Pete's back: The Deep End of the Watch Pool
One door closed (Pete McConvill took a bit of a hiatus) and another opened (Mike over at This Watch, That Watch). There is always very little to choose from when it comes to thinking man's watch YouTube. Pete overthinks. Mike overthinks. Andrew is free associating like Dennis Miller locked in a Watches of Switzerland in 1993. While I like our budget reviewers and many who comment here from time to time, I don't care that much about specs. I am more into the "why" than the "what".
So, Pete announced that he was re-energized and coming back:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igsXrAT6y3o
His videos were usually the best eight minutes of my viewing week, even when I disagreed with him.
There is something to be said for asking (and trying to answer) questions about the industry and collecting. Socrates, always the wit, said "An unexamined life is not worth living." We should be looking at why we do what we do and what the watch industry is serving to us. Merely describing the smooth sweep of a second hand or the length of lugs is not enough.
Here on forums we are the shallow end of the pool. We give our snap opinions based on the last month of our limited perception and then we argue in the comments. "X Brand" is the new Longines. Rolex is bad/good because I don't own one. Invicta is a real watch company for real boys and girls. This is what passes for forum material, that is, if you can get past the "Ooh, shiny" of every recent purchase. Before I denigrate it too much, let me say that there is a place for it, and that perhaps that such light content should be the norm. It makes diving into the cool, darker, deep end that much more enjoyable.
I am circling around the idea that collecting is maladaptive behavior brought on by stressors in one's environment. It is ancient, not modern. Some only collect the shiny rocks like a corvid. Others, nearer the deep end, must categorize and understand, perhaps justify, each item. Do you think Carl Linnaeus categorized all life and twisted Latin into a pretzel because he wasn't compelled to do so? Every great museum in the world began as a collection. Each was as idiosyncratic as its collector.
The problem with my grand thesis is that social science doesn't seem to support it. Rather, they don't really look at collecting or study it. I may have to work something up using philosophy, the grandfather of psychology. But that's for another day. I will scribble my non-forum thoughts over at TER in the meantime.
So, check Pete's videos out. He lurks here from time to time. His comments are always more interesting than most.
Dive into the deep end.
Restitutor Orbis. Aristocrat of beauty. Autocrat of time. (Trying to perfect trolling over at theescapementroom.com)
Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Thanks for sharing your perspective.
That's all I've got (and a bunch of old watches).
That's all I've got (and a bunch of old watches).
I wish I could express my thoughts as well as you did. I think I would have to be at a computer not a mobile device to do it however and I try to stay away from the computer when not working and when working I do not have the time for a good, long, well worded post.
As for the watches I look forward to the vintage beauties you post. 😍
I wish I could express my thoughts as well as you did. I think I would have to be at a computer not a mobile device to do it however and I try to stay away from the computer when not working and when working I do not have the time for a good, long, well worded post.
As for the watches I look forward to the vintage beauties you post. 😍
I can only do a sentence or so on the app on the phone. I was up early, alone, drinking coffee looking at my computer. I think that this is how we get @Catskinner's daily musings. I wish that I could be free from all devices for a while.
I can only do a sentence or so on the app on the phone. I was up early, alone, drinking coffee looking at my computer. I think that this is how we get @Catskinner's daily musings. I wish that I could be free from all devices for a while.
Free from devices would be nice, but it cannot be for a hundred more days. I am on day 266 for wrist shots! 😂
We collect while we can before the cold, dark, remorseless void swallows us whole. Against the backdrop of impending death, collecting watches warrants very little time or energy. It's fun; death awaits. As deep as I choose to go...
I think the fundamental impulse of most watch collectors goes something like this.
https://youtube.com/shorts/7Fw7bZoPyVU?si=m_qNyFxDsDF0dT0-
We live for the hope that these little baubles will someday be useful. The exact utility differs admittedly ("maybe my boss will be impressed by my limited edition Moser chronograph and give me a raise") but it is the constant high that we are seeking.
Collecting is just socially defensible hoarding.
I think the fundamental impulse of most watch collectors goes something like this.
https://youtube.com/shorts/7Fw7bZoPyVU?si=m_qNyFxDsDF0dT0-
We live for the hope that these little baubles will someday be useful. The exact utility differs admittedly ("maybe my boss will be impressed by my limited edition Moser chronograph and give me a raise") but it is the constant high that we are seeking.
Collecting is just socially defensible hoarding.
I love that video.
I’d disagree about certain aspects of the original post - it’s always interesting to listen to differing points of view, but I draw the line at the mis-informed, “alternative truths”, the warping of the narrative, or the sudden “I’ve always loved x brand” out of nowhere in order to ride the crest of the hype. You can three-strike in the space of 20 seconds, especially if you double- or triple- down on bs. Then again, I guess people probably find our ramblings over at TER equally contrived and bs, opinion is free. Not aimed at anyone in particular btw (or I won’t name names , but you know who you are 😉)
I enjoyed the This Watch, That Watch video you highlighted to me about UG and Breitling… it made a lot of sense, and I will admit I generally didn’t care much for the news because modern brand buying older brand in hiatus/PE-hell was always going to be more for a business reason rather than horological. Call me a cynic, I smiled all the way through the video, and felt happy someone else was doing the heavy-lifting for once. Other videos seem unnecessary, but perhaps a few of you need to see them. Then again, five minutes on watch-wiki and Wikipedia, and a targeted google search, would probably be enough to nip most hot takes in the bud.
The why is as interesting to me as the what. If I had no one to talk about watches with I probably wouldn’t collect them.
'Judge a man by his questions, rather than his answers' has always been a quote that's stuck with me. Nothing better than a good question, with no quick answer, to get the wheels turning. I am guessing it's a bit more challenging to turn that spotlight on ones own collection, kind of like an artist doing a self portrait. Are you going critically reflect on your collection flaws and all, or are your answers going to be more aspirational and lean more towards what you would like to see your collection as? I will definitely have to check out Pete's videos.
Looking at collecting in general sounds like quite the task. I can't wait to see what you manage to distill and share with the Crunch community. Here's to taking the floaties off and venturing out to the deep end. 🍻