Grail Watches!?

It's funny, but for me, I always thought, "If only I could have THIS one watch, then I'll be satisfied for the rest of my life!" knowing full well that that wouldn't be the case.  And, in each and every case, every one of my watches was my "grail" watch.  And I love them all.

At this point, I have too many!  But, I start to shake and shudder and moan in pain every time I think about selling any of my watches to pare down the collection.  

I do think, though, that I've come to the conclusion that although micro brands are really cool, the fit and finish always just leave me dissatisfied.  And, instead, for the same outlay, I can get some really, really awesome Seikos.  I've not yet come across a single Seiko that I haven't been absolutely floored by, in terms of build quality.

So, I guess that's a long way of saying that my collection is going to grow exponentially, and pretty soon I'll have like 40 Seikos, each one of which is going to be my next "grail."

this is my grail, not the most expensive but i like it very much. hope someday i can achieved it 🍺

My grail would be to ask the people at Atelier de Chronométrie Barcelona to make me a custom watch. In the picture you can find some examples of what they make upon request. 

I love their work but I would also support Spanish watchmaking by ordering one. So if I ever have the means for it, I would consider contacting them for sure. Their pieces are lovely, so classy and beautiful. 

That's a really nice watch and a good choice for a grail. If you are able to afford it, you are able to buy it. Nothing is worse then being able to afford it, but not being able to buy it, cause there is a wait list of years...

FP Journe's are really stunning pieces. I am doesn't know much about them, but as far as I understood, it is much more likely to get a Daytona or AP Jumbo before getting one of these...

looking quite nice and the option to choose from there modular principle is an awesome thing. I have a watch from a German independent that operates the same way, Hentschel Hamburg.

right... people like us are never satisfied... our hobby is collecting and not stopping to collect ;)

what is your "next grail" that you are looking for after your Seamaster Bond?

My personal grail is still the Tudor BB58 or 41 Heritage. But also an Omega Aqua Tera is on the list. 

I've just been checking their website, very nice! 

Well, I just ordered the Victorinox INOX Mechanical in blue, so I suppose that's my grail!  Ha!

There will never be a time where I can get it or even afford it.

Rolex Daytona Rainbow. Its a real grail in that it will always be a dream.

great, blue clue de paris is awesome ;)

you never go wrong with a bb58, bb or AquaTerra!

oh yea, that's an amazing piece. I would go more with the white gold Rainbow, but the red gold is also nice.

I’m not sure I have a grail anymore. I’m enjoying just picking up what I like regardless of price or significance. I got a grail already in the BB58, and it’s all the watch I’ll ever need realistically, so everything else is just icing on the time telling cake. 

that One is so lovely! It so versatile and yellow gold with blue is so timeless. Even 5000 years before the Egyptians loved it. and yes, if you can afford it, you can buy it at retail at your local AD, maybe with a small discount. 

Haha that’s a good way to keep your balance untouched ;)

well the GMT master is really amazing. I also love it!

Wow that’s unique! This double Guilloché is amazing!

never have seen that before

brown on ice blue… when you hear that you think… no that’s not gonna work and then you see that watch and think, OMG how could I ever loved another watch!

That’s a nice three watch collection. the Tudor could be not that hard to get.

I currently have 16 grail watches in my collection and I’m afraid number 17 is coming very soon 😔

Well, I absolutely love the Rolex Daytona Paul Newman but given the prices are now in the 6 figures and up, it seems I will never own one. So in terms of grail watches I could own, I guess the A Lange & Sohne Lange 1 is my current grail watch. I think they are absolutely beautiful pieces.

• do I have a grail? Yes and no; I have watches that I desire and know I could potentially obtain, so they are not grails as such but genuine targets. I may not even get them, I may get sidetracked or change my mind (happens a lot), but not getting them is not necessarily a dealbreaker. I tend not to want watches I cannot obtain, seems pointless, but if I am genuinely honest, the only watch that really kind of falls in some weird middle ground where I do want one and may never obtain is the Cartier Crash. Why? Because it’s insane, and could be something that someone may get rid of thinking it’s broken. Or, it may get a re-release and then I’m definitely wanting to be on the list. Maybe I’ll get famous and grab one.
• what do I expect to get from it? A small moment of satisfaction followed by a long period of not knowing what to do next. I had this after my VC, my Rolex, my Bubble… it’s odd when you get things you want, and weirder when you get them sooner than you expect.
• do I have some of my grails - yes, in that I own some pieces/types of piece I genuinely desired, or that I had the opportunity to own something really special without really having to think about it or put too much effort in. I found the VC in a jewellers a 5min drive from my house, in a solid gold case, a cal.k1002, a really thin movement developed with AP; stunning. I didn’t know it was there, and the guy in the shop didn’t know much about it, but his watch guy said it was special and no-one looks at it because it’s so unassuming. Pop the back - there it is, wonderful; I was barely in my 30s and I just got myself a holy trinity watch without trying or straying too far from my front door. It does put the brakes on, and it completely changes how I viewed collecting watches. It’s all about the randomness now, and enjoying what I can find for peanuts, or what people don‘t love. 
• do i still care; do I still love it? For watches, I only buy what I like the look of, otherwise I would not buy them. I do not buy to speculate, I do not buy to make money, I buy for enjoyment. A lot of it is, for me, go on eBay, type in a few buzzwords, go down the rabbit hole, find something vintage I think is cool and have a bid and see what I can grab for sweet f*** all. Sometimes, with vintage, I have bad patches; you may have seen me moaning about my ChronOris cal.725 or the dead Talis FHF 908 - shit happens. The Oris was bought for far less than they usually go for, I got 8 years out of it, and now it goes in the drawer while I maybe look for a donor movement. The Talis goes back - I could have bought a movement for as much as I paid, but after chatting with my watch guy it’s just not worth it. A battered Vertex and Gruen I have are, both in terms of heritage and resale value (although the latter is not vital to me, but does deem what battles are worth fighting), and to cheer myself up I bought a Smiths Astral. You win some, you lose some… but I’m still enjoying it. I’m constantly learning new stuff, and that’s cool. There was a guy in the shop yesterday whilst I went through some of my watches in the roll to see if they were worth salvaging, and he turned to me and said “I haven’t even heard of half of what two have been talking about, so this has been really interesting” which was nice. There are still so many cool watches out there to find, quality makes and movements that I’m going to unearth, and I’m just going to keep buying random things that keep me excited. I mean, today I grabbed a Gruen Precision cal.512 from the States for $42 which I will get serviced straight away, and a very handsome but battered Cyma Triplex for £35, and I’m really looking forward to getting them on the wrist.

I might be able to call it quits with an Omega Worldtimer…

…who am I kidding. That would keep me occupied for a year, tops. 🤣

My modern day grail is a rose gold rainbow Daytona.

My vintage grail is a Tiffany stamped birth year Sub.

I’m quite certain the rainbow will never happen, but maybe one day I’ll find the Tiffany!

Growing up in Houston during the Apollo era, my grail was the Speedmaster Pro. After my kids graduated and were out of the house, I finally splurged and bought what I thought at the time would be my exit watch. But in doing research to find my Speedy, I caught the bug and now have a small collection of watches. 

My Speedy is still my favorite and I love waking up and winding it every morning because it gives me the chance to admire it again and again. 

My problem now is that my grail is getting crowded for wrist time with my other watches. My wife showed up with a pouch for my watches before our first big trip since the Pandemic and after I said I was only bringing one watch (my grail of course), she rolled her eyes and said she didn't believe me because I change watches now 2-3 times a day. That's love. 

4 identical watches made upon the request of four members of the same family. The whole watch is custom made. 

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar White Ceramic

Wore it today, a 1972 white gold day date. I promised that I will get it for my 40th birthday but it came early about a year and a half ago when a local dealer posted it for sale. I love everything about it : white gold which is I think very stealthy, dial and lume have aged very well, door stop markers at 6 and 9… and the special sauce  hidden in the bracelet.

Did it stop me from buying? Absolutely not but I was not as aggressive knowing I had spent a ton getting this. I love wearing it and I cannot help but stare at it.