How’s your journey like so far?

Trying to stay around 3 watches nowadays 😁 But I have owned a FEW more 🤣 It makes it harder to get a new one if I got to get rid of one at the same time.

". . . suffice to say that these two would see me to the grave.  One thing i’ve learnt about my journey is that I’m not a fan of vintage watches . . ."

Hopefully your taste in vintage watches will change, assuming your grave is a long, long, long ways off.   🙄

Beautiful pair of keepers btw.  👌

My own collection is up around 35 pieces, after about twenty years of hoarding - mostly vintage.  There's a half dozen or so in constant rotation and another half dozen for special occasions.  The rest just lay there looking good, and whispering "I dare you."  😉

I like to get budget watches and also build watches. Custom is the brand i like the most. To me a watch is the sum of its parts so i buy the parts.

I have about 6 watches that I wear all the time, with maybe an additional 6 in rotation. Then there are a few sentimental pieces and projects.

I like a bit of variety.

Here is my dive heavy 6 piece collection. I started back in 2017 and flipped lots of cheaper and mid tier pieces till now. Imo 8 mechanical pieces is the absolut maximum I ever want.. i once had around 12 to 15 watches and it stressed me 😆 at the moment i slowed down and i am not quite sure where to go next. Maybe i want a real german toolwatch like a damasko or sinn... maybe an exotic looking microbrand.... but definitly no 4th divewatch 😆 if i go for a 7th watch it will probably be my last one for a long time, because my goal for the final and 8th watch will be a grail piece.... but for the grail i will take very long time to decide... it should be high horology like a jlc or something from an independent watchmaker like a habring2. A habring would be really cool as a grail watch for me because the brand is from austria where i live and i could probably even talk to the watchmaker himself 😉

Journey? More like a deep dive into the Abyss. Some days you just wonder what is the point, and others you find something interesting on the way down. There is no bottom.

Im going for 12 really nice watches , them have some cheap and cheerful stuff for fun 

I thought when I got into this hobby that I would be buying watches left and right. Meaning, I'd own a watch for 6 months and get tired of it for my next flight of fancy.

However, my experience has been the opposite. I have two daily wearers (depending on my outfit) which consist of an Omega Aqua Terra and an Oris Big Crown Pointer Date. I wear a Seiko Tuna on the weekends and one of my two G-Shocks when I'm doing something active, like biking or skiing.

And you know what? I'm pretty damn content. Sure, I'm saving for a future purchase, but I don't know what that future purchase will be and I'm in no rush to make it.

Great question. I bought a ton of watches these past months. But I find myself in a level of contentment much easier versus other hobbies in the past. I will downsize minus some beaters I need for the kind of work I do.

I’m still at the more the merrier stage, I might eventually cut it down to maybe 7 maybe but right now I’m enjoying the ride…

Even though I'm 58 and always had a thing for watches, it wasn't until 18 months ago I fell into two rabbit holes, one was the compulsive collection of watches and the other came a bit after and wanted a theme and decided on a Timex only collection.  Even though the Timex watches I like are a bit more than my Grandfather's day and run about $180 to $400, I still wound up buying 55 watches.  Now that I'm knee deep in Timex watches which I really like, I long for the day where I only had one watch.  First world problems for sure. 

My new Rabbit Hole is turning my office Man Cave into an antique watch room, so most of the watches will be for display only.  I'm 80% complete with the antique watch shoppe, will put pictures up when I'm 100%.

As far as keepers go, I have 4 and I think that's a solid number for me (one sentimental quartz Citizen, one sentimental and cool Seiko 5, two vintage mechanicals).  For me...fixing watches is what gets me interested, but it's hard to justify buying watches specifically to fix them if I don't plan on selling them, so I need to get into the mode of "fix, sell, repeat".

Nice im in constant elimination phase to reduce choices in my life so in the morning i dont have to think and makr a choice on the watch if there are less options. Of course it could be a fun way to spend time for others.

i have a bb58 blue and a world timer quartz as my main watches. Two casios for my exercising time and when i want to feel really casual.

Great collection! Your explorer would be my grailwatch. Btw I am also from Austria, from Vienna to be precise. 

My journey is "SLOW." I lack the money to acquire the spectacular pieces my collection needs.

The instagram flex  and social media content that surround every hobby makes it seem like you have to have everything , when in reality , like you I have found buying a nice watch , once in a while to add to my collection gives me the most enjoyment 

My collection philosophy has changed over the years. I was on a path to get all of the pieces I wanted no matter what. Then I realized that was a dumb strategy for me. I then went down the path of filling up my 18 slotted watch box. Ok that could work, but then I realized I like to wear a different piece each week. Sometimes I'll change watches throughout the day. Currently, I'm shooting for a max of a different watch per week, now in reality I probably won't get past 20-25 and I'm already at 8. That doesn't include watches that I'll inherit from my parents. I currently am being quite purposeful in what I purchase. 

I also read a post on here about collecting watches and having pieces you may not even wear but simply admire, like art. I could see having a piece or two like that, but I also work from home so realistically, I could wear all of my pieces😂.

I've been re-acquiring a few pieces that I regretting letting go and thinking about what I want to have for a lifetime. I also try to attach the purchase to something. For example, my Navitimer 43 was a watch I wanted since I was a teen and now I own it. I also am purchasing a very nice piece later this year to commemorate finally achieving my professional goals and a few personal life goals.

I also record videos on my phone of the watches I own and any stories or the "why" of the purchase and what it means to me.😎

I have some others, but I mostly wear these on a daily basis.  As far as the journey has gone, the biggest evolution has been realizing that I don't care that much about owning watches.  Looking, learning, and chatting are the things that I value.

Where's the watch addiction tip line?

Personally my journey has been blessed. To literally throw money at a watch hobby. 

My first love are chronographs - with a particular soft spot for snail dials and pulsometers.  There are a few specific vintage models that are on my grail list, but I never know when one might pop up that is both within my budget and in decent condition.  In the meantime, in between time, I pick up anything that really strikes my fancy (and again, that is within my budget), and I don't fuss over whether I'm wearing a particular watch enough or whether this watch or that watch "deserves" more wrist time.

So my journey was 1) figuring out that I love chronographs, and 2) accepting the fact that watches are inanimate objects that don't know or care if I don't wear them.    

Love it!  Do you have a favorite?   I've always wanted a flight master, but for some reason, I've never pulled the trigger.  Maybe that will be my summer watch. 🤔 

Very hard question because it all varies on how I feel. But I will do top 3 or 4. 

I love Pilots especially with big crowns so #1 would be Alpina Startimer

Number 2 would be my Seiko Navitimer not very popular but I love it:

Number 3 must be my Citizen Titanium Diver GMT  it feel so light and comfy.

Stunning watch, love the breguet elements. How’s your experience with Habring? Always wanted to try one but it’s rare here in Asia and too exp for something i know nothing about 😂

Dude I admire the Citizen GMT line but its just way too big for me, enjoy in good health fam :)

Nice pair!   Can't go too wrong with the combo.    I had the BB 58 for about a year before selling and using the funds for the sister to your 415, the SBGA413.    

The case, dial, and hands are finished better than they have any right to be.  Horomariobro does a better job of showcasing the finishing than I could ever do: https://www.instagram.com/p/CaQ_FtRLfG-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/CH8JFigrKpp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The movement is also very nicely decorated, but in-line with the price point.  In terms of day-to-day wear, the watch is super accurate (I've never had to correct the time except for once when I accidentally left the chronograph running all day).  And it's comfortable on the wrist. 

What else...?  Oh, I should mention that Richard and Maria are lovely to deal with over email, the actual ordering experience was quite pleasant.  I look forward to meeting them some day in person.  

This is my 2nd blue bb58. I sold the first one because of the Explorer. And since I sold the Explorer in order to acquire the GS, i had a Hans Wildorf hole in my collection, and nothing appealed to me more than the blue bb58 (Which also commemorates the birth of my son). such a strange yet fulfilling hobby.

I've had a few circle trips in my journey but nothing like that.  Too funny.     

... and congrats on the little one.  Nice to know that he (maybe) will be wearing it at some point.     

I finally started collecting in the fall of 2020 and went quite crazy. Since then, I've had 25 or 26 watches in my collection at one time or the other. At first it was just purchases, then I traded some for others, sold a couple outright, and now I sit at 11 watches.

Hi. My 'journey' with automatic watches start/stopped about 30 years ago with an Oris from an Oxford High Street jeweller. Back then it was an expensive acquisition for me. It seemed enough, and I still own that watch. Fast Forward to June 2022, and I wanted to treat myself to a new watch (having succumbed to ML quartz watches, and smartwatches in the intermediate decades). To cut a long story short I bought the Bucherer blue bronze Tudor, simply because it stood out for me.  I'm no diver, but the look of the watch with the Jacquard strap appealed greatly to me, compared to all the other Tudors on display. The 43mm case sits well on my wrist, better than a 39mm. I had/have, some reservations about bronze, but could not resist the watch, which was a big purchase for me. Patina development will be interesting but I understand bronze can be gently cleaned back to its original unoxidised look. I'd like to add a Sinn or Damasko to my young collection in the next few months.

 Great fun to be here. Thanks.