Horological Meandering

Assuming we like watches, one can easily have 3: - one for every day - one for the night with ou ladies - one for the receptions at ambassador’s houses So why do we have dozen? ...  

They communicate to others our social standing.

It doesn’t matter who knows or sees it, I have it! Play with it! And protect it!

That this accomplishes very little since the overwhelming majority of the public has no idea what is on another one's wrist, let alone the cost of that piece.

of the public an inexpensive quartz watch suits them fine, and really there's nothing wrong with that. That may very well be how most of us got started.

I have 4 watches. For me the reason is, endless. It is for looking at it, to enjoy how nice it looks, How it is made. Gears addicted. The small parts of metal, silicium, springs. For example, electric stuff is useful but compare to mechanicals it have no ... 

It’s in our DNA.

NT

We are never satisfied. As soon as you get THE piece you have been after, you are on the hunt for the next piece. Fortunately, during these unprecedented times, we have a great opportunity to enjoy and be thankful for what we have in our collections.

I imagine most members collect more than just watches.

guns/hunting equipment and fly fishing equipment, among other things I can't recall. Oh yeah, old political buttons and other, I still buy them as I come across them. Couple of hundred over the years

Why do we need a dozen?? That’s an odd question. I’m sure you meant to ask: “how many dozen do you want?” And even that’s a difficult question haha

When I was about 9 years old, my neighbor had a collection of toy cars 1:18 or even smaller, I do not know. I found that I liked the idea and started collecting the "Corgi" cars. I still have that collection, 53 years later, as well as several others, inc...  

My wife collects books ( and read them ) we have almost a library at home

to this day. I clearly remember my mom or dad taking me to JC Penney once a week to pick one out If I remember correctly they cost 50 cents each. I sometimes wonder if any of mine are collectible and worth more than 50 cents.

At the risk of sounding genuine rather than politically correct...in general it would be quite sad to restrict our lives to “necessary” things, if we have achieved the means (economic or otherwise) to enjoy some passions😉 Or to steal a line from Coco Chan... 

Collecting is to get the stuff you like. I like to get music, so it is easy to pick up an album and play it on the turntable, than rather go to a shop and buy an album. Watches i buy. I say, ok, this is the last one. About some days, i say, ok, i want ano... 

And the wider the appreciation and understanding of the world of horology, I can only say that the desire to own and experience watches increases with it. Also, watches are perhaps the only significant accessory that a man can put on, unlike women with th... 

some many fields to discover.

Doesn't just apply to watches. Standard response about how many bike you want/need is n +1. Where n is how many you currently own. I currently have 3 bikes & I'd like another. Cheers JML

and how we are slowly running out of it. I feel this the most when I'm setting a watch waiting for the second hand to strike 12. I think about those very few seconds that just went by and how I will never get them back again. It also reminds me of all the... 

Nicely written.

I could live quite happily with the Reverso, The Rolex GMT and the JLC. My "watch needs" would be fulfilled.

I have been thinking that I would be quite happy to reduce my collection to the the 3 R’s - a Rolex (for me the 16710 Pepsi), a Reverso (1931 Rouge) and Royal Oak (15202ST). The only trouble is that it means parting with the others....

I've given up on trying to make sense out of it. I have surrendered to it. I am retired, 52, would like to think that i've gathered some sort of wisdom, and yet here we are. To loosely quote Al Pacino in The Scent of a Woman, "The day we stop looking is t...