State of the Collection

Awesome looking collection - congrats!! 

Whew! You have put together an amazing collection in a year! Congrats on some great pieces . 

Stunning choices! What can you tell us about that Rolex? I think I've never seen that particular reference and it looks awesome.

That's some collection. You have fine taste sir. 

I love that Hamilton chronograph. 

That’s some starter box

I have a thing for your Omega world timer, but whats the watch at the top left? Can’t quite make it out. 

Turn your phone upside down. 😉

Perhaps the photo resolution or glare made it hard to detect…

It’s the Rolex Deepsea “James Cameron” 116660; would be surprised if you haven’t come across it.  44mm big-daddy of the Rolex diver lineup. 

Couldn‘r resist buying it from a local shop at the unfortunate ‘premium’ these unattainable Rolex pieces now claim.
 

Amazing collecting! very good taste! 

Top left is the Tag Heuer Link Calibre 5 with blue face.

Legit hadn't come across it but glad I saw this post, it's a really awesome piece!

Nice Box Corey...All that in a year WoW! How many do you think you will still have next year ??

Very nice collection in just one year.

I like all the models even if personally I will remove one of the two Hamilton and Tissot.

Congratulation

I feel like the Big Pilot 43 is a Hidden gem in the watch world. Very beautiful Collection.

Love the diversity maybe slip a micro brand in that last spot?

Well, you asked so here goes:

TAG HEUER LINK - Have always been a technology geek and Apple fan boy, so my watch has been every iteration of the Apple Watch since they launched.  Went on the first cruise of my life and my wife pushed me to buy a 'dressy' watch to have something to wear to an upcoming wedding and other 'formal' events.  I knew nothing about watches other than the prestige of Rolex, and that my dad had both a Breitling and Tag he loved.  Bought the Tag on look and feel alone and figured I was done...

ONSET OF DISEASE - I normally heavily research my tech purchases, so after buying the Tag on a whim I decided I better find out if I had chosen wisely.  So I turned to my trusted YouTube searches to learn about it.  Which led to researching the other watches I considered at the time (Brietling, IWC), which led to me learning about watches in general...and the rest is history in the form of the watchbox you see :-)

HAMIILTON CHRONO - Found Teddy Baldassare on my YouTube hunt and saw his review of this piece and something about it spoke to me as a totally different look than the Tag.  So I ordered figuring it would give me two options for dress events and I was 'done'.

TISSOT PRX - Likewise saw Teddy review this piece and followed some of chatter online about it, given its relatively low $600 price tag compared to my other 2 purchases, it seemed like a good way to see whether it was necessary to drop thousands on a watch to get "quality".   Turns out it's not necessary as I love this piece and think it was the confirmation that I had become a watch nerd.

HAMILTON 'MURPH' - Love the movie Interstellar as a Philosophy major (long ago) and as a father to a 20 year old daughter.  Bought this for its relationship to the movie and thinking maybe my daughter would wear it too one day since I couldn't imagine her using the others if handed down.

BREITLING CHRONOMAT - Went to Chicago over Christmas 2021 with wife and daughter and happened to visit the new boutique on the Mag Mile.  Had been considering the SuperOcean Heritage, but my wife spotted this, which was the modern version of my deceased father's Breitling, which was passed on to my nephew after his death.  So, I bought this in honor of him. Said to my wife how special and 'jewelry-like' it felt and that I should have just gotten it first and I would have been one and done.  Yet another "all good now" claim that didn't pan out ;-)

TUDOR BLACKBAY 41mm - Saw it in a local AD and loved it and had to have it.  They didn't have it on bracelet, but the salesman said he would have it for me in just a few days.  A few days went by and he called to say he accidentally promised me too soon as the piece was already committed to someone else, didn't apologize - nor did he offer to get another one fast...I was ticked.  So it fueled me to find one at another retailer that day. Needless to say I went back to the original AD and asked him f he worked on commission and told him "BIG mistake" in Pretty Woman fashion before walking out :-)

TISSOT GENTLEMAN GREEN - Was at the mall with my wife and went into a jeweler and saw this piece.  Didn't have a green face in my collection yet and given my great experience with the PRX and the low cost, bought this on a whim...

LONGINES HYDROCONQUEST 43mm - Almost instantly regretted (the last Tissot) as I met my wife at another part of the mall and went into the Longines store; her deceased mom had a LONGINES so we started looking for something for my wife... We were in the store for quite a while and I was already familiar with the HydroConquest from my video binging.   In the giddy buying frenzy and to secure a better deal I bought it 45 minutes after the green Tissot alongside a watch for my wife.

OMEGA WORLDTIMER - Came across it somewhere in my YouTube binging and was immediately transfixed. Saw it at a local boutique and had just gotten some good news on the financial front so I bought what I considered to be my second luxury watch (on bracelet and he threw in the strap). 

IWC Big Pilot 43 - Related to the last watch,  This was a gift from my company for aiding in a recent transaction.  CEO knew I had gotten into watches and gave me this from his collection as a thanks for some extra effort on my part.

ROLEX DEEPSEA "JAMES CAMERON" 116660 - Had obviously researched all Rolex models in my massive binging, and settled on the DateJust  41mm as my Grail watch.  Went and saw a few AD'S to get on the list, and maybe I am, but never felt like any of them took me seriously - I had no history since I had bought all other watches from single-brand boutiques or online.  Went into a Provident Jeweler nearby with my wife and noticed they had second hand watches, including a Rolex Datejust 41, so I tried it on...and was instantly disappointed that it looked too 'dainty' on my large wrist, 6'2" and 250lb+ frame.   I thought that maybe I could change my request at the AD to the Deepsea, since I knew it was the Biggest Rolex...and wouldn't you know it Provident had one in back - in box with original papers and in perfect condition...Irresponsible given the $4k premium over new I paid, but it felt like fate...

NEXT???

I have a new friend who works for OMEGA and have been begging him to find me a Snoopy Speedmaster, but there's just no way...I will buy something to establish a relationship in the hopes of getting a true rare piece in the future.  Torn between classic Moonwatch, Planet Ocean (for my big wrist), Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8, Speedmaster '57 in Red, and Speedmaster Chronoscope in white/blue (vibes of Snoopy)

WHICH OMEGA SHOULD I GET?

Need your help, see the end of my long collecting story.

Given how brief my overall collecting period has been, the real answer is that the latest gets the most time;-)

But when I look at the box I'm always drawn to the Rolex, Tudor, Worldtimer, and IWC... with the Breitling for sentimental reasons as well.

That Breitling with the Rolleaux bracelet!

I’m on the waiting list for a Snoopy (~2 years I’m told and I’m 1st or 2nd in line at my AD). I did get a Moonphase (below). I got it as I also have a wrist that can carry it and it’s distinct from the Snoopy. The white/blue chronoscope is good looking, but does overlap the Snoopy to my eye, so it wasn’t my choice. The finish of the classic and the 57 weren‘t quite to the same standard as the others two, so also weren’t. my choice. I did not get to see a Dark Side, but I think that one would be in the running. Here’s mine, the top picture is on a Crown & Buckle single pass NATO, the next on an Omega NATO and the last on the OG leather strap. It looks good on all, but is a big watch:

This is the problem with Omega…TOO MANY CHOICES!

I actually complained to my friend that they have too many options, making choices impossible and freezing buyers out.

Now I have to add this to the others I’m considering!

One year!?! 🤠

amazing collection to gather in under a year 😍 

Oops! Sorry to make things more complex. You are right! Any of the watches you named would be a good choice, there are just too many.  Seeing as many as I could side-by-side at my AD helped me. Good luck! 

If I had to steal one watch from your box, believe it or not it wouldn't be the Rolex or the Omega. I have an AT myself (although not the Worldtimer, what a great watch that is), but obviously already having an AT makes that watch a bit redundant for me. Not a huge Rolex guy and I couldn't pull off the Cameron for my 6.75" wrist.

But I've always had a thing for that Tag and that 90's link bracelet. It's outstanding, although I know I'm in the minority with that one opinion. Kudos for you for buying a watch others may not like or think is dated (I think it's outstanding). I also like the Seamaster 300m bracelet. Sue me!

Great collection. I'm envious. 

"I just have two questions for you. What do you do? And how do you do it?" 

That Omega Worldtimer is totally dope! Super fine collection.

I'm a marketing consultant, a professional bullshit artist, and I bullshit very well.  

But the reality is that I should NOT have made these purchases if I was being financially responsible; but I've learned that this passion leaves little room for responsible thinking ;-)

"The last spot." How many times have we all said that exact thing...then bought another watch box to fill. Nice collection.