Why do you collect watches?

I can relate a lot to your reasons for collecting. I work a stressful job in healthcare and watch collecting is an interesting hobby to me to help lighten things up. I got the watch collecting bug last year while struggling not to let my mood get too low during the winter weather. Since then, I feel like I have learned a lot about watches in general yet there is so much more to learn!

For me, watches represent the intersection of art and science.

Dad and Grampa wore automatic watches - so as a kid, I was fascinated that a watch could be powered by wrist motion and no battery. Mechanical magic / genius engineering. 🤩

These days I appreciate the brevity of our time here more and more. So, as a way of appreciating time, collecting watches seems natural.

Love @SpecKTator ’s ‘art + science’ angle as well 👌

Used to wear a watch to be on time. Now I wear a watch to remind me that I don't have to be anywhere at any particular time.

The older you get the more you realize how fleeting time is.

I collect watches for the same reasons @SpecKTator said, plus I like shiny things.

I've been a watch accumulater for 5 decades. I started early and have never waxed philosophically as to why. I just do, without question, and that is why I have yet to get bored or lose my enjoyment of the hobby.

If I were to retreat to an isolated shore and contemplate the reasons, I would surely end up enjoying my watches much less.

Looking for reasons to explain enjoyment is counterproductive to the enjoyment of the hobby.

I collect because I really hate money.

I love knowing the watch I’m wearing was made to outlive/outlast me. The pursuit of perfection and permanence is powerful 🤙

I collect watches for a number of reasons.

I have always loved them, they are for me the only accessory I wear other than my wedding band. They are therefore a reflection of my personality & mood.

They are also something I find motivation for, as many of them are aspirational. Something I'd love to own but can't or couldn't at a particular point in my life.

Cleaning & maintaining the watches I have I find to be therapeutic. When I have too much going on in my head, I find a simple process like removing a bracelet & cleaning it very relaxing.

Having this interest keeps me from returning to previous, more destructive "hobbies".

It's a compulsive behavior for me and I can't help it. I need help. I should buy another watch.

I’m into art, architecture, and engineering — so it only makes sense that I like watches too. I think this truly how my collection got started.

I currently have a fleet of some 20 watches but the more time I spend here on WC and other places looking at and learning about cool timepieces, the more I become interested in them. I don't know where this ends, only time will tell.

Who does it for the crotch and steering-wheel shots?

I Enjoy the looks, the craftsmanship, the technology and innovations, the brand heritage and history, and the community of watch enthusiasts

Also, my shoulder devil keeps telling me i deserve to get another one🤪

For me it's a momento mori, reminds me of my time here is limited & use it wisely.

Plus it blows my mind to think these little machines can measure time so accurately

Personally, I enjoy the artistist side of watches and all of the different design details. I also enjoy the stories behind the watches and what makes them unique. I like the mechanical side of watches but I’m more into the art, history, and stories. I’m also a sucker for craftsmanship which there is no shortage of in watches.

Had to get an adult version of Pokémon collecting in my life once I grew up and this is it.

I see watches almost as little doohickies that can store memories. They hold memories of their previous owners and still have space for mine. I like imagining what they have all been through before I got my hands on them.

Beyond this, I appreciate engineering and doing things the hard way just for the sake of it.

What @SpecKTator said 👊🏾

I thought about changing the title of my post yesterday to this. All however, have stories of their own. Stories of their craftsmanship but also stories they pick up along the way from us.

I like to test my personal morality and value system on a daily basis

I have watches to represent an extension of me when and where I am.

For me it’s because I’ve always been an old fashion, and there is something romantic and even nostalgic about watches (specially mechanical) and also it blows my mind the level of complexity that takes to make a watch, such a level of engineering in such a small piece is simply exquisite 😘🤌🏼

I can relate to your “ corralling “ of the brain 🧠 with focusing on something as trivial , beautiful, important and fascinating as watches are .

Good insight:)

I looked at a Greubel Forsey under glass at a very swanky AD in Syney last week , only $495,000.00 dollars.. but it was skeletonized and like looking into a miniature machine planet of perfect symmetry. Mesmerising.

Watches and Smith and Wesson Revolvers are quite similar in terms.kf handling 😂

Great stuff. Yes, why does every mystery have to be solved? Mystery is fun.

But I know exactly why I collect watches and it makes me like them more. I grew up in the 60s. Everybody wore a watch because you needed one. And like the cell phone now, it made everybody at least somewhat interested in them. The 60s were a golden age for watches. Everyone could afford a Timex. My Dad got me a Timex (Mercury?) when I was just a small child. I remember Accutrons hitting the scene. Bulova's sub-brand Caravelle came out. Seiko quartz at the end of the decade. Watch ads on television, in magazines, even on billboards. Large selections you could see in person at many bricks-and-mortar stores. Watches still fascinate me now, but I remember how incredible this was for a child back then. There is still a thriving enthusiast market, but it's nothing compared to when watches were mainstream.

Every man should have a hobby he’s embarrassed to admit too. Collecting watches is mine. 🤣