NT931
1864
Hmm, how did I keep my passion alive in 2020? By helping a young collector
Jan 16, 2021,05:14 AM
A young colleague of mine got into vintage watches about 1-2 years ago, and he doesn't have a vintage chronograph yet. He's been thinking of getting one, but was unsure where he could safely get a decent, non-redial, non-franken one.
At the same time, I've been thinking of consolidating, and letting go of my 38mm vintage Zenith cal 156D chronograph. So I sold him the Zenith at a fair price in Dec 2020, no profit involved (though prices have moved up since I bought it in 2017).
He was thrilled, and I felt happy to help him - it made me remember how senior collectors were kind to me when I first started 9 years ago. For example, one collector let me have his 16710 with box and papers for a very decent price many years ago, as he could see how excited I was to get my first Rolex.
So perhaps that's how we keep the passion alive, by not looking inward at our own wants or needs, but consciously looking outwards and enabling others. As the beneficiary of much help in the past from friendly fellow collectors, I feel paying it forward (which many in this forum do!) helps to keep our passion alive.
To end the story, my young colleague was thinking of selling his vintage Seiko Lord Marvel, which I like since I enjoy manual-wind, time-only watches. He sold it to me at a fair price just this week, and the virtuous circle is complete! I love that linen dial...