How Do You Plan Your Watch Collection?

JToddH · 2018-02-01T17:37:59Z

Discover how collectors plan their watch acquisitions. JToddH shares his Photoshop method, while others discuss lists, impulse buys, and thematic collecting.

JToddH

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

29 replies4101 views3 photos

JToddH shares his meticulous, Photoshop-based system for planning and tracking his watch collection, a method he believes prevents impulse buys and enhances his enjoyment. His approach offers a unique perspective on collection management, prompting other collectors to reflect on their own strategies.

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Today, as I was going over my “wish list” and hopeful acquisitions for 2018, I couldn’t help but wonder how others plan and track their collections.

Perhaps my approach is a little obsessive, okay, a lot – but I feel it helps me make solid purchasing decisions by avoiding the occasional “impulse” buy. Also, quite frankly, my method actually acts as an extension of my modest collection and allows me to enjoy my little stash of timepieces if only in a virtual world.

For the past several years, I’ve maintained a set of layered Photoshop files containing images pulled down from the Internet.

The first document has all the pieces currently in my collection as well as space for pieces planned for the coming year. Because it’s a layered file, I can turn pieces off and on, thereby adding and subtracting from the virtual collection. At the end of each year, I flatten the file and save a group image, a snapshot of my collection for that year.

Initially, I started with my “Top5,” then “Top10,” “12,” “15,” “18,” “20,”…and so on, as my collection grew.

And if that’s not enough, I have additional “wish list” files that project (dream) years into the future. In theory, it helps me plan long-term purchasing goals. I have files containing “Top25,” “Top50,” and “Top100.” While I may never make it to those numbers, a boy can certainly dream!

So why do I do it? Well, being a WIS wannabe manifests itself in many ways. In this case, it allows me to look at my collection in one image and see how my pieces “visually” interact. Fort instance, I recently acquired a Carl F. Bucherer ChronoGrade on a bracelet. While I absolutely love this watch on a bracelet, when next to my CFB TravelTec (on bracelet), there is visually, a lot of similarity between the two.

So I added a ChronoGrade on a strap to my Photoshop file next to the TravelTec. Voila! Problem solved! This removed the visual overlap as it creates two distinct pieces. Of course it’s easy to see the difference and similarities between two watches, but this way allowed me to see the relationship in the context of my entire collection. Needless to say, a new strap is on the way!

Beyond any practical reasons, I’ve found I simply enjoy moving pieces around in my virtual collection.

It’s interesting over the course of a year or more, how many pieces come and go. What I’ve found is that by doing this, it really gives me time to think long and hard before any purchase. If a piece has survived my list for a year or more, chances are it’s one worth getting.

I know people who are constantly buying and selling pieces in order to get the next big thing. Quite frankly, I can’t afford that. My goal is to carefully consider every purchase in hope of never wanting to get rid of it. To date, I’m proud to say that I’ve never considered selling or trading a single piece from my collection. While I may have gifted away some early non-Swiss pieces, I’ve never parted with any of my actual “collection.” I attribute this primarily to making sound decisions and acquiring watches I never want to part with.

NOTE: While these images are identical in format to the ones used in my collection, they do not reflect my actual timepieces or "wish lists." I built these images specifically for illustrative purposes for this post.

So back to my original question, "How do YOU plan your collection?"

Key Points from the Discussion

Some collectors use digital albums on tablets to visualize and arrange their wish lists, prioritizing acquisitions based on desire and availability, and considering the overall coherence of their collection.
An alternative, less structured approach involves letting watches 'hit the radar' and either staying or fading away, with some decisions taking years and others being quick impulse buys.
Collection planning can involve two main considerations: individual desire for a watch, and how it fits into a broader collection theme, complication series, or period.
Some collectors create detailed PowerPoint presentations and comparison tables for shortlisted watches, often incorporating input from other enthusiasts and taking notes after trying models at dealers.
Another perspective suggests that rigid planning can hinder the discovery of new watches and the organic evolution of a collection, advocating for an open-minded approach to the collecting journey.
A simpler method involves maintaining a mobile spreadsheet of desired watches and actively rationalizing the current collection by identifying pieces to keep, sell, or trade.

The Discussion

5980

Feb 1, 2018

I’m afraid my approach is rather generic. There are a number of pieces of interest to me. The journey from interest to purchase is a living one, different each and every time. I don’t have a quota, a timeframe, etc. I simply have a joy for the discovery, wherever and whenever it occurs. Apologies for the horrible answer! It’s all I’ve got 😞

JToddH

Feb 1, 2018

We all enjoy this obsession in our own ways. There is no right or wrong! My hope is that by others sharing thier insight, we may learn a little something form each other. Thanks for your input!

Horologically_minded

Feb 1, 2018

But I've definitely grown more cautious after an early blitz into the hobby. Like you, I can't afford to flip and buy - the depreciation hit is just too much. I do have an app to monitor the wrist time for each of my watches. If I'm hardly wearing a particular watch, it's unlikely I'd buy another one with a similar design. J

Echi

Feb 1, 2018

I used to make a list on bits and pieces of paper. What I do now (just very recently) is download photographs, make an album in my ipad, then view it in album mode where all the pieces are tiled. I move them around in order depending on what I really want to get versus, say, the ease of getting a piece ranked number 3 or 4 simply because they’re priced less. It’s a neat exercise on coherence as well.. makes me want to dwell on its importance as a criteria.. I realized that my watch box doesn’t n

JToddH

Feb 1, 2018

Between you and Echi, I feel somewhat vindicated knowing others are equally (or more) obsessive!

MTF

Feb 1, 2018

Todd, That provocative statement is not meant to be contrarian nor belittle your very systematic approach. I don't have the resolution nor discipline to be like you. But it raised an intriguing philosophical debate in my mind. A bit like Schrodinger's cat in the box being in both states of alive and dead until observed, all watches are neither targetted nor not targetted until I notice it. That is an impulse decision: Yes or No. It's not something in-between. If it's still on my mind, it's a Yay

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