About Me

Hi There, My Name Is Jakub

Hi there stranger (I hope I wont be a stranger to you after reading this), my name is Jakub Sobotka. Try saying my last name correctly cause not a lot of people can manage that.

I am 21 years old (in 2024) and got my first watch when I was around 12 years old. Since then I have been fascinated by watches. In March of 2024, I started sharing my passion with the whole wide world using this website.

The name Watchatter came inside my oh so creative brain when thinking about a good name for a website. It comes from the words Watch and Chatter, Watchatter. Since I love chatting about watches and, this domain name was still available I didnt hesitate.

My Personal Story

My story starts in a small village called ask in Poland. On January 26 2024 a baby is born in the hospital located just outside the village. That baby got the name Jakub Mariusz Sobotka.

The first 4 years of my life were quite normal. I was raised by my mom and dad who lived in a regular house. My father owned his own internet cafe back then (yeah not everyone had access to the internet back then) and my mom worked as a disabled care worker. When I turned 4 my dad had gone out of business and he wanted to start over. His ideal place? The United Kingdom. Sadly he never made it there and was stopped at the French U.K. border. He travelled back East and when coming through The Netherlands he got a job offer at a flowering plant.

Three years had passed before my dad and mom made the decision to move to Holland. In that same year, they also got another child called Lena which I am happy to call my sister.

I started life in an unknown country, not speaking the language. I went to a special school which taught Dutch to foreign children. After just 6 months my Dutch was good enough to attend a regular public school. There I never had a difficult time making friends or passing classes. I passed the first public school without a problem and when I turned 12 I was ready to hit the Gymnasium.

The school system in The Netherlands is quite odd when youre not familiar with it. If you wanna learn more about it I recommend you watch this video and come back to my story.

After my first year, I dropped to the HAVO. That year wasnt a success either. My mom got diagnosed with the disease Huntingtons. I didnt pass my classes cause of that and the school didnt really do anything to help me with that. So after a year in hospitals and not the school benches I dropped another level to the MAVO and went on to a different school.

There I got the extra attention I needed to pass classes, tho it was also easier than in my previous school. At the end of that year (2015), my mom passed away. But that didnt stop me from acquiring my MAVO diploma. In 2024 I passed school and got accepted at a practical school in Amsterdam called the RoC. There I learned all the skills I needed to become a wholesale manager. At first, I didnt want to continue studying but I managed to keep going and in June of 2024, I picked up my diploma and thought my study days were over.

Me singing my diploma at the RoC of Amsterdam in June 2024. Next to me is my mentor Brahim.

Despite the fact that I was not compulsory anymore. I got an amazing offer I could not resist. The company I worked for called DekaMarkt had made me the offer of paying an entire study for me. I took the offer and right now I am working on my last assignment to pass the school and obtain my Associates Degree.

My Love For Watches

In the year I got the offer to attend school I also acquired another goal that I had set in life, I got my first luxury watch. Before I tell you what I had bought let me explain how my goal came into my mind.

My first ever watch was some rubber watch which I had gotten from my grandma, she promised me that if I could keep the watch for one year and not break it, she would get me a real proper watch. After a year I reminded my grandma about our deal. On the 26th of March 2024, I finally got my first proper watch, a Fossil! I remember thinking it was the coolest thing I had ever owned. I still own the box and original receipt, it was 460PLN which is around 110EUR.

After getting this first watch my interest in timepieces grew. And 15-year-old Jakub made another promise to his grandma. He promised that before turning 21 he would own a Rolex. (This was changed to luxury watch later when I learned there were more brands than just Rolex)

The next proper timepiece I got before turning 21 was a Jaguar watch. I wanted something that looked better than the Fossil. So in 2024 I got myself a Jaguar watch, paid with my own earned money this was a big purchase for a 17-year-old.

My Jaguar Dive Watch

Every year I learned more and more about watches. I also got closer to turning 21, so after getting the offer to study and knowing I would keep a good-paying job. I went hunting for my first luxury watch. I scattered all watch sellers and websites. Eventually, I fell in love with the Omega Speedmaster, there was one catch the Omega Speedmaster Professional is 41mm big. I am 1.70m tall (small) so a big watch doesnt really fit me that well. After looking further I found it, the perfect watch. The Omega Speedmaster Reduced or Automatic. Being 39mm big it was perfect for my wrist, it had an automatic movement and last but not least it looked like a million bucks on me. (at least I felt like that)

When purchasing the watch I had some doubts about when I had to pay. It was 4 times more expensive than the car I owned thus making it the largest purchase in my life. Right now I am very happy I made the decision to get the watch. It made my enthusiasm for timepieces even bigger.

My Omega Speedmaster Reduced

What Is Watchatter?

Watchatter is the place where the only chats well have are about watch related topics. I will answer all watch-related questions, and write Top 10 lists , is a watch worth it post so you know if a brand or specific watch is really worth the money.

The website highlighted in yellow is a recommendation

So if you have a question or just want to say hi dont hesitate to message me on Instagram .