cazalea celebrates his 10,000th post by reflecting on his watch collecting journey over the past decade, revisiting his initial motivations and evolving preferences. His retrospective offers a candid look at the joys and frustrations of being a dedicated collector, blending personal anecdotes with insights into the hobby.
How could I NOT think about my 10,000th post, and prepare an appropriate response?
Unlike some people on this site (and you know who you are!), I have not yet gotten wordy enough to write 10,000 per year (or per month). I seem to write fewer, longer posts with more technical content because that's the kind of writing that I am used to. Sadly, I'm not much for marketing fluff pieces; glowing praise, superlatives and imaginative prose.
So what can I say today that I haven't already said 1,000 times before? What can I share?
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I CAN REVIEW THE PAST
Using the magic search tools WPS provides to us, I was able to find my first reflections on collecting watches... dating back to the end of 2007.
Here's what I said then (emphasis added):
Personal reflections on my collection (then) from 12 years ago
My collection represents my own journey through the watch world. Let's put the watches into groups:
1. The ones I wanted, which were strategically chosen for their character, features, or maker. Grand Seikos are my current passion (pretty much), but I have had a flock of IWCs too (not any more). I tend toward conservative, tool watches, preferably with a complication or two, tough materials like titanium, mostly on straps, ideally with arabics and please don't cut up the numerals with some artsy recess or window (Same).
2. I have some bought on the spur of the moment because I got a great deal and they were worth having in any case - my Chronoswiss Opus skeleton is one (still have).
3. Gifts from my wife and/or friends which I might not keep otherwise, such as a Xemex Offroad (gone).
4. Watches that came via a trade or other means. My Rolex Datejust is one of those (still have it!) I really like it, can't imagine myself actually buying it, but I enjoy having it now that it came along in the midst of a complicated deal.
5. Ones I bought and I can't even imagine why - several I keep as lessons - because I am not ready to bear the pain of the financial loss when sold, or because no one else on earth likes this watch but me and its previous owner (who is still celebrating his sale of it to me).
Generally speaking, watches are enjoyable to research, play with, wear, accessorize (strap, etc.) buy, sell. And write about. Relatively speaking, they are less expensive, easier to work on and more compact to store than cars, another interest of mine.
There are moments of angst of course in this as in any hobby:
With the mailman/UPS/Fedex driver - "He left one of those damn pink slips again! Where's my &*)(&T(* package?" (same)
At the bank - "No I DON'T have family in Singapore, I am buying a child bride with this wire transfer. Yes, I know I already have a wife ..." ( I learned to stop saying this)
With would-be buyers - "If you think it's hideous why are you asking for info to buy it?"
With sellers - "You call this MINT condition? You must be blind."
With spouse - "See the font used for the Arabic numerals? This one is san serif and that one is a serif font. This crown has 11 serrations, that one clearly has 8. Of course, I had to have both."
With other watch websites - "What's my login? Why can't I remember the ^@#$^& password and how to upload photos????? I just want to sell this thing w/o waiting 3 months after I mentioned it in a post!
Here ends the post from 2007 ... what next?
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I CAN SHARE A 'BRAND-NEW' HANDY REFERENCE SPREADSHEET FOR GRAND SEIKO
You can identify the GS models by 4-letter prefix, and faint at the prices!
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I CAN POST A FEW NEW PHOTOS
Here are two original photos that haven't been seen before: a Blancpain 7002, one of my longest-owned and most-beloved watches, taken with my newish Sony RX10iv camera outdoors in natural light.
and a wrist scan
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I WILL INCLUDE A NEW TECHNICAL ILLUSTRATION
Here's a side view of a typical watch, showing all the ways that the hands can betray the watch.
I used to make diagrams like this all the time using Adobe Illustrator for various technical reports and consulting documents. It's fun to create them on an interesting subject.
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I CAN INSERT A TECHNICAL CHART
Here's one I was working on last month, but I got bored before I finished with the article ...
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And I think that about wraps it up for post 10,000.
Thanks for reading.
Mike
