Does your profession influence your collecting strategy?

By not making enough money to buy more watches? Yes...

For me definitely, always worked in engineering. Started off as a tool maker.

Before recently retiring, I worked for Blatchford, manufacturer of prosthetic limbs. When working to microns, the engineering of watches is appreciated. Some parts had a tolerance band of 0.005mm.

Ridiculous in reality, machine shop wasn't a controlled temperature environment, QC was. Even in that environment, I failed parts one day, went back to them the next and measurement was within limit.

Once a patient wears the part in any temperature........ Different materials, aluminium, titanium, stainless steel, carbon fibre. Different expansion / contraction rates. 🤔😱

Working in IT from home full time, no, it doesn't affect how I collect since I can wear whatever I want. In my pajamas.

Omegas, Tudors, and a lot of smartwatches where I work. But in all reality I can wear whatever I want, as far as watches are concerned.

It certainly affects which watches I'm able to afford or not

My background is in finance.

I'm rarely willing to take the depreciation hit of buying a watch new unless it's dramatically discounted.

Also awareness of the difference between pricing and costs of production and the huge margins on luxury brands mean I don't buy luxury.

I like yellow gold and it's unfashionable and the melt value provides a nice partial hedge against fluctuations in the wider used watch market.

Yep, that's the kicker for a lot of us haha.

Like any hobby, this is about personal enjoyment. Far too many worry about outside factors. If you can't buy and enjoy what you like, what's the point? Obviously, for many it's a functional thing and that makes sense if activity dictates. If it's because you don't want to make a certain impression, I think you're worried about the wrong thing. 99% of people don't care about your watch.

Retired no rules here. I do understand how the working class consider watch purchases based on profession and attire. I did when I was working. Now I'm free to not care anymore more.

Yes! Also, a very interesting post. It is cogent too as a soldier would not wear a dress watch into battle, but they would wear a G-Shock into battle.

I work in healthcare. Wash my hands constantly and the watch goes on and off frequently during procedures. My Gshock square is my choice for all of this.

Plus I don’t like wearing anything expensive in front of people that struggle to afford to make rent or eat every month. I don’t think that’s appropriate. Days off and after work I wear whatever I want 👍

Work dress code is casual. But I don’t match my watches with what wear. I have no rules, I will rock a dress watch with shorts and flip flops.

I had a couple of careers in my life. When I was a young man and single and had a career in fashion, I projected what I felt was necessary for that business. I wasn't a watch guy back then, but after I left that field, I fought the rest of my life to kill that part of myself. I have a feeling I was a monk in my last life. Now at the ripe old age of 59 soon to be sixty, I like where I am and never wear a watch or anything else for that matter for anyone but myself. In fact, I do have a couple of fake Rolex watches that some call super clones, that I purposely don't wear because they appeal to the side of myself I am not crazy about, in other words I start wondering who will notice my watch. After living both sides, I no longer want to go back to the ego side of myself.

I'm retired, so it's all about me now. lol

Sincerely, the Anti-flex Badger

I'm a graphic designer so I'm very picky about watch aesthetics, negative space, numerals and typefaces. Most hype watches are an instant pass for me because they have too much text and the fonts are ugly (*cough* Rolex *cough*). 😂

As a dentist, I do consider it. First of all, the material matters. I do pull my gloves over my watch as I work, but it inevitably gets exposed. So I avoid any cloth or leather straps. I prefer a metal bracelet or rubber than can be rinsed off. Water resistance as well, I prefer 100m, which is probably overkill, but makes me feel better. Lastly, my hands and wrists are quite literally in patient’s faces so I avoid anything too flashy and recognizable (ie Rolex). To be clear, I don’t own any watches over $2k, so it’s a bit of a non issue currently 😂 But those are things I consider if I plan to wear a watch at the office.

A polished watch is entirely wasted on me. I have a history of working with my hands, not just professionally, but also with hobbies and pretty much any random honey-do I encounter.

One thing I'd like to see is more watches with a G-shock build style, but with a mechanical analog movement... Primarily the way the bezel rises over the glass to protect it from abrasions and bumps. I'd love to see a mechanical dive watch with deep-set glass and a large protective bezel, so even if it sits face-down, the glass doesn't contact a flat surface.

My watches are a tool to measure time. I want them accurate and reliable, easy to read. I slightly prefer mechanical watches but I use and appreciate a quality quartz as well. I always consider the gap between pricing and cost of production and therefore I generally dislike luxury watches (and luxury in general). I do not care what people may think of what I am wearing on my wrist. My watches are for my enjoyment alone. Love❤️

Great question, by the way. It aggregated some nice answers too.💪🏻

Exactly my situation! 😷🔪🩸💉🪡

Cheers 🍻

The Citizen Promaster Orca is designed this way, but it's not mechanical.

I work in Healthcare, so I never wear dress watches to work and my collection is mostly sports watches. I have a dress watch, but never seek more because I won't get as much value out of them.

Hey SNWatchNerd,

Good post, I’ve been enjoying going through people’s posts to get a glimpse of the watches they tend to/like to wear and how it relates to their careers.

Like you, I’m a former university lecturer (economics) who now works in finance. I enjoy wearing Casio digitals/G-Shocks bec they are delightful and blend in pretty well as run-of-the-mill smart watches.

@GoingTopShelf mentioned one of the key selling points of GS for me, I want to be able to experience a luxury watch but I want it to be very understated to not draw attention to myself.

I would say yes. The environment of the working space defines what kind of watch you wear but also the communication partners you are dealing with. In my job as a Sales Director you can not just show off with a Rolex and ask the customer for price increase and vice versa you can not come with a cheap piece and present a high quality product to the customer. Overall I would say it affects not the collection itself maybe as you can wear whatever you want at home or on a lazy Sunday. But it influences your choice which watch you want to wear that day.

I run my own business. I dress in whatever I want to. I wear whatever watch I want to. Sometimes I on a dress watch with shorts.

Some of my work involves being around electronic devices with a high gauss output. Sometimes I travel to other countries to visit suppliers. In either case I have to be cautious of what I wear to work.

Yes, I travel all over the world for work. I wear a Hamilton Jazzmaster Chronograph when traveling, it has a quick set hour hand that makes changing time zones a snap!

I work in corporate banking, while most people don't know we rarely wear a suit to work. But we do come to work business casual so I can typically wear whatever watch I want. The nature of the business enviroment leads to more focus on grail type purchases for the office. So it's a Breitling during the day but a #casio when I get home.

I work an office job which requires some level of formality, so I’m wearing collared shirts every day and occasionally full suits. For me, I don’t like wearing anything too toolish to the office, or anything too loud. I still appreciate those watches and might wear them in my free time though.

I'm a sales engineer for a packaging materials & automation company. Which is a long way of saying where I am changes everyday. Some days I'm home on zoom calls - can wear what ever I like. Other days are spent in manufacturing plants, warehouses or executive offices of companies. I'm careful about what I wear & where I wear it. Partially to protect some of my vintage watches but also like many others to not alienate customers. Rolex, Omegas & Cartier watches that the everyday person on the street recognize as a luxury item are not something I'm going to wear meeting customers. Typically I wear a PRX, Hamilton Khaki, Zelos or vintage Seiko depending on who I'm calling on. If someone is into watches they might comment & we can have a nice conversation.