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.