Horological Meandering

We see many collection ‘streams’ and ‘strategies’ presented and discussed here ranging from dive watches to pilot watches, birth years to chronographs, single brands to specific case metals and so many others.

I am interested to hear what directions your collections have taken and what led you down that path.

Andrew

After one big circle, I go back to the starting point which to me, is what I really want.

Regards

Ling

Another very true and wise statement from you, Ling.

 

Collecting is very much an iterative process and we learn from every piece. And what we learn, most importantly, is what makes us happy.

 

But sometimes this is not entirely predictable. It is these surprises (like a Rolex Submariner for me last year) that make this hobby so much fun for me.

 

Andrew

That's where all the excitements emerge and create sparks in our lives.  Recently, through a recommendation of a friend, I bought a Casio Protrek for outdoor activities, such as swimming and jungle trekking.  I cannot believe I bought a quartz watch.  But I am so happy to own that.

Regards

Ling

 

and it's not about the amount spent. I've had safe queens that were worth 100 X what I liked wearing even more. When you focus
on the Watch and only the Watch and how it makes you feel, everything becomes clear !

Great Post !

Kurt

In a way I am doing the same, moving back but not away from avante-garde, not that sector with high-tech means and materials, but rather back to watches with NOS (new old stock) movements. What started me off again after a hiatus of many years on mechanical watches was the story of Maurice Lacroix's Masterpiece collection, when at the worst time of the quartz crises "they" meaning a few dedicated individuals there, were able to secure, rescue and preserve some original works and especially the machines required to make them that were destined to be destroyed or sold for scrap. The Venus chronometer is but one example.

Of course I am speaking about vintage movements, those that were never before put into a new watch, and not the generic category of vintage watches themselves.

One of the true masters of this art is Svend Andersen, who can transform, say, an AS movement into something modern and unusual. His, by the way, are among my most accurate and reliable timekeepers in my collection!

So go with the Independents? Well at least with some of them who, like Svend, attach more importance to the right choice of oils and greases - and adjustment, always meticulous adjustment - than to the finest level of optical finishing that can be humanly obtained - and still at the moment, the finest attainable from Philippe Dufour.

Just the selection and application of the right oils and greases and - getting them to the right places with the right dose is a formidable task, although there are computerized machines these days that are programed to do the same, for new watches, the result being: another pair of hands with decades of experience is made obsolete, the watchmaker himself becomes obselete - a sad but true fact.

How many watchmakers are there "around the corner" even if they are increadibly skilled and have access to the oils and greases required for a particular vintage model? For a complicated movement, they may need a couple of dozen different oils, some of them expensive and with a shelf life of sometimes half a year, when the vials are opened and exposed to oxygen and what else there is in the air?

For me - at least - the preservation, maintenence and restoration of a vintage watch becomes a huge responsibility. You have to find a proper watchmaker and get to know him well - and talk with each other!

Will it be worth it? Of course - and of course not! But that depends on what you have and what he the watchmaker can and is willing do with it. And what you are willing to pay for it!

Speaking from my heart, and not as a collector of vintage models and dial faces but for the mechanical works - the beating heart of the watch within, the one that keeps the time - year after year - with maintenance and skill!

amerix
This message has been edited by amerix on 2010-04-13 09:32:30

I have started with diversity at the beginning because I love all brands... A few years ago, I aim to have a piece of many of the brands that I adore, from PP, VC, ALS, JLC, AP, BP, GP etc etc etc... because each of these brands are unique in their design style, their history, their craftsmenship and each of the brands have a place (however small) in my heart (I'm very greedy). During this period of diversity, I have owned and sold a VC Royal Eagle, a GP ww.TC, a Lange 1815.

But a couple of years ago, I've caught the Lange virus and I thought about concentrating my collection on Langes, with just one or 2 exceptions. I have a special love for Lange because of it's very different style to the other watches (obviously because they're German in a Swiss dominated industry) and because it is rare for me to admire most models within the same brand (L1, Langematik, Datograph, 1815 Chrono, RL.. I love them all). I managed to own 3 different pieces of Lange (1 for a very short time), until I discovered that I really cannot live without diversity.

Needless to say, my current direction is back to diversity, but I have imposed some rules and limits. I will make sure each piece is unique and have a special place in my heart. I will limit the collection to 8 watches (1 for each day of the week, not necessarily rotating it every day) plus one extra for when one of them is at service. This is a rational boundary set to control my irrational obsession and for the benefit of my bank account Once I filled up my quota of 8, if I want any new watches, I will need to let an old one go.

Since diversity is key, I will aim to have some complications as well as simple watches, independents as well as main manufactures, relatively large and small watches... different metals.

Tom This message has been edited by tee530 on 2010-04-08 19:01:00 This message has been edited by tee530 on 2010-04-08 19:01:29

LOL, Tom.

 

I would call that “bracket creep”, and it probably applies to (or perhaps overlays) any collecting patterns we might follow.

 

Thankfully there is pleasure to be had in watches at all levels, but there will always be (for mere mortals at least) watches that remain just out of reach. It might be that first Speedmaster at $3K, that (second) Breguet at $30K or that Sun-Moon tourbillon at $1M, but that’s the slippery slope of horology.

 

I was lamenting to a fellow watch tragic recently that $10K used to seem like a lot of money to spend on a watch, and now it seems to be hard to find anything half decent for $20K.

 

Pity me when I can’t find a decent watch for $100K! Actually, come to think of it, my wife will have taken ‘care’ of me long before that day comes.

 

Slightly tongue-in-cheek …

 

Andrew

 

My response may be worthless due to the fact that I currently only own one watch..and Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean.  However, I spent over a year of painstaking research before making this decision, and the watch is my pride and joy...which is what its all about.  I am planning a collection based on "watches I will actually wear and use." This criteria has taken me in strange directions, and I thought I might try some vintage watches, and the other day I came across a BEAUTIFUL Omega Seamaster from the 60s which had been restored to like-new condition, and I immediately wanted it...however, when I picked it up, i felt "fragile" and I just could not imagine a scenario when i would wear it instead of my beloved PO. 

Now I am agonizing as to whether this applies to vintages only or new dress watches as well, since I rarely get to experience nice dress watches.

Either way, wearability is the key for me...

I spend so much time saving money and thinking and researching that i plan to only buy what I am going to keep, and thus resale matters not to me, since I always have ample decision making time.

I hope my response offers a unique perspective!

B

Hi Brandon,

it is to appreciate very much that you throw in the view of a watch addict in the earliest stage of development.
Though you got your first watch it seems that you know what you are doing. Myself I am not very far beyond this point and my collection could easily be displayed in a single photograph.
I think that collecting to wear and collecting to collect are two basic approaches while mixed form of both exist.
And in the beginning I think that it the obvious way to collect to wear.
My first watch that required a (for me then) significant investment I bought because I wanted to wear a "decent" watch (a Fortis Spacematic GMT, still a great and modern timeless design). Back then I thought I may now be through with buying watches.
until I bought one And then, five years later, there was this itching called Speedmaster. I resisted and argued about "so much money"more or less on impulse. I justified it as "the good watch for special occasions".
One year later I was caught by the G.O. Sport Evo and there was no excuse other than passion.
Now I owned three black dialled sports watches and I took a break for two years.
When I was prepared again to extend the box I knew I wanted to extend my possibilities and wanted to go for something dressy. I found it in a golden NOMOS Orion that had been talking to me for a while (extremely good value for the money).
Some months later I found a wonderful silver dialled vintage Memovox in Paris that I could not resist.
I wear them all regularly.

So I think our approaches are similar and different at the same time. We share the will to own usable watches the get wrist time. But it seems to me that your approach may be more rational than mine which seems to be a little bit more passion. I still do  a lot of research on the ones that interest me but not in a way that I go looking and comparing around in the market for the watch that I could buy next.

I am quite sure that your Planet Ocean (on my list as soon as they start using cal. 8500/8600 in there. But on the other hand I already do own my share of sports watches........) will not be your last watch. You are just standing on the top end of the slope ;-)

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave........

Best,
Martin

My watch addiction began with a rolex datejust received as a wedding gift.  Coming from a world of Kenneth Cole watches I thought that rolex was the end all be all of watches.  After a while though I decided that I needed a tool watch to save the rolex from the more hazardous daily chores of life.  So I veered towards an Omega SMP which remains my beater to this day.  From there the collecting began I went down the road of Glycine, IWC,  then Bell & Ross and finally Panerai.  Once, the Panerai bug caught me i really began to appreciate that particular brands history as providing military dive watches for the italian navy.  THIS WAS THE TURNING POINT in my watch collecting.  I began to become  very interested in brand history and less on brand recognition or "wrist appeal".  It was from this that I stumbled upon the likes of the independent watchmaker.  I found it much easier to identify with one-mans story as opposed to an entire companies history (or their founder that died over 100 yrs ago). Add to the mix the fact that I own my own business just allows me to appreciate their efforts even more. 

My collection has veered firmly towards the independent with my future hit list almost entirely compromised of the smaller brands.  However, the one exception is Lange.  I mean, independent or not..they do make a wonderful watch.  Maybe I should consider a second collection theme.....

Hi Andrew,

Great topic as usual from you.  I have a small collection compared to many here so I don't really think I've developed a theme per se, but I do notice trends in what interests me as I look toward new acquisitions.  Generally, targets seem to fall into the following categories for me:

- Re-editions inspired by vintage models, particularly designs from the 50s-60s;

- Compressor-cased dive watches;

- What I call "inside-out" watches or otherwise watches with unusual displays (GO PanoInverse, Breguet La Tradition);

- Independent watchmakers.

More and more, I'm interested in the watches made by small companies outside of the huge conglomerates like Swatch and Richemont.  I like the personal interaction with the watchmaker/designer, and I get a feeling of belonging and acceptance in that corner of horology that I don't often feel elsewhere.  That's not to say that I abhor big brands, because everyone knows I admire JLC, Lange, Piaget, GP and so forth, but I feel very taken by the world of independent horology.  Part of the allure is customization and also the enjoyment in knowing that the likelihood of running into another person with the exact same independent watch is negligible.

Cheers,

Daos

This message has been edited by dxboon on 2010-04-09 07:52:16

the independent bug is very very strong.  I seem to derive so much more from independent offerings nowadays and I struggle to fully understand why as yet.  And like you, the traditional brands still look ok but just not as appealing...

In general I am very interested in watches, especially independents.
I highly respect what these guys produce and design, especially the different time reading brands
like Urwerk, Vianney Halter and Hautlence, but there are a few more that have not studied enough.
But Cartier is what I follow since a very long time and is what I wear daily.
GEO

There's plenty that appeals to me from the big brands, but I'm a bit more excited overall about offerings that have been presented by independent watchmakers in these last few years. 

Have a great weekend!

Daos

for me I don't see myself 'collecting' as I bought watches to wear, does this count?

I've also preferred simple design round case hand wind watches (all except my 3940) and biased for Perpetuals.

I've also thought big watches don't suit me, I guess never say never, I was wearing my 'biggest' watch, the speedy, then came the bigger Moser, now the PAM. So I'm moving from smaller to bigger watches, but sticking to the 'simple' concept. I guess my PAM base to me is basic and 'simple' ?

What's next? Well 5050 is still on my list so I'm still a perp perv. But since my lastest acquisition is a Luminor, I'd very much like to 'collect' a Radiomir (339 is ringing ...) hahaha.

In summary, I don't have any theme really, and I'm wearing all my watches, collecting sounds to me like storing the watch more than wearing them? just me.

One thing I observed, most of my watches were a little iconic to the brands (wasn't deliberate but I guess they made sense?), and those which I didn't pay attention to before, might come back as my latest favourite. (half a year ago, I couldn't imagine myself wearing a PAM...!!).

Mech.
This message has been edited by Mech on 2010-04-09 02:39:21

I try to have nice examples of brands I admire, not to duplicate a movement, and to limit the amount of watches so that I can still wear them regularly. However, I am noticing the usual signs of addiction (necessity to increase the dose, excessive amounts thinking about and spending obtaining the drug, persistent desire, etc.) and so it becomes difficult to keep the number down (unsuccessful attempts to limit drug use, another criterion). I have run through a series of rationalisatins of how many watches I need, the current one is:

five nice white metal watches for the five work days
four or so fun watches for the weekend
a dress watch
a travel watch

but of course that is pretty feeble. Anyway, I am still enjoying myself. This site sure does not help in controllling the craving!

Andreas

My collecting path has always revolved around vintage watches, but has taken several turns over the years.

I was initially attracted to the classic automatic movements, but have found myself more focused in recent years on manual wind movements. I have always preferred the aesthetics of the '50s and '60s, and continue to acquire watches from that golden era.

I used to focus more on higher-end brands, but now find it more gratifying to collect fine examples of mostly mid/mid-high brands. I take particular pleasure in finding unusual examples of fine watches, and always emphasize condition.

My collection size has waxed and waned, and is now at a very manageable size. I find that I now place greater emphasis on retaining watches that I like to wear, and, no matter how attractive or interesting, am less inclined to keep those that tend to sit in a box.

Regards,

Tony C.
This message has been edited by Tony C. on 2010-04-09 08:59:44

I look at watches.  I admire watches.  I see a watch that I want to wear.  I cogitate on it for awhile.  I do consider whether the watch in question duplicates (stylistically) some watch I already have.  I consider whether I can afford it.  If after all that I still really want to wear the watch, I buy it. 

That's my strategy, such as it is.  To me this is really about emotions.  How does the watch make me feel when I see it on my wrist?  To me this is not at all about strategies and investments and completeness of collections.  I have given up trying to rationalize and apply logic to an emotional experience.

Glenn

 

 

 

The "collection" part of my collection is vintage automatics. I have tried to get cover the most essential brands and movements from the pre-quartz era. However, I have bought modern watches for characteristics I cannot replicate in vintage watches, such as complications, luminosity and water resistance. I think it's important not to become doctrinaire about the whole thing. This is for fun, after all.

i started off many years ago with an Omega and started collecting just vintage Omegas. then i bought an F300 tuning fork and researched the Accutron. i then started collecting those as well. after buying my first military Omega i started researching the military pieces and collecting those. so i had 3 themes running at once.

i did at one stage lose the plot a bit and just buy everything that i liked, but always used.

3 years ago i had the opportunity to buy my UN Freak so made the huge decision to sell my whole collection except for 12 pieces all of them newer and higher end pieces. my intention from then on was to only collect new pieces with unusual methods of display like the Starwheel and i managed quite well for about 18 months. i bought a few used, but kept it reasonably new. in Feb 2009 i had the opportunity to buy my first piece from 1964. it was a Speedmaster 105.003 and was a huge amount of money for a used watch or so i thought. i intended it to be my only piece from 64 as i wanted a piece of horological and historical importance from my birth year, but as you all know i got addicted to buying them and have now bought 17 from that year.

i now have 2 themes. 1964 and pieces with unusual displays. there are some exceptions such as my Nomos, but those exceptions are all ltd edition #99 which i suppose is a 3rd theme.

i hope that makes sense.

best

Graham

Since I love vintage pieces. It's been these factors:

1) Beauty of the movement: i.e. design, finishing, quality of wheels used, if pallet for is beveled on top and bottom, etc, etc...
2) Years it was made: Pre-WWII watches (because 'usually' the above point was done more manually rather than with machines).
3) Quantity of pieces produced: Either that year, or the total number of pieces made by the company, etc. (i.e. 100,000, 10,000, 1000 pieces of this movement or model made?)
4) Usability: Will I actually wear this watch, pocket watch?!
... lastly:
5) Wife and Pocketbook! No need to explain this one...

These are my current terms,  I'm sure in the next 2 years they'll probably be completely different!

Thanks for posting this great question!

HAGWE,
S

Well, I'm trying to close some themas which are dear to my heart, like Chronographs, Diving watches essetially, and some representative watches from some brands.

Then I will have a long rest, and if I add a watch or two in my collection, it will have to be really exciting watches.

That is, to me, the Nirvana, for every hard core Collector.



More seriously, I will end what I started, then I will think about what to do, because I'm not really feeling comfortable with having so many watches.

I dream about being able to sum a collection to only 10 watches!

Best,

Nicolas

It´s really hard to believe!

In your case, you would have to made really really difficult choices!

But, hey!... no problem. You have some treasures that I will adopt with lot of happiness!

Best, my dear amigo

Emilio

That would mean that I'm very clever to be able to only keep 10 watches in my collection.

1 Chrono, 1 Tourbillon, 1 Perpetual Calendar, 1 Alarm, One Diving, One Military, 1 GMT, 1 World Time ( you see the weakness of my demonstration? ), 1 Dressy, one ...8 Days, and one Minute Repeater.

Aaah, it makes 11?

That is my world!

))

Best,

Nicolas

so Hermano, I am second in the Q ... LOL

Perfect, no problem. There are tons of watches to adopt, so no problem...

I write you in the list!

Best, Hermano

Emilio

my friend....

you would not be able to limit it to 40 watches....

cheers

Nic ends his messages with: "greedily yours"

How much does that say?!