Bringing a collection into Dial Log

This page is generated from the importer itself — every field, type and default below is the rule the app actually applies.

The smallest file that works

{ "watches": [ { "brand": "Tudor", "model": "Black Bay 58" } ] }

Brand is the only thing every watch must have. Everything else is optional and takes the default in the tables below.

A fuller one

{
  "watches": [
    { "id": "w1", "brand": "Tudor", "model": "Black Bay 58", "status": "owned",
      "purchasePrice": 3100, "dateAcquired": "2024-03-02", "serial": "SN-12345" }
  ],
  "wearLogs":    [ { "watchId": "w1", "date": "2026-01-14", "hours": 9 } ],
  "straps":      [ { "name": "Oxblood shell cordovan", "material": "leather", "width": 20 } ],
  "serviceLogs": [ { "watchId": "w1", "date": "2025-06-01", "description": "Full service", "cost": 420 } ]
}

Rules that will reject a file

• Numbers must be numbers. 3100, not "£3,100" and not "3100". A price that arrives as text is rejected rather than quietly turned into nothing.
• Dates are YYYY-MM-DD. "2024-03-02", not "March 2024".
• A watchId must match an id in the same file. An entry pointing at a watch that is not there would exist against nothing, so it is named rather than dropped.
• Ids must be unique within their array. Two rows sharing one id would collapse into a single row on the way in.
• Nothing is applied unless the whole file passes. A file with an error leaves your collection exactly as it was.

Photos

Photos cannot be imported. They would have to arrive as base64 data URLs, which a spreadsheet cannot produce and which would make the file enormous. Add photos in the app after importing.

What happens to what you already have

An import replaces the collection on the device. If you already have watches, you are asked to confirm first, and the answer names how many will be replaced. Merging was considered and rejected: two rows both saying "Tudor Black Bay 58" may be one watch or two, and there is no way to tell from the outside — guessing either way loses something.

If you have an account, the import lands locally and the ordinary backup carries it to the server a few seconds later. Import never uploads anything itself.

watches

Required. An array of watches.

wearLogs

Optional. An array of wear log entries.

straps

Optional. An array of straps.

serviceLogs

Optional. An array of service entries.