Horological Meandering

Every time we attain a watch, there is the next best watch we could have obtained. Sometimes, we trade or sell pieces to attain the time piece that our heart beckons us to attain.

Here are my two watches pains me to think of losing in a trade and my thoughts.

Traded in part for JLC Mut Steel Perpetual Calendar (which I've owned for a year and still think was the right decision). 

- JLC Reverso Tribute to 1931 (with Casa Fagliano Straps). This is a watch that I adored but it had a slight annoyance I could not correct for on my 7-7.25 in wrist: lug overhangs. The watch wore perfectly with the OEM black strap (with plastic inserts) better than the Casa Fagliano straps (which I've been told in the past year started to develop thicker curved straps in response to multiple feed backs). The black on black strap look was phenomenal for formal occasions (oxfords, blazers, and suits), however in my opinion did not mesh well with my casual outfits. This is the one watch I gave up that I miss every month. If only the lugs wouldn't overhang the way it did, I'd still be an owner of this fantastic slim and simple piece. Nicolas has recommended the Reverso duo, but I'm unsure if that Reverso would match the ultra-thin embodiment that was the TT1931. Perhaps JLC can bring this tribute line up and somehow engineer a piece with less lug overhang; but I can only dream.

- Rolex Ceramic Sub No Date 14060. This watch embodied my idea of a simple tool watch, albeit ubiquitous. The one nagging thing about this watch was how the case extruded and touched my wrist in a circular plateau leaving spacing often revealing a gap between the wrist and the watch. That coupled with the thickness of the watch had me fall out of love with the 14060. I looked carefully at the non-ceramic models, but decided against getting a steel strap that is inferior to the modern strap. However, I suspect what contributes most to my annoyance of letting this piece go is that the price of the watch has risen another 1.5K since the trade, making it harder for me to attain it later on, if no superior substitute emerges.

Overall, I think the decision making process in attaining a watch is a fascinating one in which we analyze and emote about one watch versus several until we're down to a few watches. This is one of the most interesting aspects of watch collecting and I hope some of you can share similar analysis in your decision-making.

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