Asking the deeper questions...

It’s all about the hunt . Rolex = waiting list . All other companies use the “ Limited run “ FOMO formula. Ebay fuels the rabbit hunt instinct. Just a snippet of human behaviour. I’m in the middle of selling off possessions to streamline my ownership of stuff I don’t use or need . Doesn’t mean I’m cured of materialism, just means I have refined and honed what brings me joy ..

I find the process and being able to afford the watches makes me happy and not the watch itself…yes the watches are nice but the whole process of research, acquiring it and being able to say “fuck yeah! I can afford that!! I guess growing up with nothing much to brag and being able to now is worth the achievement! Happiness is a pill away 😂

Thanks for sharing my vid! I keep coming back to the thought that we’re all just shaved orangutans who’ve figured out tech. Well, some of us have figured out tech, the rest of us just buy watches 😅

I don’t collect anything except watches. In other areas I done my experiences and found what I like. I take little influence when it comes to outside influencies. I know what I like. Watches are different. I still read about them and watching videos. But here the wheels are turning for me. I watch fewer and fewer channels. I more often, after I found a watch I’m interested in, seek information of specific watches rather than follow the feed.

Can I be happy with affordable watches. Sure! That I know. I look for beauty in every price bracket. There is plenty of watches in the higher end cathegories that doesn’t thrill me at all. A few I would love to own. On the other hand there is an ocean of pre loved and vintage watches that looks stunning at a cost of, say a Tissot Gentleman (which is a nice watch BTW) that I find stunning. So yes I can enjoy cheap, affordable and expensive watches.

Like @AndrewMorgan and @Chronos14 I like the search for information and the following search for a watch. I’m not into rarity so I don’t look for expensive limited editions or watches in short runs with unique text driving prices crazy. I mostly end up with basic releases but with a nice combination of colors, patina and markers regardless of price.

I also noticed the use of journey in the video🧐

Most eloquently said 🙂 thanks for your musings and advice on your watch collecting philosophy:)

Shaved?

With me it's not the process of acquiring a watch. I could buy a Tudor every month with the "float" (largely interest) of the funds that are between investments. I wouldn't have to touch money I actually earn.

Since it's not about the chase for me, and I really don't care about status, a cheap watch can make me happy.

You and I think alike on this subject, except your watches are nicer. I am gathering history and knowledge. The watches are secondary.

Perhaps @AndrewMorgan didn't read my magnum opus on the "watch journey"? How else to describe such a flaw in an otherwise meritorious video essay? "Journey" is only to be used ironically from this point forward.

In the time that it took to write this comment you could have bought a Seiko Presage. Time is a' wastin'.

I just get excited at the goal I may or may not achieve. It is finding a 'grail’ At the time. I feel expensive or affordable is the same for me. It’s finally getting it !

What makes you think I didn’t ?😂… my iPhone can support multiple screens … actually been on a Swiss movement kick as of late…you’ll love it!! It’s a Tudor!! 😜😂

It's still Journey if you don't stop believin'. 🤣

70 quid and loving it!

I don't really care about price, I care about design and execution. In my opinion all watches are tool watches just for different scenarios. Finding the perfect tool for each scenario is a form of horological problem solving that incorporates form and function. It is a balance between comfort, time keeping, legibility, appropriateness for occasion, color, skin tone, story, history, complication, availability, affordability, and a whole other set of factors that I'm sure most of us could list. The hunt for that perfect balance of all factors is what I'm after.

Plus some watches are just fun 😊

The journey is a treadmill. The only way to win is not to play.

Oh yeah, longer form. Despite my general dismissiveness of Eastern mysticism and hippie nonsense, I do believe that desire is the cause of unhappiness and that simple living is best. Being a cognoscenti means being a malcontent. Ignorance is bliss, as you don't know what you are missing.

A good part of my satisfaction from reading here comes from the schadenfreude of reading of people lusting after their "grail" watch. They openly, shamelessly, admit it! It makes me feel superior and happy, as I am not plagued by such a trivial and pointless pursuit. I'm too lazy to look up the GK Chesterton quote that goes something like "for a man to be clever enough to make a lot of money, he must first be foolish enough to want a lot of money."

One of the few things I learned as a college intern was from some consultant or something that wore fancy suits and an ostentatious gold watch of some sort. Over lunch, he recounted the incrementalism of buying more luxurious levels of an item (pretty sure he was talking suits, but whatever) and how this suddenly made one dissatisfied, unhappy, with everything they had below that level, things that were perfectly satisfactory and pleasing the day before. The explicit moral was not to be a social strainer or pursue expensive items.

The "journey" reports often admit this. It's sad. The typical beginning is that the person had some non-descript inexpensive watch with which they were completely happy for many years. Then the serpent whispered in their ear and they sought "better" and the trail thereafter was one of momentary joy quickly followed by further jadedness and aspiration and unfulfilled lust. This is known as chasing the dragon, and it is not a happy tale.

I am happy with what I have. For years I would see a certain model economy car on the road and think "I always liked those, I should get one" and then remember that I was, at that moment, driving said model and had owned it for years. A few days ago I had a similar experience when I went to the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Museum. I saw clocks, pocket and wristwatches, and got all covetous. Oh, how grand life would be if I had something like this... oh, but I already do. So much for that daydream.

I'm probably answering the question wrongly, but thanks to the OP for allowing me to navel gaze for a bit.

Because it's super fun! Just makes me happy when I wear it! Also first watch I took apart and cleaned & serviced. Plus I just love me some Ritz crackers

Judge not that ye be judged also. (no idea where this came from) I tend to go alpha on anyone trying to judge me without a black robe on and a gavel in his hand.

I think the question is wrongly put. Watches cannot make you happy, cheap or expensive, because they have no agency. (Well, maybe you have a smartwatch linked to chatGPT that knows how to tickle your happiness bone, but that's a different philosophical debate...)

It is you that has the agency. There maybe happiness associated with owning, wearing, acquiring, fiddling with or flexing a watch, researching its history, curating it as part of your collection, etc. In not all of those categories will a cheap watch give you the same joy as an expensive one, but in several the value makes little to no difference.

Sometimes an expensive watch can be a problem in this respect. Yes, you should not have sold your children to that sex trafficking ring in order to afford your Hublot, but that aside... With an expensive watch you can experience that nagging feeling that you have been a consumerist idiot, paying a lot of money for diminishing returns you do not truly care about. This can go the other way too, feeling that you have been too much of a miser acquiring a piece with too many compromises.

You really don't know the origin? Matthew 7:1. I'm more familiar with "Judge not, lest ye be judged" which is presumably some other translation that I can't find.

God is judging us all and we should remember that when people go on about getting the watch you want. Think of the watch that He wants you to have or not have.

Maybe I am just really shallow but I like stuff that looks nice and is long lasting for as little money as possible. Owning nice looking stuff makes me happy and not having to replace it has the same effect.

Learning about the product is in many ways a requirement to figure out what suits me based on those criteria... it's like a package deal whose contents are not available separately.

I spent $39 for a 1973 Timex Marlin in almost pristine condition and it brings me immense joy. That champagne dial is beautiful.

Absolutely! The sticker price of something is no indication of enjoyment. People are happy with $50 Casios, people are unhappy with $50,000 Pateks. I personally find the research and hunt over rare, discontinued, or market-specific watches much more interesting and enjoyable than simply walking into a store and unloading my pockets onto the desk. Having said that, I'd still buy something nice (rarely) to reward myself for an achievement, when I can afford it. But for the usual day-to-day interest in this hobby, I'd rather hunt for vintages.

Oh man I don’t want to really get into the rabbit hole of vintages I’m still a big wuss when it comes to vintage 😜

Out of all my several dozen watches the two that make me the most satisfied are a $55 Tandorio and a $60 Invicta Pro Diver. 2 of the least expensive watches I own. I can't explain it but the answer is, Yes, a cheap watch can be very satisfying.

A cheap watch can make you very happy, but it depends on the watch and the scenario presented. For instance, a cheap watch can make you very happy if you're being mugged and the mugger demands your watch -- I can virtually guarantee you'd be pleased to lose a cheapie as opposed to a luxury piece.

OOOH SICK BURN

Cheap watch can make you happy for sure.

I didn’t have much money growing up and I’m coming from a very dark region, to say the least. My first childhood memory is me, hiding in the kitchen, while a couple of gang debt collectors slamming my door while threatening my mom. So when I got my first digital Casio at the age of nine I was super happy. I’ve always wanted a watch, my granddad had a small gold watch he bought on a cruise ship in France and for me it was a most beautiful thing in a world. So having my own watch was truly amazing.

The most expensive watch I have is a Hamilton Murph 38 and I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be content with it. It’s a beautiful watch. And the fact that this was an anniversary gift from my wife makes this watch even more special.

In some cases price is correlated with enjoyment - hotels, apartments and transportation are the examples, but with the watches - not really.

Funny!! Wasn’t even thinking of this as a slam on Andrew. He’s the greatest. Was self-directed, given what a hairy Wookiee type I myself am!

oh) Seems like internet took its toll and I'm seeing everything as a sarcasm)) It was funny tho, so props to you)

I've had a crazy amount of hair on my wrists, arms even hands. I broke my arm when I was 15 and year later I broke a finger on the other hand and after removing the case I got a black hair jungle on both hands (it was a complicated cases and I've had a huge casts and I needed to wear casts for a 8-10 weeks). As time passed the hair became lighter and now it's almost invisible.

So no Hairy Wrist Club card for me! I'm truly a shaved monke

You’re better off. More aerodynamic!