How Did We Get Here??

Since the "About" portion of WC profiles doesn't really facilitate a narrative format, I thought I'd highlight my "watch journey" so far in an actual post. If you find it interesting, cheers! 🍻 I'd love to hear your story too! If not, no worries, this is as much for my benefit as anything.

The ramblings below are taken from my comments on a post about "Changing Tastes" (Shout out to @PresentDayPrimitive for posing the question 👍 --linked at the bottom)

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My collecting journey seems to have progressed in phases:

In the early years, I wore a Timex Ironman almost exclusively.

Then, in my late teens/early twenties, it was all about BIG BOI Fossils, Invictas, Michael Kors, and perhaps a few other fashion brands. All cool watches in their own right.

From there, I got my first "real" enthusiast's watch, a Citizen Nighthawk. Wore that almost every day for about three years, followed by my first automatic watch, an Orient Ray.

I then dipped my toes into the "Swiss Made" pool, with a Steinhart Subby homage. This kept me happy for quite a while, as it felt like the "pinnacle" lol... oh, young me... so much I wish I could teach you... (No hate for homages, by the way; that Steinhart is still in my collection, and will likely always be, as I wore it on my wedding day).

After that, my collecting went dormant for some years. I was on a weight-loss journey and my Apple watch was on 24/7, tracking steps, workouts, sleep... But, thanks to a pesky little worldwide pandemic, some freed-up disposable income, and a deluge of affordable AliExpress homages, my love for watches was rekindled, and I adopted a"quantity over quality" approach to collecting for a year or so. Some cool pieces, but ultimately unfulfilling.

Next came the microbrands (of which I'm still a big advocate). They represented an attainable pricepoint for me, but offered far more unique options than yet another Daytona or Submariner homage I had been dealing in.

The acquisition of a PRX and a Lunar Pilot ushered in an era of seeking out watches with some provenance and story behind them. I quelled my desire for a Seamaster with the MIDO Ocean Star and, for the first time, I also explored the world of dressy watches on <gasp> leather straps! Orient bambinos, Sun and Moons, and Seagull Chronos. I also developed a love for Casio during this phase, thanks in no small part to discovering a few of the usual suspects on YouTube (I'm a sheep, I know, lol)

Now, in addition to finally, finally "getting" Seiko, and subsequently becoming obsessed with textured dials, I also find myself gravitating toward smaller, mid-century-inspired pieces. The 47mm+ Fossil-addled brain of my younger self would no doubt be dumbfounded by my growing number of sub-40mm "ladies" pieces. haha

-- https://www.watchcrunch.com/PresentDayPrimitive/posts/changing-tastes-28632