Going "upmarket:" Anyone else have an internal struggle?

My personal philosophy is buy what you love. That way it will last a life time regardless of price. 

I also believe in quality over quantity. You only have one wrist (maybe two if you double up!), so find what you will put on your wrist as often as possible 😁

Maybe I'm weird but I also like for a watch to be associated to me. When my kids grow up, they'll see my watch and recognize it was dad's watch

Good take. The problem for me is that there are so many watches I like and want to experience. I change my watch so frequently there is no way my kids will associate only one watch with me :) 

For me once I purchased a more expensive watch I could never go back to middle of the price bracket. It was either a Casio or Timex beater or saving up for the next OMEGA priced watch. But it did make me slow down and appreciate what I had and take longer to buy the next watch. Quality over quantity is a better way to collect in my humble opinion.

Totally understand.  Actually just finished having that agreement with in inner watch self. While doing some consolidation, sold off three lesser value, to move up market.  

Oddly enough, I don't feel the upmarket pull. At least not at this time. I have 12 watches in a daily rotation, one to be worn with specific outfits, and 2 that are just sentimental pieces. I may add a G-Shock, but that is for practical purposes, and not from a collection aspect.

Maybe going "upstream" will keep the hobby alive at some point, but I would probably prefer a "do-over" of my modded watches before it comes to that point. 

I struggle with this as well.  I feel that if I purchased a higher end piece (ex. any standard rolex model) that I would feel added pressure to wear it all the time and thus not enjoy my many other pieces.  Also, I feel that if I dropped 5+K on a watch that I would become hypercritical of any small flaw that I noticed or any amount of poor fit or wrist rub.  Ultimately, I feel that watches should be fun.  They bring me joy.  So, I have accepted that I don’t care if I have 10 or 100.  The fact that we are on Watch Crunch likely means that we are not likely to be a one watch person 😃

Lots of great points on this thread. Part of the fun in the hobby for me is simply trying new watches and brands and it's definitely easier to try more watches if I spend fewer dollars on each watch. I am not necessarily in the camp of "quality over quantity" as I want both. I think part of my struggle stems from the fact that objectively, the difference in quality between a $1000 watch and a $5000 watch is honestly not that significant in my eyes. We all make arguments why it is "worth it" to spend a lot of money on a watch, but at the end of the day, you can get really excellent quality watches in all sorts of price brackets. 

Sure, there are some facets will be better if you spend more, and usually that surrounds the movement. For me, I don't grab a watch from my watchbox due to a superior movement. And as far as accuracy goes, I change my watch every day, and subsequently have to reset my watch every time I grab one out of the watchbox, so as long as it's not losing minutes/day, I'm fine. All of this gets to the point where I think you can have a high quality watch without spending money on a luxury brand name. 

The question is predicated on the idea that we might be able to afford to upgrade to higher end watches. 

I would never be able to afford a Rolex but I don't want one either. I am happy with my 'affordable' collection. If I had the money to buy a Rolex, I would much prefer to get the house decorated and get a new sofa. 

Agree 💯% here. I was committed to only sub $1k watches, then splurged on a Vertex...and then a Tudor..and the quality difference is amazing...against Seiko, Bulova, and other big brands. I have a Christopher Ward that's as good for under a grand. So, reputable micro brands aside, and as much as I like the look of some Seikos, nothing beats quality. I can't imagine spending a grand or more on a jangly bracelet, misaligned bezel Seiko when so many other options are available for just a bit more...or maybe less slightly used. 

Be honest with your finances and what you can afford. Nothing wrong with experiencing more expensive watches from afar and leaving it at that. 

If you're wondering about it you probably should try it out. You'll then know if it's worth it to you. I had some pretty fancy watches, sold them, and don't miss them that much.

I don't think it's only what you can afford, but what priority watches have in your life. They may just not be that important, even though you certainly appreciate them.

It may not be the only factor, but a watch selling for between, say, £6000 and £50,000 is probably beyond most peoples' means. I am not sure where watches figure in my 'priorities' but they certainly aren't essential to my life. I do enjoy them a lot - just as I do my shoe collection. I could never, though, feel anything like comfortable spending thousands of pounds on a watch. They are watches, just watches. 

My approach has been to realistically examine whether a more expensive watch will actually make me happier. 

In your example of a CW C60($1370 CAD), and a SMP300($7400 CAD), the SMP would have to make me feel $6K happier... I know that for me no steel watch is going to make me feel $6K happy, let alone $6K happier than a CW. 

Everybody's person circumstances are different, but for me I'd always be thinking about what else I could have done with the $6K... I could do a lot of travel, or upgrade my kayak/camping kit with that money.

Let me put it this way: I could have afforded a Tudor ever since I was a student. But I spent my money on computers, travel and women. (I might sound a bit like George Best here.) Today people blow their cash on consumer electronics and experiences instead of spending it on a watch. Having a "good watch" meant something completely different to my grandfather's generation.

My meager advice:

Just do it and feel not a speck of guilt about anything. Unless of course, the purchase interferes with paying bills or the like - that would be foolish.

We have a short amount of time on this mortal coil, and if a coveted watch makes you happy and you have the means?

Do it, at least once or twice. Life's short. Good times can be rare. Live it up. Seriously.

So true. They used to be a very high priority for me. I spent a very large proportion of my disposable income on them for a while. Then as I got older my priorities changed. I still like them, still find some of them interesting, but generally I can find things with more inherent value and that are more important to me that I'd rather spend my money on now. I have a lot more money than I did 10 years ago but I spend a LOT less on watches!

I don't rationalize. I buy what I like when I can afford it. 

In my opinion, if you have multiple watches in your sights, aim for the most expensive one first. You may find that you like it so much that any other watches you were eyeing just fade away. The process of saving also gives more time to enjoy your current watches. Right now I have my sights set between a Black Bay and a Doxa. While I have enough to buy the Doxa now, I've decided to pace it out and buy the black bay first when I can comfortably afford it. In the meantime, I feel as if I've been getting more enjoyment out of the watches I already own since I'm not in the "I won't be complete until I buy this" mindset. This is just another opinion in the pot, but I hope you find it helpful! 

Probably the best approach; it's hard to rationalize an irrational hobby😂

Upmarket is relative in my opinion.  A $2000 watch for me maybe affordable, but not so for someone else.  A $20,000 watch is way out of my league.  Even if I had the 20k, i don't think I could bring myself to spend it one watch.

My father was a watch enthusiast 

he said that as time was the most precious thing, why record it on a rubbish watch. Unfortunately this has cost me thousands…… thanks dad!

There are wonderful watches at all price points ready to be enjoyed. I tend to view the real cost of a watch (as long as I can afford buying it) as the difference in what I pay for it and the price I could sell it for easily. So if I’m never selling a watch and I love the watch for the price, it’s a good watch for me. If I buy a cheap watch, it loses almost all its value, and I want to sell it, it was a bad purchase. If I buy a more expensive watch that I later want to sell but that has retained most or all of its value, it was a good learning experience.

All that said, I’ve never sold a watch because I only buy the ones that really speak to me. Enjoy!

I have struggled with this question. I have a bunch of more budget-level mechanicals (sub $1000) but have recently decided I want to move up market and reduce the size of my collection with a just a few higher end pieces (for my budget- around $5k). Once you have a more luxury watch and see the difference in quality it is hard to go back to budget watches in my opinion. 

I'm in a similar boat to you except I came to a different conclusion. I think ultimately, I still really like the sub-$1k price point but I'm definitely more open to splurging on a higher end watch than I was last year. 

I’ve done both, I’ve started small, then gone through literally all the classic Seiko’s then I’ve gone right to the top with a Rolex sub, thinking this would cure me once and for all……… that lasted a week, then I’ve begun to re buy all the classic Seiko’s again, then a Doxa, then Omega, Tag, Ball…….. and now…… I’ve still got the Rolex and Doxa but still buy the sub£500 type watches and microbrand.

mad