, their judgements lack the firsthand experience of the relentless struggle media entrepreneurs endure.

Immersed in a tsunami of product announcements and deprived of a guaranteed paycheck or backup plan, these entrepreneurs demonstrate unmatched resilience. They meticulously curate their work, creating thousands of watch articles, often unpaid, and attending numerous Swiss watch shows and watch events at their own expense. Yet, their painstaking effort is often misunderstood and unjustly labelled as ’transactional’.

Even a renowned watch publication, Hodinkee, experienced a financially challenging point. They were on the verge of exhausting their financial resources until Watches of Switzerland stepped in. This incident serves as a significant reminder of the rigours of running a watch media business, contrary to the common misperception that renowned watch publications are bulletproof to business failures.

Every day, a watch media entrepreneur juggles various tasks, from writing, editing, and researching to managing websites, analysing data, managing social media, and overseeing archives. Their work differs significantly from the misconception of a ‘gatekeeper’. Instead, they meticulously curate content, optimising their most precious asset - time.

Their valuable service lies in delivering concise and thoughtful content geared towards their readership, a trait often mistaken for the senseless gatekeeping of information. Ultimately, for these solopreneurs in the perpetually active media landscape, curation becomes not an option, but a necessary strategy for survival.