Watches - another OCD problem
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More Grand Tour watch spotting. This time Hodinkee are reporting on the damage that Richard Hammond's crash inflicted on his poor Sea Dweller.
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What's your motivation for collecting, gents?
Bragging rights (Rare, or expensive watches)?
Aesthetics?
Practicality (Easy access to the most accurate time possible)?
Appreciation of the engineering?I'm sure that for the four options I've listed, everyone has a bit of all for motivating them in their collection… But which one, singular point is your biggest motivator of the four?
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When I was actively acquiring, it was primarily due to curiosity and changing tastes. I liked chronographs, so I bought an automatic with a 7750 movement, then I bought a manual wind with a 3133, then I bought a quartz powered one. Then I started to like dive watches, so I got a couple of different ones in that style. Then I started to like flieger watches, so I picked up a couple of those. And of course, I needed a dress watch, or two, or three…
But everyone collects for different reasons, not just because they can't make a decision and stick with it.
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What's your motivation for collecting, gents?
Bragging rights (Rare, or expensive watches)?
Aesthetics?
Practicality (Easy access to the most accurate time possible)?
Appreciation of the engineering?I'm sure that for the four options I've listed, everyone has a bit of all for motivating them in their collection… But which one, singular point is your biggest motivator of the four?
Anthony, as we discussed over Christmas, I think it would be a good idea to start an "I think I'm interested in watches and want to put my toe into the water gingerly and am a little outfaced by all the super watch porn on the big watch boys" thread. Or something like that with a little more brevity…..
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What's your motivation for collecting, gents?
Bragging rights (Rare, or expensive watches)?
Aesthetics?
Practicality (Easy access to the most accurate time possible)?
Appreciation of the engineering?I'm sure that for the four options I've listed, everyone has a bit of all for motivating them in their collection… But which one, singular point is your biggest motivator of the four?
Anthony, as we discussed over Christmas, I think it would be a good idea to start an "I think I'm interested in watches and want to put my toe into the water gingerly and am a little outfaced by all the super watch porn on the big watch boys" thread. Or something like that with a little more brevity…..
I should have prefaced that this post was a quick bit of "research" to go towards that post we discussed.
Just a way to grab a bit of insight from some people with a bit of a collection, to kind of give some ideas on the different motivations for collections, and the different directions collections can go.
*I was actually going to ask "How much would you spend on a Submariner with a Seiko movement? And, how much would you spend on a Seiko with a Submariner movement?", lol!
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@UnTucked - I guess it's a mix of aesthetics & history for me - I fell in love with the big Panerai dials because they reminded me of the big clock faces that used to feature in railway stations, department stores and school rooms. Later I discovered the back story and history behind the watches relating to the Italian Navy Divers (http://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/watches/article/panerai-watches-history-luminescent-diving-watches/) - this added to the appeal. The final element that locked me in to this brand and model was seeing the 47mm model rocking a hand-made leather strap crafted from a vintage army ammo pouch, after this I was hooked!
For practicality reasons though my rough & tumble watch is an old Casio G-Shock - very durable and reliable.
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Did you work your way up to it, keep "collecting" after you got it, or did you dive in head first and stop?
Good question - Definitely a work up - I owned various other brands and built a collection along the way. Once I became aware of Panerai my other watches quickly lost their wear appeal and the collection got traded to fund my grail watch.
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I’m with @IH-GARY here.
I used to “collect” and had a few pieces in my collection. However, I would tend to get stressed about no wearing watches I owned enough and after a couple years ended up selling pretty much everything for my main piece, which is my grail Panerai.
I have one other to wear in circumstances where I don’t feel comfortable wearing my main watch for fear of damaging it.
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Though I already weighed in with why I bought all the watches I own, I will say that I, too, will eventually sell most of them to fund my dream/long term watch- an Omega Speedmaster Professional. It's a watch I've gradually come to love, and one that I never would have purchased when I first started getting interested in watches. It didn't appeal to me for years, but slowly became the one I compared all others to, i.e., "would I rather have that, or a Speedy Pro?" When the answer consistently became the Speedy Pro, I was done.
There are a couple that I will keep for non-financial reasons, though.
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Definitely not answering the question posed by @UnTucked but his question prompted me to think about my attitude on them.
I don't collect watches, I own three very pedestrian ones and I've lost another three along the way here. I've even stopped wearing them for the most part; I guess I don't like any of them enough to wear them constantly. But my desire is to one day find ONE watch that I like so much that I will want to wear it every day and I hope it becomes an integral part of my image/personality. So much so that my friends/children/grandchildren see that watch in their minds whenever they think of me.
That would be my grail watch. But I guess the road to finding and identifying it would be long and curvy, and expensive; so I haven't started on it yet. That is where I'm currently stuck.
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Took me almost three years to identify and then procure my “grail” timepiece…but it was totally worth it.
It’s weird because watches used to occupy a significant portion of real estate in my brain (thinking about them, researching, looking at pictures, videos, etc), but now I dont even look anymore because I’m so satisfied with what’s currently on my wrist.
...we will see how long that last though
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i'd say it's definitely the aesthetics of a watch movement. ever since i knew about mechanical watches, it has to be that. even with the amount of love i have for apple, i've so far refused to get it because of the lack of a mechanical movement. (although, that might not be long now) i've been eyeing the cellular version, because of bragging rights when i go to SG where they have not released the cellular version.
but i've got a regular kenneth cole automatic watched that kicked start the addiction. then i bought a few others, namely, Steinhart, vostok, seiko and panerai before i was given a GMT 2 for my 21st which i'll adore forever because of it's special meaning. @Graeme might argue that i'm an exclusively rolex person but i've fancied all other brands as well. the aesthetics of the movement is just simply beautiful. whether a gmt to tell 2 time zones or a perpetual calendar to tell the date/ time year/ leap year or the stopwatch function on a chronograph.
i'd doubt there will be a 'grail' watch because there's always a different function for each. GMT for time zone, Submariner for diving, daytona for a chronograph function.
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@louisbosco I know that you've got serious love for Patek too.
Since @UnTucked hasn't started his "I want a watch, but am intimidated" thread, here's my response to his questions, and he can move it to the appropriate place when he gets his act together.
I don't think that bragging rights would come into my buying decision, but I prefer more obscure pieces.
If I get myself back into paid employment, I'm likely to get a limited edition Omega Railmaster, though that's part of a fairly large limited edition of 3,557.
The other piece that I really like, but the RRP is about three times as much as the Railmaster, is the LUC Chopard 8HF Power Control. That's part of a limited edition of 250, and is a mechanically very interesting watch.
I think that aesthetics is a big part of it, but what I like is rather divergent from what the tastemakers at Hodinkee will tell you is cool. (I found that most of their most worn watches of 2017 were rather boring.)
For example, a few watches that I really loved when I tried them on are the Omega Ploprof (which @Tempvs also adores), the Panerai Mare Nostrum Titanio, and the IWC Big Pilot's Heritage 48, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo, and the Hermes In The Pocket. Some of these are quite large, and some are unconventional.
I do appreciate hand finishing, but most high-end timepieces have precious metal cases, which bump the price up. Some of the LUC watches come in steel, such as the XP (which is gorgeous), Patek do a few entry level pieces in steel (I like the 5522A Pilot's Calatrava), Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin also have a few.
Practicality is an issue, particularly accuracy. As a consequence, I've got a soft spot for high end quartz watches, such as the Breitling Colt Skyracer, or the Grand Seiko 9F quartz models.
The other thing is that I'd like an antimagnetic watch. The Omegas, IWC Big Pilot, and Rolex Air King appeal from this end.
I also prefer titanium or steel cases, because watches get knocked around, and I'm after something that is suitable for everyday wear.
Appreciation of the engineering is a big thing for me. A lot of watches are mechanically conservative, but unfortunately MB&F and Urwerk are out of my price bracket!
The LUC 8HF appeals because its movement runs at 8 Hz, whereas a typical watch will be between 3 and 4 Hz. This should give it greater accuracy and rate stability. The Defy El Primero 21 is another, because it's got a 50 Hz chronograph.
If I could have any watch released this year, it'd be the Zenith Defy Lab, because it hits most of the points I made above: It's mechanically interesting (15 Hz movement), practical (accuracy that's close to a cheap quartz, antimagnetic movement), and looks pretty radical. Unfortunately they made ten, and all sold before it was announced.
Overall, I'd like to own one watch rather than a collection. Something like the Railmaster could be worn casually or with a suit, and possibly even scrape by in a formal setting on a decent, leather strap. I couldn't see a Ploprof working with a tuxedo!
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@Giles has been looking at getting a Grand Seiko SBGA231 Spring Drive Diver's Watch, which is a pretty cool piece.
However, they also make a mechanical diver's watch, the SBGH255. Time and Tide say it's intimidating!
It's also available in a limited edition with a blue dial.
It's a big beast, with a 47 mm diameter case, the Spring Drive Diver's is 44 mm. The movement is a high-beat (5 Hz) model, which should be pretty accurate. It's also water resistant to 600 m, and anti-magnetic.
I haven't seen one in the flesh, but I like it for it's over the top nature. Then again, I like the Ploprof, so my tastes are distinctly suspect! The Spring Drive model will be more wearable, though.
There are more details at aBlogToWatch and Monochrome Watches.
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I've seen this before, too intimidating for me…..
Your 21 zuan is great. That’s in my list for my next watch purchase.
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I fell into the "I gotta have one of each type" mindset. Started with divers, then into chronos, then into diving chronos…then appreciated the simplicity of a field watch...and the durability of a G-Shock...wound up selling off a bunch of stuff because I always wind up wearing either my Omega SMPc (I have both the black and the blue) or G-Shock GW-6900.
I've noticed this a lot with the various things I'm into. With IH, I always go back to the 634S, with knives it's always back to the Victorinox Tinker, with pistols it's always back to Glock.
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I've seen this before, too intimidating for me…..
Your 21 zuan is great. That’s in my list for my next watch purchase.
It was/is not mine….I stole it for a few minutes from one of our Chinese customers.....I would like one though. But I will likely only buy one if I can go to the factory and be a bzillion percent sure it's the real deal....
