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Danar Widanarto says he got into watches in early 2005, first drawn to the color and design of dials. Years later, a joke involving 22 watches sewn onto a jacket turned into a recognizable watch-community artifact—and, after the original was stolen, a project that brought the community together. In a WristReview interview, the Chronondo founder discusses how his taste changed, which five watches he would keep, and why he thinks collecting should leave room for humor.
How Danar Widanarto got into watches
“I first got into watches in early 2005,” Widanarto says in the WristReview interview. He was initially drawn to dial color and design; collecting grew from that visual interest.
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His account of the years since is a story of changing proportions and moods, not a fixed collecting formula. He recalls moving from colorful dials to oversized U-Boat watches—he says he owned ten at one point—then becoming interested in classic NOMOS and Jaeger-LeCoultre. More recently, he says, his preference has shifted toward smaller vintage watches, particularly vintage Cartier. These are his recollections and current tastes, not a complete inventory of watches he has owned.
The watch jacket began as a running gag
Widanarto says he made the first jacket in 2019, just before the last Baselworld, as a joke. He hand-sewed 22 watches onto it. The examples named in the interview include an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, a Tudor Black Bay, four NOMOS watches, a Chopard Mille Miglia and a GUB Glashütte.
He says the jacket unexpectedly went viral and became an icon in the watch community. The original was later stolen. Widanarto says community members contributed watches for a successor jacket. Time to Watches’ 2024 podcast listing also describes the famous jacket’s theft and the community mobilizing around it; that listing corroborates the public story of the incident, but not every detail of Widanarto’s account. Time to Watches podcast listing
How he decides whether a watch is worth buying
Widanarto describes a purchase decision that starts with an immediate visual response and then turns practical: he weighs the price and asks which watch he would sell to pay for the new one. He says, “The first impression happens within about seven seconds.” That is his description of his own reaction, not a measured rule about how buyers make decisions.
The sell-to-fund question makes the trade-off concrete: a new watch has to earn a place in a collection that already has limits. It also helps explain why personal meaning and distinctiveness matter alongside appearance in the five watches he says he would keep.
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The five watches he would keep
In the interview, Widanarto names five keepers. The reasons he gives range from personal history to a watch’s character; this is his selection, not a ranking or buying recommendation.
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- Book - a man and his watch: iconic watches and stories from the men who wore them
- Language: english
- Binding: hardcover
- Cartier Diabolo: He calls it his current favorite ladies’ watch.
- NOMOS Tangente 100 Jahre Bauhaus: A 2019 birthday present with personal meaning.
- Tudor Black Bay 58: Connected, in his telling, to a story about help from the former CEO of Rolex Germany.
- Behrens x Konstantin Chaykin “The Joker”: A watch he says reflects his humor; “Mr. Watches” is engraved on its case back.
- Vintage Bucherer: One of the few watches from the first jacket that remained with him.
His views on brands, hype and watch media
Widanarto says Longines, Anoma—especially the A1—and BREW Watch Co. interest him. He explicitly says he has never worked with those brands and is not recommending them as an ambassador. His comments about them are personal enthusiasm, not paid endorsements.
He also argues that Rolex, Patek Philippe and Richard Mille can be overhyped, while acknowledging that they make good watches. That is his opinion, not an industry-wide assessment.
On media, Widanarto describes social media as one of the strongest channels for watches alongside print magazines. In his view, brands and established watch commentators have become more open to casual TikTok content. He objects to creators copying viral ideas without credit. These comments reflect his perspective rather than independently established data about the watch industry.
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Why the jacket fits his approach to watches
The jacket’s story brings together two threads in Widanarto’s account: a collector’s eye for watches and a playful attitude toward the culture around them. What began as an absurd, hand-sewn gag became memorable enough to draw wider attention; its theft then gave the community a reason to contribute to a successor. For Widanarto, the point is not only what a watch costs or signals, but also the stories, humor and relationships that can gather around it.
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