In which I say goodbye to two of the OG

This is the last week I get to call these two mine. I'm letting them go. Let me tell you what these two mean to my collection and why I'm letting them go.

1) 2008 Omega Seamaster Professional 300M -- almost exactly a year ago, my father called me saying that a relative needed to liquidate a few of his assets as he was drowning in gambling debt. He wanted about 1500 USD for the SMP. I had no idea whether that was a steal or not at the time. I wasn't into watches but I've always wanted a high-end luxury watch, just to show I made it. I've thought about getting a TAG Heuer for a couple of years by 2022 but never really took the thought seriously. More on the TAG below. Anyway, I had a little bit of money I could burn so I told my father to get it, sight unseen. A week later (maybe around October 8th 2022), I visited my father and got the Omega.

This was the watch that started it all. I started watching Youtube videos on Omega and how to "turn on" an automatic (I mean I was that illiterate on watches at the time). Before I knew it, I bought a Tissot PRX a month later and I've been drowning in watches, both the actual timepieces and content around them.

I thought I would never part with the Omega SMP. However, as I got into watches and the more I acquired new watches, the more I started not wearing the SMP. I still loved having it. I love it still now. But my taste had changed over the past 12 months. 41mm, which then I thought was too small, now felt too big. I also discovered that I wasn't a dive watch person. I know, right? The only real reason the SMP made my heart palpitate--if I'm being honest--was the social cache it brought me. It was an Omega. It was made famous by James Bond. It was desirable. It was iconic. It wasn't a Rolex. Sorry, but true.

In any case, my acquisition of an 1998 Omega Speedmaster last week made a lot of those reasons, well, moot.

This Omega is even more iconic, being a Speedmaster. And sure it's not the Speedmaster model that went to the moon but it's still a Speedmaster. It's an Omega. It delivers the same, if not greater, social cache as the SMP. It's equally iconic. It's desirable. It isn't a Rolex. But more importantly, its 39mm size made it all the more wearable for me. I love how it fits on MY wrist. It's perfect. Plus, at this point, I got two other Omegas, both Seamasters--a birthyear 1975 daydate and a pre-Bond quartz 120M Seamaster from the 1980s. How many Seamasters do I need?

Finally, my father wanted the SMP. He wanted to buy it from me, just so he can wear something other than his Rolex Explorer 2. I told him that I'll trade it for his Breitling Colt Ocean 500M. He bought it a few weeks ago and was unhappy with its "ladies" size of 38mm. I thought that size would be perfect for me. He happily agreed to do the trade.

I'll miss the SMP but maybe not by a lot. I mean it's going to be with my father. I could see how in a year's time if I wanted the SMP back I could get it back. If I wanted it. So, there is that consolation, at least.

2) 2010s TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 5 -- again, at the later part of 2022, I started getting into watches and I soon realized that members of my family were already into watches--there's my father-- and my youngest brother, who apparently bought expensive pieces for flexing. He's not an enthusiast, merely a businessman who knows how to use watches as accessories for brokering deals with other flexing businessmen. He's got an Oris and this TAG. At Christmas, I showed him my Tissot PRX, newly acquired from Paris and he sneered at it. Showed me the TAG and said I could have it, again a businessman move if I ever seen one. I, of course, accepted the gift. I mean, like I mentioned, before I knew anything about watches I thought about getting a TAG just so I could say I've got a luxury watch. By December of 2022 though I've watched enough videos, read enough articles, looked at enough photos to know I didn't want a TAG after all. But I was being handed a TAG as a gift, how could I say no?

A few weeks ago, at a family gathering, both my father and brother noticed that I wasn't wearing either the TAG or the Omega or the Tissot I was showing off at Christmas. A year had passed and I fell into the deep rabbit hole of collecting. I was focused on my 1-watch-per-decade mission. At the gathering, I wore my 1938 Hamilton Lester to match my daughter's 1938 Hamilton Endicott (the only watch she liked in my collection so I gave it to her as an advance gift for her 18th).

My brother then proceed to ask if he could have the TAG back since he needs an additional watch for his business dealings. Reluctantly I agreed. I mean, I would've have taken a gift back if it were me. But his IS family and I didn't think the drama that would ensue if I didn't agree to give it back to him would be worth it. It is, after all, just a watch.

So. On Saturday, 1 day short of the SMP's 1st year anniversary with me, I am giving it and the TAG away. To family, for sure, but the watches will no longer be mine.

But it is what is. As to what happens now to my supposedly just completed 1-watch-per-decade collection? With the 2000s and 2010s watches missing, it means 1 of 2 things--I still need to get another watch. Luckily the Breitling is 2000s so all I'm missing is the 2010s. But I don't know. Let's see. I might change themes next year since I technically achieved my goal this year.