Dave G's 30-Year Watch Collecting Journey

Dave G's 1000th post offers a unique retrospective on his three-decade journey in watch collecting, highlighting the profound influence of the PuristS community. His narrative provides valuable insights into how personal taste evolves and the enduring impact of online forums on a collector's path. This piece serves as a testament to the shared passion that defines the luxury watch community.

Friends,

It has taken me quite a few years to get to 1000 posts.  As I hit 999 a week or two ago, I contemplated what to post for #1000.  I decided to describe my journey with watches over 30 years, and the influence of ThePuristS.com and PuristSPro.com over the last 12 years that I have been active.  It is fair to say I read the site nearly daily, but go weeks sometimes without posting.  I have learned  much over the years with the continuing education via the stories, technical details and of course the great photos that often appear.

I first discovered ThePurists.com in December of 2003.  Back then, I had a different UserID which I changed in 2006; hence, I passed the real 1000 mark some time ago, but I'll go with this current counter.  I don’t remember why I changed it 10 years ago...

Looking back at the old archives though, I found what  was my first post at 7:32PM on January 2, 2003 on the Ulysse Nardin Forum, which had opened just six days earlier at 7:09AM with moderator Marcus Hanke.  I learned much from posts there over the years, like the great reference section Marcus created (a bit hard to find now).   My first post highlighted my then brand new Blue Max, which was part of my early collection of UN pieces.  I was enthralled by the genius of Rolf Schynder, Ludwig Oechslin and Pierre Gygax who led such innovation at the Brand.  Many pieces come and go from my wish list, but I still have The Trilogy Set in Platinum at the top – one day perhaps.  The book by the same name The Trilogy of Time authored by the good Dr. Hanke sits in my office and continues to fuel the dream.  

This post is a bit of a brain dump typed late on a Saturday evening.  It is hard to summarize 30 years in a few hours of thought at the keyboard.  I'll try to walk through each decade a bit, and whilst I have pieces from dozens of brands, I'd like to highlight three specifically in the body of my writing, where I have a special interest cultivated by the special people involved in the making and selling of each.  These include Ulysse Nardin, Jaeger LeCoultre and Patek Philippe.

Let's step back in time....

The 1980's

In the early 1980’s, I was certainly a fairly naïve young man of 18 graduating from high school in the Midwest United States.  Like most kids, fine watches weren’t part of my thoughts.  I do remember vividly though the red LED Casio and Pulsar watches that when you pushed the button the digits brightly lit up…this was really cool to my friends and I and through high school I suppose I had a few of these.  Nothing mechanical though was even a thought to a kid in the 70's and 80's, at least where I lived.

In 1985 then, I graduated from high school and my parents bought me the following watch for a graduation present.  It was quartz and pretty expensive at the time for them, and I cherished it for years.  I still have this Movado Museum watch, but haven’t worn it in more than two decades.  It was the first spark (my gateway drug so to speak).  I think I was most impressed as a teenager by the real gold in the watch

There is still the trilogy set...

Another piece from the above mentioned dealer.  He convinced me this platinum Gigante in 200 pieces was a good buy.  I haven't regretted it.  Just look at the anthracite dial

And another...

 

and so on...

And this special set of triplets...

However, it was in 2002 that this dealer friend and I first met, and the watch that put me in a different league was the original UN Freak  I have always enjoyed reading watch magazines, while on airplanes and for light evening reading.  I turned the page in a now forgotten issue and saw this wonderful advertisement for the Ulysse Nardin Freak.  It was brand new, crazy in appearance, used silicon for the first time in a watch and the movement was the hands.  It was genius (back to the Rolf, Ludwig and Pierre comment).  It didn't fit my typical style, but was there anyone at the time that could have said otherwise???  This piece was truly original and remains timeless I believe.  It has spun off many variants all with a common DNA.  It will likely never leave the collection as well.  The advert listed the local dealers at the bottom of the page (my new friend), and a quick call indicated I could probably get one of the first pieces in white gold -- the color I wanted.  After a bit of a wait the piece arrived, and it was certainly even better in real life.  The issue price was around $29K, what a bargain compared to today....I had become accustomed to the $5K-$10K range and this was new territory.  My supportive wife though again understood and life continued now with a new interest in more haute horology (2nd gateway passed):

 

It didn't take long before I added a few used Berlin pieces, a pair of dual time and the wonderful GMT perpetual in platinum (thanks to Dr. Hanke's continued writeups on the site about it's virtues).  The easiest perpetual to use and set then and probably still (again the ingenuity of Dr. Oechslin).  

The final UN piece I would highlight here came again from my dealer friend who offered me this special piece again in a fairly special combination of rose gold and a lapis lazuli dial.  My first and only striking piece to date.  More for show I think than frequent wear, it is a art piece as I see it.

 

A trip to Le Locle in 2006 with a tour of UN sealed my love for this brand.  For those that haven't been to a workshop in the Swiss villages it is a special treat.  It was also a future move to Malaysia where I would meet Rolf at a collectors dinner (KL was his second home) that further reinforced the innovation present during the 90's and early 2000's.

The move to Asia and complete addiction

Work would take an interesting turn and in late 2007 the family packed up and moved to the Philippines.  From 2007 to 2015, Manila, then KL and finally Hong Kong became home.  It is hard to describe how intense the watch culture is in Asia.  High end pieces are far more prevalent and the tiny island of Hong Kong moves more pieces annually than any country on earth.  Nearly every brand has a home there, and pieces that simply can't be seen (except perhaps in some flagship boutiques elsewhere) are visible.  Three years in KL and three in Hong Kong were so exciting and created some wallet stress.

In Malaysia, I got to really know Jaeger LeCoutre and it's incredible boutique and staff.  Like UN, I had a trusted dealer who provided service like no other and in 2009 I purchased one of the first Duometres in rose gold.  Many purchases followed and to this day I go back for anything new (the Jubilee, Geophysic and so on) even though we left in 2012.  Chatting for hours over tea in the boutique and examining some really exceptional pieces became a real pastime.

Now moving on to the third favored brand.  As noted early in this rambling, each of the three highlighted holds a special place on my list (in addition to the largest segments) due to the service and love the dealers themselves show for their wares.  With Patek, again I return to my native USA, where my very first piece was a new 5070R.  I had reached out to a dealer near where my parents live many years ago and had a good connection over the phone with a salesperson, who over the last 15 years would supply me with the 5070, 5396, 5970, 5130, 5098, 5227 and 5960 both remotely and through store visits.  Whilst living in HK I added a few pieces locally to my collection as well.  This past year she was able to deliver my awaited 5131 and finally supply the lovely 5575.

What's next and conclusions

So...what have I learned after 30 years.  

• Well, I am an addict, but I think this is a good thing.  

• I know my boundaries and I look back at what I have picked up in knowledge with a smile. 

• This site has been a blessing and thanks to Thomas for his innovation in building it many years ago.  I've been pleased to have been both a frequent visitor and poster for many years.  The dialogue is great, nearly always professional and helpful no matter what level the collector.

• Build relationships with good dealers and individuals.  Saving a bit of money is a fine objective, but being short sighted can be expensive.  I did learn this a few times.  A good AD is a blessing and contrary to many of the horror stories on service times, I've found good support (in Asia specifically).  I think the client/dealer relationship can help with these issues.

• With maturity and age comes a settling of tastes.  In the past few years, I have focused on qualtiy, interested in finer finishing and more subtle designs.  You will see quite a few in rose gold acquired over the years, but my focus is now mostly on platinum where available, followed by white gold and of course steel.  I like the more subtle look of these metals.  

• I never really bought into the bigger is better trend.  There are a couple pieces in my collection that touch 44mm, but just a few.  Today 38-40mm is where I play and I don't see this changing no matter the trend.

• I understand what a "WIS" is -- this term isn't used much anymore.

• If debating between two pieces, buy the one you really want if you can afford it.  You will regret it if you don't.

• I know the attraction of a "community watch".  You can see a couple of them below (Discus x 2, Legend Diver).

• Independents start to populate your brain at some point.  Sarpaneva and especially Mr. Speak-Marin you will see below.

• I love leather straps, but are they ever so difficult to wear in the sub-tropics and tropics (KL and HK).

• Date windows often destroy a dial.  Thanks for putting this in my head Nicolas...I have come to see the light here.

• Always, and I mean always buy from a trusted source. Better to pass if there are any doubts and face to face is always the best way.

• JLC gives out great chocolate

Lastly, I occasionally think about consolidation and when I read of others journeys I give it some thought.  Perhaps one day.  The trick is to not keep adding I suppose.

There is still the UN Trilogy dream though.........

Dave