The joy of downsizing - SOTC
In the last twelve months I've given away over ten watches and sold some too. I've been making a concerted effort to consolidate my collection and I've found it extremely rewarding. Some of the watches which are leaving or have already left the collection include; a 1994 Grand Seiko which I know my mother will really appreciate, a Smiths diver which will go to my father who repairs Smiths clocks, a Longines Présence because my partner said it was the most beautiful watch she'd ever seen, a Glycine Combat Sub so that my brother can save his vintage Rolex for special occasions, a Seiko 5KX for my best friend to kick-start his collection after he purchased his first dive watch (a Citizen Promaster), a Mr.Jones Beam Me Up for a colleague and friend who's been working on a extra terrestrial themed project, and many others which will/have found new homes. I also sold my vintage Boctok Amphibia and donated the proceeds to a Ukraine war charity. Even my much loved mid 1950's Smiths Everest has migrated to my partner's collection because she wears it more often than I do. I've done away with all of my Casio's and Seikos.
What I'm left with is five watches, with a sixth planned.
1. My Longines, the first watch I ever purchased for myself.
2. My Rolex, my daily and work watch for a decade, now very sentimental and worn on special days.
3. My Smiths W10 reissue, which took over daily/work duties when I retired the Rolex.
4. My Grand Seiko, grab and go quartz watch.
5. My Tudor Pelagos 39, which replaced the Smiths as my work watch, the Smiths becoming my daily/beater.
6. Number six is a watch I will hopefully inherit one day. It's a Sekonda which belonged to my grandfather, currently in the care of my mother.
Every watch in my watch box has a purpose or sentimental attachment now. The Grand Seiko might end up being swapped for another interesting quartz eventually I suppose. Even the gap has a purpose, reminding me that the most meaningful watch I'll hopefully end up with, is the least valuable in monetary terms, and that some things in life cannot be bought, but come only with patience.
I'd be interested to hear if anybody else has ever reduced their collection and how they felt about it, or if anyone is thinking of doing so.
I am in the midst of downsizing. You have dine great!
Well done!
Marie Kondo is the way to go!
Can I ask - why did you retire the Explorer? Why not just keep wearing it?
I am always downsizing. Since nothing I own is particularly expensive, I've found selling watches to be a tedious process in general. Giving them away, as you have, is something I enjoy.
It feels good to take stock of what you own, and I feel this is true for literally all of your possessions.
What year is the Explorer? As a new owner, I wasn't aware that there was a version in the back catalogue without Explorer written on the dial.
Nice watches !
I think I am getting close to do what you have just done. I have 11 watches now; down from 12. Each morning, I walk to the watch box and decide what I am going to wear for the day. 90% of the time, I reach for the same 2 watches and the other 10% is another watch. My rotation seems to be gravitating toward the same 3 watches.
I guess some decide that it is time to reduce the amount of watches but it my case it seems like the decision is slowly creeping up on me.
Have fun. I'm happy you found "your" sweet spot.
Less is more
Wonderful collection and solid plans 😊 It's good to hear that you have spread the watch-love. I am currently considering getting a vintage quartz GS. How much did that one run you? Looks very slim. Don't know if I have seen that model before 🤔
Ma collection keeps getting larger, I've never parted ways with any of my purchases, some day I will have to, and already planned what I'm giving away when the time comes
I am in the midst of downsizing. You have dine great!
Thanks, I really thought I would miss some of them, but so far no regrets!
Marie Kondo is the way to go!
Can I ask - why did you retire the Explorer? Why not just keep wearing it?
I've owned it new since 2008. It has so many memories attached to it now that if anything ever happened to it I'd be distraught. It still gets worn I'm just a bit more selective about when and where.