When I started my @timebyraf account on social media almost 10 years ago, my intention was simply to create a kind of public catalogue for my small watch collection. Cheap phone pictures, purely to keep track of what was in the collection.
Soon after my first posts, I noticed something I didn’t expect: There were many other watch enthusiasts on the platform. I started connecting quickly, and without really realizing it at the time, that became the foundation for everything that followed.
As the watches themselves didn’t change much, I wanted to create some variety on the page. I started focusing on photography and taught myself from scratch, using a 100€ Canon 500D I bought from a friend. With every image, the goal was to improve. That hasn’t changed to this day. @timebyraf became my canvas, a personal gallery to share my perspective on watches.
I decided to post one picture every day, as quality and consistency have been my core values from the very beginning. I kept that up for over 1500 consecutive days. However, when I started working in watchmaking, I almost had to stop. But no chance, passion will always survive, so I continued to post. Less pace, but higher quality, to a level that isn’t even supported by most social media platforms. At the same time, I saw these platforms change. It became faster, more algorithm driven and more compressed.
So where to go if not social media?
The idea of building a website first came to me in 2022, when my Instagram account was suddenly suspended. I managed to get it back, continued posting, and didn’t think much about having my own platform.
That changed about a year ago. I decided to fully commit and turn this into my full time work.
This website is a result of that decision.
Welcome to timebyraf.com
Yours truly,
Raf
