How do you feel about X?
No, I do not want your opinion about the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. I want to communicate how difficult it is for me to reply to the WC posts asking for opinions about given watch features.
May it be a poll about the position of a date window or its absence, a debate about manual wound vs. automatic, opinions about colors, arguments about case backs, or judgments about small seconds vs. central seconds... I am starting to realise that I have almost no absolute when it comes to what I like about watches.
Taking that last point. I own an Aqua Terra and to me the small second version of the watch was a very clear no. But I think a small second hand looks glorious on a Nomos. Maybe that means I like them on dressier watches? No, give me a Breguet classique (I mean seriously, you may give me one) and I like the central second hand and the uninterrupted dial.
I would never want a date on my BB 58. I enjoy the date on my Farer. And similarly I enjoy the closed case back of the first one and the sapphire one on the second.
I like bracelets, I like leather, I like rubber, I like Natos. I like quartz , I like automatics, I like manual wounds. I like my watches from Japan, Switzerland, Germany, France, the US and the UK...
That doesn't mean I like everything indiscriminately. I am very opinionated -and always right... But what makes a watch work for me has apparently no absolute. If it works together, it works. And short of my small wrist size and my budget, effectively putting constraints on what I wear... I don't think I ever looked at a watch and thought "Oh no, it has X, I don't like it" When I find myself thinking that a manufacturer missed the mark (for me) it's because X doesn't work with a specific watch.
It might also be the reason why I am reluctant to call my watch accumulation, a collection. It feels directionless and unruly when a collection feels like it should be a little more purposeful.
Fountain pen collector and stationery addict looking for a place to post her wrist shots without alienating her friends.
Great post, although I would definitely call your "watch accumulation" a collection - for me a collection has to say something about its owner. From what you said, you seem to value balance and harmony above anything else, to the point where you aren't afraid of any specific details, as long as it works with the watch. Of course it's a subjective point of view, but that doesn't make it less real, and I'm sure your collection is representative of who you are when it comes to watches!
100% on board with your idea anyway, diversity is such a major upside of watch collecting!
Nice write up. Having personal ultimatums is silly and the joy of life is we can like many things, even if they are different.
Watch wearing is about how you feel at the time and choose one from there.
Another collector by happenstance. I think if most of us are like this in our more honest moments. I backwards rationalize the themes of my collecting constantly.
May you find whatever it is you are looking for.
Even if you're not looking for it.
🍻
I’ve thought this many times before but you put it into words very well. If a watch looks and feels good, then I like it. Doesn’t matter about specific details. I like to judge it as a whole package objectively without comparing it to anything else.
I judge every watch on its own merits. I like to think that I have preferences but when push comes to shove, it really comes down to whether I like it, it’s comfort and wearability.
Welcome to the zoo . What they said :)
Hi, the title and beginning was very catchy. Loved the post. You are a non discriminate watch accumulator. At what point will you call it a collection?
Personally I think the rebrand was a bad move… 😂
Great post by the way
Hi, the title and beginning was very catchy. Loved the post. You are a non discriminate watch accumulator. At what point will you call it a collection?
I already do, especially to non-watch people. It seems that if you own more than three watches it is de facto a collection. But it doesn't quite fit. I have the same reluctance with my fountain pen collection. I buy them, use them, but I don't feel like I collect them. There is no curation, if that makes any sense. I know so many people who feel like they have purpose in what they are buying. For example I know people who buy all the different variations of Parker 51 they can find or build their watch collection based on specific purpose (one tool watch, one Chrono, one dress, etc). That feels like collecting.
I already do, especially to non-watch people. It seems that if you own more than three watches it is de facto a collection. But it doesn't quite fit. I have the same reluctance with my fountain pen collection. I buy them, use them, but I don't feel like I collect them. There is no curation, if that makes any sense. I know so many people who feel like they have purpose in what they are buying. For example I know people who buy all the different variations of Parker 51 they can find or build their watch collection based on specific purpose (one tool watch, one Chrono, one dress, etc). That feels like collecting.
Great point, I do agree with your explanation. I have Parker and Montblanc pens that I use at work but I don't call it a collection.
Collecting is for me collecting the things I love. I have a "chaotic" personality, if I would aim for a more curated collection, the fun would be gone. 🤷🏼♂️😄
My collection is a chaotic pile of weirdness. It is still a collection. Why? Because there is a big box full of watches. That by definition is a collection. When a crow collects shiny things to put in its nest. It’s a collection.