The Evolution of a Watch Collector
This Versace watch is for sale in my local FB group for $240 dollars. Before I really got into watches only 3 years ago, I would have thought this was a fancy watch. Ooh, a Versace!
I’ve been collecting watches for 3 years now and it’s interesting to see how my tastes have evolved. There is no “best” watch for everyone or for everyone or every occasion—the whole thing is very personal. Having said that, these are things I used to care a lot about but no longer:
- Fashion Watches (Fossil, Kenneth Cole, Armani, Versace, Gucci, MVMT, etc.) - These companies don’t manufacture their own watches…
- Large Watches: I used to think those large Fossil/Police watches looked so bad ass. And they still do…just not on my wrist. Not my style.
- Watches I liked/disliked just because of the strap/bracelet it came with: You can put just about any strap on any watch!
- Chronographs: Fun to have but an over-engineered way to do something simple, keeping track of elapsed time. It’s still neat, but I don’t NEED one.
- Minimalist Watches: They look SO clean and simple, almost like they didn’t design it at all.
- Skeleton Watches: Neat to see things ticking inside, but for watches with undecorated movements, it’s also an excuse not to design the watch dial/indices, etc. How cool would it be to drive a see-through Ford Focus! Said no one ever.
- Display Case backs: Again, cool to have, but unless it is done well, I would rather have a nice solid case back. Metal feels nicer than glass on the skin, IMO.
- Water Resistance: 50m, 100m, 150m, 300m… does it even matter? How many days of the year do you swim with your watch?
On the other hand, what I look for now include things I never used to care about:
- Case Shape: The twisted lugs of a Omega Speedmaster Pro or the sexy subtle curves of a Rolex oyster case? Oh, man!
- Case Size: Wouldn’t it be AMAZING if they made an Explorer in a 37mm or 38mm case? The internet would explode. Lol.
- Dial Proportions: The hands are too long! The date ruins the symmetry! The indices are too big for the watch. The breguet hands on this guilloche dial ruins the zen of the piece. Sigh. Yes, I have become that collector.
- Dial Colors: I’ve always been a sucker for a pretty blue, but lately I am all gaga over cream/white dials, salmon dials, and I just love the midnight, deep space glossy black dial of my 114270. What’s more black than that? None blacker. Get those matte black dials out of my face. (joking!)
- Handset: I seriously never really noticed these before, but now I actually care about sword hands vs leaf hands vs mercedes vs snowflake hands. Talk about much ado about nothing!
- Watch Materials: This watch is titanium/ceramic/platinum/gold, you say? Tell me more…
- Watch Crystal: Sapphire Crystal DOES seem to be more durable and expensive looking than Mineral Crystal. And AR coating does make the dial pop!
- Fit & Finish: I’m not a loupe guy, but I do notice the finishing of a watch now. It’s not just about the price of the watch—you can tell by the brushing of the case and the crispness/attention to detail of all the parts (dial, indices, hands, crown, caseback, bracelet). I liked the idea of the Tissot PRX, but in person it just didn’t pass the test for me for a watch in my rotation in terms of finish. It was fine, but it just did not impress.
- Bracelet Comfort: You haven’t lived until you’ve tried wearing a Rolex oyster bracelet. It’s how wearing a watch is supposed to feel!
And some things that are largely irrelevant:
- Lume: I like lume the same as every person with a childlike wonder for glowing things, but the truth of the matter is that it’s more of a novelty, and watches with very very bright lume can sort of take away from the elegance of the watch. E.g. For as bright as they are, the Zelos Comets look a little gimmicky/comical to me. Having said that, bad lume is worse than no lume at all.
- The Movement (!): I don’t really understand the excitement over particular movements when most watches do a superb job of doing the one thing they are supposed to do: tell the time within a set tolerance for accuracy. I can get that some movements are more accurate than others, but apart from this, how do we judge if a movement is “solid” or “bulletproof” or otherwise? In my collecting journey, I’ve only ever had one mechanical movement fail on me, and that was a Longines with what I assume to be an ETA movement. Not even my Seiko or Chinese watches have ever stopped working. Is it about the longevity of a watch?
- Power Reserve: It would be really nice to have a really long PR, but if you are wearing an automatic watch it shouldn’t really matter.
Anyway, these are only my opinions—I hope I didn’t upset anyone. I’d love to hear how your watch-collecting tastes and strategy have changed over the years!
6 comments
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Very well thought out piece, Only thing missing is the beater / gardening / economy end of it. We all need that one beater watch we use for the garden or any other physical work which knocks around a watch. Not many would risk their OP as they swing a hammer.
I don't take my watches off for much, so for the most part I expect enough WR so I don't have to think about it. Generally, that means 100m. No, I'll never go that deep, but I don't think the rating system is that literal. I take 100m to mean "this won't leak while swimming or snorkeling".
I don't appreciate big watches even though I own a Swatch that's like 55mm and looks even bigger. Sometimes they can be big for legibility, but mostly it just looks like they're shouting "look at me!" I don't like to shout "look at me!" Same with skeleton dials.
I think movements are generally overrated. Oris has started putting their in-house movement in watches and charging significantly more. I get the economics, but I'm always left thinking "what's in it for me?" Really, why is this watch better than the same watch with an ETA? Even other watch nerds seldom know exactly what movement is in your watch.
I like your takes. Definitely agree with the whole "lets not get caught up in specs" aspect, but for a tech nerd like me I definitely give bonus points for good specs.
Two things I would consider with the points you make:
Overall mechanical watches are still very delicate things. So no matter how rugged they try to be I would say they are still not as fool proof as a cheap acrylic case digital watch. Which is why we should take them for what they are and focus instead on all the other fun details no one else notices but the enthusiast! Youve done a good job describing that point I think.
Variety and uniqueness of design in a watch supersedes most other aspects for me. Finish is a bonus, but my 10X loupe is rarely fetched from the drawer for close viewing. Regarding the Versace, I think that lion’s head on the dial elevates the watch considerably.
The dial on that versace reminded me of this Lorus auto I saw a while back:
I don't hate it aha 😂
(Trying to find that pic to post here just now I ordered the blue/silver lorus because I didn't realise how dirt cheap it was 🤦🏻)
Very thoughtful write-up. I don't have much to add. I agree with most of your points, even if it is just be a matter of degree.
I am commenting only to say that I think that the term fashion watch should be retired. It is just a casual insult for watches we don't like. If you ever try to define it more carefully you wind up including watches like this:
It's not to my tastes, but by all accounts it is a perfectly fine watch. That Versace is not up to these standards and is probably dreadful, but it might make someone happy.