Sizing down the collection and saying goodbye to some of the first watches I loved
Here's a (hopefully not too long) summary of my history with watches:
First of all, I think I've always liked watches, even when I was a kid. I have an early memory of kids from my neighborhood making fun of me for wearing two watches at the same time, on the same wrist mind you (in retrospect I deserved it haha, and they saved me from doing the same thing at school and being at the mercy of those savages I went with).
My first watches when I was a kid/teenager were some Timex and Casios, later in my senior year of high school I got a Casio Edifice that was gorgeous and I really liked, but I was mugged out of it. Upon my high school graduation I received a Tissot PR50 which I thought was too pretty to be an everyday watch and only wore it on special occasions.
When I was 18 and 19, I didn't wear a watch every day and I was fine with it. Until I saw a Nixon 51-30 when I was 20 years old. I thought that it was the coolest watch ever, this was around 2010 and big watches were everywhere, so I saved up and got my first watch that I actually loved and chose as an adult: a 51mm brick on the wrist (I'm a big guy around 6 4' and I still believe I can pull it off haha) which I wore constantly for about 1-2 years, after which I got another Nixon, this time it was The Axe on a bund strap which made me feel like a rockstar every time I wore it.
And then I came upon what I call my "Nixon Fever", they started releasing collaborations with Star Wars (my favorite movie!) and Metallica (my favorite band!), ¡it was like they were making watches just for me! So, I spent some not too trivial sums of money on a whole bunch of more Nixons (I'm a strong brand loyalty kind of guy). At that point I had acquired a 10 slot watch box and it was full.
All of that changed by the end of 2019, when I found Watchfinder's YouTube channel. Which BLEW. MY. MIND.
It literally changed my view and interest on watches. I had a slight notion of automatic watches, but I always thought it was a thing of the past, that they weren't manufactured anymore. I had no idea about the historic significance, traditions and models that have been around for nearly a century, and that they were still in production.
Around 2020 is the point where I started becoming a "serious" watch guy. I started investigating and consuming everything I could about watches. I loved everything. I planned future purchases, even though I had no means to buy any watch over ~$300, but I had time to kill! I started to trend to my "Medium Size" 48mm watches as I learned more and more about proportions, case sizes, lug to lug measures and all that jazz. I also received some "inheritance" watches, that belonged to my dad and my grandfather, who both stopped wearing them, this includes some Raymond Weils and a Swiss Army watch, all of which I gave some good amount of wrist time. I also got a Garmin that I wear while running to keep track of my performance.
By the end of 2020 I finally decided upon getting a Seiko and my lovely girlfriend told me to just wait a little while... she got me my first automatic a Seiko SSA231 which I absolutely love and wear every day to the office.
Later that year, I received my late grandfather's Omega DeVille Quartz, which I'd only heard about and was sort of the inception of it all as I remember being told multiple times that "everyone should own a nice watch", even though nobody around me wore one.
Then on a trip to San Francisco in late 2021, I got offered a really good price on a PRX, so I decided to get it to remember that holiday, plus the fact that it was a Tissot was kind of a full circle moment for me, getting a proper nice watch for myself of the same brand that I received on my high school graduation.
Finally in 2022, I find myself constantly wearing a small rotation of my whole collection, mostly my Seiko, PRX and Omega. So, I decided to retire the watches I don't wear, they hold sentimental value and their resale price is almost nonexistent, so I'll just keep them in a case. For my current collection I got a smaller 6 slot watch box.
Here are a few pictures of my early 2022 collection:
And this is what it looks like now:
These are retiring
This is my main collection:
I think the digital Nixon Regulus will stay in the collection as I really enjoy it and I think it's much cooler than a G-Shock (please don't slay me).
I'll be keeping an analog Nixon and the Raymond Weil chrono until I get some more watches or their batteries run out, hopefully it will be the former haha.
Here is the final shot of the sizing down process:
Anyways thanks for reading. I wanted to ask ¿who's had the same experience of deciding to reduce the size of their collection and how did it turn up?
Chilean watch enthusiast.
I'd like to reduce my collection to about 5 watches ....... It's not going very well 😉
My collection...
I'd like to reduce my collection to about 5 watches ....... It's not going very well 😉
hahaha I fear I may end up getting a bigger watch box down the line 😂
My collection...
Eyes set on the target, the glorious day will come when the Speedmaster is yours!
That is a wise rule! I'm similar, I've sold plenty of other watches with no emotional attachment and the ones pictured here, all have sentimental value. Also, I know that the watches I'll start acquiring will have a better resale value or at least a market for it haha, so they'll be easier to sell in case I'm done with them or if I want to use that money for another watch, perhaps even some grail exit watch that I have yet to identify.
And thank you for the compliment, the Omega is one of the watches I know I'll never sell.
I retired a little more than a year ago and sold off about half of my collection.
actually a bit less than half.
First off, how dare you say a Nixon is better than a G Shock? Actually, how dare you imply every G Shock isn't perfect?? Ok, fine, there's nothing sacred about those or any other watches. You like the Nixon, wear the Nixon.
Being serious now, thanks for the story, I always like to hear how people got into watches. Everyone's story is different, but there are always similarities as well. Most of us weren't lucky enough to grow up with parents who were into and had nice watches, so we sort of made our way here on our own. Anyway, welcome to WC, glad you made it.
Cheers.
I retired a little more than a year ago and sold off about half of my collection.
How has it been working for you? Do you miss any of those wacthes or have you liked having a more reduced collection?
A-ha! I see the Garmin still lurking down below!
My 945 Garmin also is banished (well, it hides in a desk drawer out of sight) so as to not offend the mechanical artistry on display on top of my desk.
Re: star wars - I hear ya - I had to scratch that itch with the Oris Star Wars model:
I really don't know how to downsize. Any strategies for a relative newbie?
First off, how dare you say a Nixon is better than a G Shock? Actually, how dare you imply every G Shock isn't perfect?? Ok, fine, there's nothing sacred about those or any other watches. You like the Nixon, wear the Nixon.
Being serious now, thanks for the story, I always like to hear how people got into watches. Everyone's story is different, but there are always similarities as well. Most of us weren't lucky enough to grow up with parents who were into and had nice watches, so we sort of made our way here on our own. Anyway, welcome to WC, glad you made it.
Cheers.
I knew I was risking upsetting the g shock fans hahaha!
thanks for the welcoming and yeah, I think most modern watch enthusiast start collecting on their own. That being said, I don’t think I would appretiate my grandfather’s Omega as much as I do if I wasn’t into watches, nor would I had spent a few hundred dollars just on straps for it (the very idea of strap shopping was out of my radar just two years ago)
A-ha! I see the Garmin still lurking down below!
My 945 Garmin also is banished (well, it hides in a desk drawer out of sight) so as to not offend the mechanical artistry on display on top of my desk.
Re: star wars - I hear ya - I had to scratch that itch with the Oris Star Wars model:
Hahaha yes! It only comes out to be my running companion
I didn’t know about the Oris Star Wars Collab, good god man that watch is awesome!!! Wear it in good health!
I really don't know how to downsize. Any strategies for a relative newbie?
It was relatively easy for me as I had just stopped wearing some watches and kind of didn’t want to wear them anymore.
I would suggest figuring out what are the watches you wear the least and of those, either sell or give away the ones don’t have sentimental value. Another approach would be the opposite, keep the watches you wear the most and be free of the others.
My downsize from a 10 slot watch box to a 6 slot watch box is meant to make me really consider what I add to the collection next in a thoughtfull manner, and to not allow me to go crazy buying watches that I wouldn’t wear often (ie. the idea is to prevent any impulse buys)
I knew I was risking upsetting the g shock fans hahaha!
thanks for the welcoming and yeah, I think most modern watch enthusiast start collecting on their own. That being said, I don’t think I would appretiate my grandfather’s Omega as much as I do if I wasn’t into watches, nor would I had spent a few hundred dollars just on straps for it (the very idea of strap shopping was out of my radar just two years ago)
I think the idea of passing some of these watches on really appeals to many of us. Even if that person you pass it to isn’t into watches, they’ll hold and wear that watch and think of us. And maybe that will be the start of an interest in watches.
downsizing is the subject of many posts on this watch site
to many, selling any watch is a sin.
to others it’s a sensible way to release funds to carry on buying.
All I would say is that over 40 years of collecting, I’ve downsized at least 10-15 times……… then……. The madness takes over and the mad buying period starts again …… then back to another downsizing pledge.
good luck if you can stick to your guns, I like many others are simply too weak.
Let’s see how much I last before the urge to start buying begins hahaha
Let’s see how much I last before the urge to start buying begins hahaha
Seriously….. I have sworn many times that the last watch I bought would be the last, or that I had finally found my “one” watch, or that I only need three watches, or only need five watches, etc.
It tends to last a few weeks maximum. i do however think I’m on the last lap with watches as i can see the time on watches on my wrist but not clear enough to see the beauty of the actual watch. I need to put my readers on to see the finer detail, particularly for chronographs…….so currently I’m in a dilemma as to where this is going to lead. I’ve always been 50/50 as to why I buy watches. One side as time telling devices, the other side, objects of desire. If I have to put my glasses on to admire a watch fully when it’s on my wrist, then perhaps I’m going to be reduced to a “collector” who just keeps specimens in a watch box to be examined at leisure rather than used.
see how the madness gets worse???????