The 'watch hobby' w/o buying. Possible ?

Sure, why not? I'm a fan/enthusiast of hypercars, F1 (at times), and professional sports, but am I ever going to buy a hypercar or be able to play pro sports? Nope 😀

So continue to be be a fan/enthusiast of watches, and don't worry about not intending to buy one anytime soon or ever.

I think it's like being into fine cigares without smoking them 😅

Similar situation to you. Bought a BB58 last year which sated my desire for the foreseeable future. I did put my name down for an Explorer last week but given that I had been down for a silver OP 36mm for two years, I can't see that coming in for a long time which is absolutely fine. I still enjoy following new releases and researching models, but won't be buying anything else now until the Explorer comes in.

I hear you, the difference being, perhaps, that many watches are within reach. But you got a point.

lol, yeah. And the more you look at things that you are a fan or enthusiast of, it's kind of like tempting fate and chipping away at your will power. 😀

Yeah that's what I wonder whether or not Ill experience.

I went wild last year, buying 20 watches (average price ~$75) in 10 months. I knew I could not keep that up; financially (to eventually acquire the Grail) or responsibility to my family-wise.

Said I would buy one (or none) per year and even though I've been on here daily, more or less kept my same YouTube channel subscriptions and even thought about buying a couple cheapies (Casio Royale & a Timex moonphase), I'm sticking to the goal I set for myself.

It's really not been difficult as I have an alternate goal to just acquiring more watches.

You can absolutely be an enthusiast without owning one, though before having etched-in opinions, you should at least handle them and try them on. Listening to fools like myself or youtube vids is fine and all, but handling and wearing is different than a spec sheet.

I love cars. Love them. I can talk specs, nerd out about them, but will I ever own a Ferrari GTO, a 1971 GTR, or the latest and greatest rare Porsche? Likely not, but that does not stop my passion for them.

I just bought myself my first 3 digit watch and while it's an awesome citizen promaster and I can't picture buying myself another watch until I fill up my literal piggy bank, so maybe not until next year. And its also come to the point where if I'm somewhere that sells watches, I'm usually wearing something that's way cooler than what's on the shelf, or too close to something I'm already wearing. However I still haven't bought myself a birthday watch this year ha ha ha

I may be actively trying not to buy myself watches but I'm still looking and reading about watches. Luckily there's lots of stuff to look up.

What I did is I made an social media account for preordering watches from abroad. I post and reviewed the watches that I think is cool and hard to find, and then people can preorder it from me. So I got the satisfaction of buying and holding all those watches that I like, without really buying it and spent any money on it. And I can sometimes even get decent profits from it.

Up until this point, what has been your "window" or range of collection? High end? Mid-range? etc.?

I'm not very wealthy (yet) so mostly read about them and [watching] YouTube videos. I have a small, yet functional collection for my needs. It's a pleasure to just look at pictures of watches because I think they are art just like any other painting or sculpture. I've turned my interest more into straps lately because that's a way to get a new look without spending the buck for a new watch. I've had moments where I've not been motivated enough for this hobby and stopped watching and reading so much content but then it eventually comes back again. It's kind of like dandruff.

My two cents:

I think if labels are important, then one can argue that watch fan is different from watch collector. Fans of anything will have opinions, likes, dislikes but may not actively participate in the space. Basketball fans don't necessarily play ball themselves but will know Kareem Abdul Jabbar's stats and will be able to argue using data why Bird is better than Magic or vice versa.

Same with watches. The collectors don't all know exactly what they're collecting but fans I expect to at least know enough about the hobby to be dangerous. Fans will know what a BB58 pertains to, what it looks like, maybe even its dimensions (?) and will have an opinion on why it's an important piece (or not) without ever having held one in their hands. Collectors may get a BB58 because they love collecting Tudor and that may be the only reason why they got a BB58 (this is good enough a reason to get anything).

Collectors can be fans, fans can be collectors. But those two things are not mutually exclusive.

I have no idea what an enthusiast is.

Collect inexpensive, fun stuff, make it a game. too many people are not in it for the love of watches, but for the flex of a name. What do YOU want out of collecting?

I would say this is me. I’m a 2-3 year spread between watches. Partly because I’m slow to build a curated collection, partly other priorities, but I’m still involved and read, get the latest news, etc. It’s a really fun hobby if you stay out of the reseller news.

My bio for this site is arm chair watch collector so... I hope so!