Watch Collection Assessment & Future Direction

BigAppleBill · 2021-05-19T17:43:16Z

Explore how luxury watch collectors like BigAppleBill assess their collections for passion, redundancies, and future direction, featuring insights on FPJ CB and PP 5164.

BigAppleBill

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

42 replies6368 views2 photos

BigAppleBill's original post sparked a robust discussion on the deeply personal and often challenging process of curating a luxury watch collection. His candid reflection on assessing passion, identifying redundancies, and planning for future acquisitions resonates with many collectors. This article distills the community's diverse approaches to maintaining a disciplined and passionate collection, offering valuable insights for both seasoned enthusiasts and new collectors alike.

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I recently did this, as there are potentially some new pieces coming my way that I may have to make room for. It’s difficult, but I want to be disciplined to maintain a somewhat lean collection by trying to eliminate redundancies and letting something go if I don’t feel a passion for it. Overall it was a really helpful exercise. I realized that my two favorite pieces to wear (for a variety of reasons) are the FPJ CB and PP 5164. These two aren’t going anywhere. Most of the others rank very high, but there are some redundancies (complications, brands) and some question marks that I’m trying to sort out.

I’d be interested to learn the experiences of others.

Key Points from the Discussion

A focused collection often prioritizes variety in materials, complications, and brands to avoid redundancies, ensuring each piece offers a distinct wearing experience.
Beyond personal passion, some collectors consider the market value of a piece, potentially leveraging appreciation to fund new acquisitions, while still emphasizing regular wear and enjoyment.
The decision to part with a significant watch, even one worn frequently and intended as an anchor, often requires extensive deliberation, sometimes over a year, highlighting the emotional attachment collectors develop.
Sentimentality can be a major hurdle to collection discipline, leading some collectors to accumulate more watches than initially intended, even creating detailed inventories like a 'museum curator'.
Some collectors prefer a minimalist approach, limiting their collection to one or two watches to simplify ownership and logistics, such as transportation between home and safety deposit boxes.
A strong indicator of a well-curated collection is the desire to wear a chosen watch for several consecutive days, signifying a deeper passion for each individual piece.

The Discussion

Mikesr

May 19, 2021

DO NOT SELL THOSE 2. I HAD THEM BOTH AND SOLD OR TRADED UP. BOTH ARE AMAZING.

Watchonthewrist

May 19, 2021

I wish I could do the same tbh . Love the CB (great strap btw) and your PP .looking forward to see what will go and your new NWAs

Jay (Eire)

May 19, 2021

With the same intention, identifying overlap, redundancy etc. But also (if I’m honest) thinking about allocation of funds in the context of has something really stepped outside of its true value to a point where I could or maybe it’s should take advantage of that to fund something else. To clarify, before I get the shock and horror replies, I do also wear and look at everything. It’s not just a list on an iPad !!!

ChristianDK

May 19, 2021

I have sometimes written off watches and the after a long time come back to them. Some watches can be replaced, of course. its especially those that are not replaceable. It’s a really interesting process though.

BigAppleBill

May 19, 2021

Like most people I endeavor to only buy and collect what I love. But it's a more difficult issue to determine if a piece is something I *love to wear*. I find that it has taken owning a piece for a while to make that determination.

DouglasM

May 19, 2021

I've focused on what speaks to me about a certain watch; a color, brand, material, etc. Something that 'rounds out' my collection and like you said, to avoid redundancies. Right now, I have a small collection of watches from 9 different manufactures, spanning the dollar range between $3k and just under $20k. I have my titanium watch, my ceramic watch, steel, DLC coated steel, white gold, two tone rose gold. I have time only, date, handwound, automatic, chronograph and annual calendar but nothing

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