“This new wave of young female watch enthusiasts is a relatively new phenomenon,” said Roberta Naas, a veteran horology journalist, author and founder of the website A Timely Perspective. And as “watches have become more universal,” she said, Dimepiece is an example of a community of “women supporting each other, having fun and sharing stories.”
Ms. Wallner — who grew up in New York and, after college, spent five years in Los Angeles before returning to the city — said 2019, the year she spent working on editorial content for Sotheby’s watches department, was the foundation of her horological background.
She also credited many women for sharing their knowledge and encouragement, including Isabella Proia, an associate vice president at Phillips Watches; the Watchonista marketing specialist J.J. Owens (“She’s been collecting since she was a teenager”), Zoe Abelson of @watchgirloffduty and Cara Barrett (“Her Hodinkee piece on why “All Watches Should Be Unisex” made waves in the industry and set a positive, progressive tone for the rest of us trying to switch it up”).
Ms. Wallner operates both the website and Instagram page herself, making a living as a freelance writer, creative consultant and by painting pet portraits. As an influencer, she said, “the paid opportunities I’ve worked on have been with luxury consignment sites like The Real Real or a watch boutique like Watches of Switzerland.”
To her, Dimepiece, which takes up the bulk of her workweek, is certainly more than a hobby, and she wants to build it to the point that it becomes a trusted resource. “Inevitably, as the project develops, I will need to monetize, but I’m trying to be very intentional about how this is done,” she said.
But Dimepiece has prompted some users to send Ms. Wallner what she describes as the “I never even cared about watches before, but now I have to get a watch” type of messages and wrist shots (sometimes from men).
