Why Watches? A Collector's Journey

dxboon's introspective post delves into the fundamental question, "Why watches?" She explores the diverse motivations behind watch appreciation and collecting, from mechanical fascination to aesthetic preferences. Her personal journey, influenced by motorsports and art history, provides a unique lens through which to examine this universal passion, inviting other collectors to share their own origin stories.

In a prior thread, AndrewD asked what attracted me to watches. Furthermore, he wanted to know how I came to love them. Was I drawn to the machine itself? Or was it more about the history of timepieces, schools of design, attraction to one company in particular, or the handcrafted, artisanal nature of certain watches? My impression was that he wanted my take on this discussion because I am one of the seemingly few lady PuristS, but he and I both agree that this question is relevant to all.

So, let's all ask ourselves, "Why watches?"

Why do we love them?

How did we begin our respective journeys toward acquisition/collection?

Why is watch collecting largely a "boys club?"

I will jump into the fray first. After all, I would never ask you to do something I wouldn't be willing to do myself!

Hmm...where does my journey toward WIS-dom start? Shall I begin like Dickens' David Copperfield, "I am born." On second thought, perhaps not! I'll be the first to admit that my love of watches didn't start in the cradle. Like many women, I wasn't raised to necessarily understand or appreciate machines or things mechanical.  As with countless little girls before me, and since, my mother dressed me in pink and bought me Barbies. Much to her chagrin, all the other children of similar age in our neighborhood were all boys, so the Barbies collected dust whilst my friends and I played with Transformers and G.I. Joe dolls. These were happy times.

The other experiences that I feel went on to lay the foundation for my horological insanity were two-fold. First, there was early exposure to car culture and motorsports via my best friend's father who was (and still is) a mechanic for a leading NASCAR/Super Truck racing team. Seeing the reverence these men had for the engines and cars they constructed taught me that a machine could be more than just a collection of functional components; it could be the stuff of dreams and hold the promise of escape from the humdrum of everyday life. Second, I was introduced at a young age to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was here that I began to discover my aesthetic preferences. Preferences which I later honed during my art history studies in college, and undoubtedly bring to bear on every watch I see. In case you care to know, the two paintings at the National Gallery that I continue to visit on a regular basis are John Singleton Copley's "Watson & The Shark" (1778) and "Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan" (1785-87) by Thomas Gainsborough. Read into these choices what you will about the hidden depths of my psyche. 

Fast cars and Transformers made me fall in love with machines.  Two 18th century paintings made me fall in love with art.  Those paths converged to lead me down the road to what I now believe will be an eternal (or perhaps infernal) love affair with mechanical watches, even if I didn't recognize their significance until relatively recently.  These formative experiences were the cornerstones of watch appreciation for me, but without positive practical experiences I don't think I'd be contributing this essay on PuristSPro today.  Throughout my youth I wore watches irregularly, and the pieces I did occasionally sport were unremarkable fashion watches whose makes and models escape my memory today.  It wasn't until I started working at my current job that I began to take notice of all that a watch could be.  I must thank fellow Purist, CaliforniaJed, for the introduction to this fascinating world that melds so many of the best, most interesting aspects of engineering, design, technology, and art.

The first mechanical wristwatch I bought was a Seiko 5.  I purchased it specifically for a vacation during which it endured ocean snorkeling, hard knocks, humid jungle treks, and many hours of travel over land, sea, and air.  It performed admirably throughout, and continues to see a great deal of wrist time in my mundane everyday life.  I should give credit to my Seiko. If I'd perhaps chosen a less reliable timepiece, my love for mechanical watches would've never had the opportunity to blossom.  Seiko does a great job, in my opinion, of building watches that prove time, and time again, that an inexpensive watch is not the same as a cheap one.  Since buying the Seiko, I have acquired additional timepieces that are all loved in their own right, but the Seiko was my first, and remains special for that reason.

As for the whole "boy's club" notion, I suspect there are some who pefer that mechanical timepieces remain largely the domain of men.  Like the old-fashion barber shop, gentlemen's club, or cigar lounge, perhaps mechanical watches are a world in which men can still be men (whatever that really means), free from the bindings of an increasingly gender-neutral, politically correct world.  Honestly, I don't have many feelings on this subject, as nobody has been openly hostile toward me online or at watch-related gatherings, but I can imagine that there are some who would see mechanical watches preserved largely for men.  I personally don't know how to get more women involved in the world of horology.  You can see from my essay that my own journey to watches was a unique one.  I do think that women's relationships to watches are largely based on aesthetics, and not an inherent love of machines or the "how things work" aspect of a mechanical timepiece.  Thus the popularity of jeweled cases and quartz movements for women's watches. 

In every aspect of life, each of us travels a unique path and has a singular, individual journey.   I love watches because they are the ocean in which the tributaries of art and machine meet.  They hold the wonders of my childhood alongside the aspects of art and design that I have cultivated as an adult.  I shared with you thoughts as to why you now find me here amongst you on PuristSPro.  I would enjoy hearing your resposes to the same questions AndrewD posed to me.

Why do you love watches?

How did you begin your respective journey toward acquisition/collection?

Why is watch collecting largely a "boys club?"

As always, thanks for reading.  The passion of the forum members here is something very special in my eyes.

Cheers,

Daos