Force-Ranking your Watches
Now, we all have to make decisions on what watches need to stay, and which ones need to go. (Unless you are in full hoarder-mode, then this post is likely not for you.) I have always been intrigued with the process of how people determine which watch has to go. It seems to me that a simple "not feeling it" is a common trigger or criterion.
I personally have had a rather hard time with that, mostly because I still like almost all of my watches. Modding makes that easy, because it is easy to upgrade something you are not quite satisfied with.
But even so, I don't want an ever-growing collection. I'm slowly approaching a point where I have to make a hard stop, removing watches that I actually like. I was trying to think of objective criteria, such as quality of the case, how much I wore it recently, or similar things. But that is all very unsatisfactory, as they are not really parameters for my enjoyment, or the memories I connect with a watch.
So I force-ranked mine. Starting with those I like the most, and move them up and down the list based on whether I would prefer one watch over the other. Once I am satisfied I don't want to move any watches up or down in the list, I'm done. ("ripple sort") I'm repeating this step over time, and if a watch is consistently at the bottom, I will need to take action.
Does anybody else do this, and how does it work out if you do?
Keep them all! The wrong ones are a good reminder to think twice to choose wisely for the new one.
I do it all the time 🙃
I'm not quite at the stage of "force ranking" but I have started from 2024 which watches I wore the most on a monthly basis... but, nonetheless, I found out that I heavily rely on a date function in a watch so I let go of my Tudor Black Bay Heritage 41 MK3 METAS 5-link bracelet recently...
Take the bottom dwellers away for awhile,ignore their very existence for a couple months and keep them out of sight. After you've almost forgotten them take them out and wear a couple. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. The bottom dwellers might just start moving up again.
I just can’t seem to let many go. I grabbed my CW Trident today and the date had stopped a month ago. So it’s been at least 33 days since I’ve worn it. Should I sell it? Probably. Will I? No. Every time I try to rank my watches I fail miserably.
3 boxes. First box my favorites. 2nd box next in line if I want to mix it up. 3rd box hardly worn but there. Guest room has family watches 2 boxes rarely worn if at all.
Keep them all! The wrong ones are a good reminder to think twice to choose wisely for the new one.
The wrong ones are long gone. Either gifted or as mods taken down, with movements, dials and hand sets reused. It took years, but I can honestly say that nothing in those watch boxes fits the "wrong" category.
I'm not quite at the stage of "force ranking" but I have started from 2024 which watches I wore the most on a monthly basis... but, nonetheless, I found out that I heavily rely on a date function in a watch so I let go of my Tudor Black Bay Heritage 41 MK3 METAS 5-link bracelet recently...
I think that is an excellent start. It was easy to get rid of some old quartz watches from the 90s that were badly worn, but which I had still kept. Some watches in the what-were-you-thinking category also had to go.
But once you are actually in the realm of good vs. very good, I don't think decisions are coming quite as easy.
Take the bottom dwellers away for awhile,ignore their very existence for a couple months and keep them out of sight. After you've almost forgotten them take them out and wear a couple. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. The bottom dwellers might just start moving up again.
I haven't tried that before, but it may just work. Thank you!
3 boxes. First box my favorites. 2nd box next in line if I want to mix it up. 3rd box hardly worn but there. Guest room has family watches 2 boxes rarely worn if at all.
Yes, I'm in a similar position, except that I have 23 watches that are in the main rotation, with one extra box on the side, a reminder of my early quartz watches. Unfortunately it's time I bring some structure into all of this.
Oh, man, I just keep hoarding!!!
Oh, man, I just keep hoarding!!!
Well, at least some go to charity, right?
Yes, I'm in a similar position, except that I have 23 watches that are in the main rotation, with one extra box on the side, a reminder of my early quartz watches. Unfortunately it's time I bring some structure into all of this.
I fully understand!
I have had no issue being in hoarder mode, but I am slowly moving into consolidation mode. I have grown to know there are some things I do not care for, this stop wearing;
Day/Date Function - I believe I have finally unloaded anything with the complication. Always feels like I am going to break it and with a large collection, it is just an extra pain.
Base 7750s - I love chronos, but the 7750 with no modifications is just a load wobbly thing. Feels unrefined and they had to go.
Duplicate Efforts - I can live with lots dive watches, chronos, field, etc, but cannot have too much overlap.
(Most) Conglomerate brands - I enjoy so many of them, but have grown to feel there is very little special about most, so if I move on, these are top of the list.
I do not have a number yet, but slow identifying more watches to trade in.
This is absolutely the type of strategy I might try. I've considered the head-to-head spreadsheet: every watch as a row and a column; work across a row and +/- tag each watch against every other; count the tallies. Seems it should provide a rank order but I bet I'd find a way to have many ties...
Instead, I'm resigned to having a few more than I maybe expected. Of course, the legacy/nostalgia items get a pass--they were here before I was intentionally collecting. This year has been a bit more frantic than I expected but I'm out of things on the list to get now (despite one pre-order to arrive in April.) I really am enjoying them all, often several a day. I think the goal now should be to rearrange my closet shelving to make all the watch boxes (other than the Alpha-box which sits on the dresser) easier to access. In time I may tire of some but only time will tell.
Frankly, I don't see myself selling anything I ever think I'll want to wear again. I've sold/handed off some that I knew I had replaced, in my mind, from my early days where I was exploring a bit more with cheaper options to get a feel for things. If I have a watch that I like, I'm not going to sell it. Chances are, I'll be selling for a fraction of what I paid for, and I doubt that a fraction of the price will be worth losing the watch when, at one point, having the watch was worth paying the entire price.
You can try what other have said, like putting the ones you're less confident in away for a while, to see if you miss not having them as options, but I just wouldn't sell a watch you actually want to wear sometimes.
I see that slightly differently. To me the money is spent the moment I bought the watch. If I wore it, and it has plenty of wear, I'm not going to get that money back anyhow. To me the watch then just becomes are reminder of money unwisely spent. If I can find somebody who will enjoy the watch, for whatever price he/she is willing to pay, I might be happier with the outcome.
I'm a firm believer in this forced-ranked approach and have been selling things off (not just watches, but books, records, and art) to distill my "things" down to a few things I love the most to force myself to enjoy them more often. The only hitch in my watch collection is that I can't bring myself to sell anything I received as a gift, which includes 5 pieces my wife has given me over the years and 2 given to me by friends. That leaves only a precious few spots left for my own choices and it's hard to imagine what I'd part with to make room for something new...
Right, that is exactly where I'm now. A watchbox set aside for gifts or sentimental pieces. And I even for those pieces I would hate them to collect dust.
I'm very much in a similar situation. I'd like to condense down to a more curated and impactful collection over the course of the next year. I'm having some difficulty putting certain timepieces up for sale and find I'm self-justifying keeping them.
The main culprets are dive watches, of which I have 3. I ask myself, "Do I really need 3? Am I just being overly sentimental about this?"
I do enjoy all the watches I have and wear them all quite regularly - I have 7 watches - but still feel that's on the high end, for me.
So, like you, I rank them in terms of enjoyment, or wrist time, or use in my new career, etc, etc. It can be somewhat of a circular argument at times.
I'm tempted to just select one of each type - Diver, Field, etc - and sell or gift the others...
If it's any consolation, you are far further down the path to consolidation than I am. 😉 Seven watches should also give you ample opportunity to match your outfit.
If you hide some of them in a drawer or closet it will create the same impression of free space in your collection. Just saying...
Now that's something I would just call "reloading". 😀 (Kinda like my wife, who bought a purse she already owned but had forgotten about.)
I'd go by feel, but add a limitation of availiable slots. I constantly add and remove watches in my virtual watch box. It's a process of learning, what watches really speak to me.
I wouldn't want to do an overall ranking, because it's hard to compare apples with pears. My watches only compete within their own section (like divers, dress, ...).
I like the approach, especially the watches being visible on your phone, right at the decision point. It would be a little difficult for me, as I tend to buy watches in pieces. I might find a dial, and just can't get it out of my head until I built something with it.
The more I think about it, the more certain I am that I should give some lesser-liked watches away.
Currently I have 4 categories with some overlap 1) watches I like and wear, 2) inherited watches 3) those gifted to me, and 4) junk watches not worth the effort to sell. If I ever do sell it will probably be a watch in the fifth category, the mistake watch.
A discussion of the "mistake watch" could be worth its own topic... 😉
I plan on having a mass cull over the next couple of months. I have around 20 mainly vintage Seikos that will be going. I plan in keeping about ten choice Seiko, Bulova.
I've stayed away from vintage watches, as I would have no idea where that would end. That's at least one bullet that I've dodged. I wish you good luck.
Yeah, I fit your definition of horder. Nothing wrong with hoarding watches though! 😎
A discussion of the "mistake watch" could be worth its own topic... 😉
Agree! Fun with a touch of embarrassing!
I've never sold a watch but have given lots away. I have given away what people wanted not what I wanted to lose. 😟 But that's an advantage of collecting affordable watches.
Great way to do it Clive.
I might take a leaf out of your book and gift a few as I cull my collection. My brother in law and nephew are starting to show a bit of interest in watches ... 🤔
I see that slightly differently. To me the money is spent the moment I bought the watch. If I wore it, and it has plenty of wear, I'm not going to get that money back anyhow. To me the watch then just becomes are reminder of money unwisely spent. If I can find somebody who will enjoy the watch, for whatever price he/she is willing to pay, I might be happier with the outcome.
I agree the money is gone when I buy a watch, and I don't try to preserve resale value in any way. However, the original post seemed to be referring to selling watches they still actually like, just not as much as some others in the collection. I'm all for letting someone else enjoy a watch you don't anymore and getting any money you happen to get in that exchange, but I don't really think selling a watch you still like a fair bit makes a lot of sense unless you're in financial trouble. I suppose it all comes down to just how much you still like it, but the used price being returned to you in exchange for giving up a watch you still like to wear sometimes feels like a rough trade.
I agree the money is gone when I buy a watch, and I don't try to preserve resale value in any way. However, the original post seemed to be referring to selling watches they still actually like, just not as much as some others in the collection. I'm all for letting someone else enjoy a watch you don't anymore and getting any money you happen to get in that exchange, but I don't really think selling a watch you still like a fair bit makes a lot of sense unless you're in financial trouble. I suppose it all comes down to just how much you still like it, but the used price being returned to you in exchange for giving up a watch you still like to wear sometimes feels like a rough trade.
What you write makes sense, but on one hand I started with inexpensive watches I modded myself, and to be perfectly honest, if somebody likes the watches that I no longer favor, then so be it. It is really not a question of money for me. (Oddly enough, there are plenty of my inexpensive builds I really like.)
It's more of a feeling that I'm not doing the watches justice. They are perfectly fine, but somebody else may enjoy them more.
What you write makes sense, but on one hand I started with inexpensive watches I modded myself, and to be perfectly honest, if somebody likes the watches that I no longer favor, then so be it. It is really not a question of money for me. (Oddly enough, there are plenty of my inexpensive builds I really like.)
It's more of a feeling that I'm not doing the watches justice. They are perfectly fine, but somebody else may enjoy them more.
Yeah, I've only ever sold two and given away two, and the two I sold were to a local watch repair/shop guy for $100 total for two quite good condition seiko/orient automatics. I knew I wasn't going to wear them over my newer watches, so I just wanted someone else to give them a try. A lot of my watch collecting philosophy surrounds use cases more than tastes/styles/variety, so it's very possible for something to get entirely replaced. It's pretty easy for me to tell which watches need to go and when, but the original post seems like a very different kind of collector than I am. I think beyond what's been already discussed, it's all down to subjective specifics we don't have, how much they still like it, how often they'd wear it if they kept it, how much money they'd get for selling it, how much they want that money for something else, etc.
If you think about it.... since you can only wear one watch at a time, no sane person would own more than 9 or 10 watches. That is a large enough number to have a watch for every purpose and for every occasion. Having more than that number is wasteful and redundant.
Well.... I must be truly insane, because I own over a hundred watches. And I keep buying more. This makes me a hoarder and not a collector. Like those people who save every newspaper and magazine they ever bought, and have them piled high. Of course, hoarding watches is less dangerous, since they aren't flamable, and they don't take up a lot of space.
Only a handful of them are what you would consider "good watches." One Rolex, one Omega, two Tissots, one Longines, and a few others you might consider as collectable. All the others are just cheap watches that I found interesting or unusual in some way, and just wanted to own. I enjoy wearing a different watch every day, so I have plenty I can rotate into use. This means, I can own a lot of watches, and still afford to eat.
I just love these things, and I don't care if they will increase in value, or if they will impress anyone else. In fact, almost no one even notices the watch I am wearing, unless they are another watch freak. And those people are pretty rare today, especially in the small rural town I live in.
If you think about it.... since you can only wear one watch at a time, no sane person would own more than 9 or 10 watches. That is a large enough number to have a watch for every purpose and for every occasion. Having more than that number is wasteful and redundant.
Well.... I must be truly insane, because I own over a hundred watches. And I keep buying more. This makes me a hoarder and not a collector. Like those people who save every newspaper and magazine they ever bought, and have them piled high. Of course, hoarding watches is less dangerous, since they aren't flamable, and they don't take up a lot of space.
Only a handful of them are what you would consider "good watches." One Rolex, one Omega, two Tissots, one Longines, and a few others you might consider as collectable. All the others are just cheap watches that I found interesting or unusual in some way, and just wanted to own. I enjoy wearing a different watch every day, so I have plenty I can rotate into use. This means, I can own a lot of watches, and still afford to eat.
I just love these things, and I don't care if they will increase in value, or if they will impress anyone else. In fact, almost no one even notices the watch I am wearing, unless they are another watch freak. And those people are pretty rare today, especially in the small rural town I live in.
I'm actually pretty good at justifying reasons to wear a particular watch. ("We're visiting Michigan, let's wear a Shinola.") Plus, there is some leeway, switching up the same type of watch, and those I mod out of a pure interest in modding. With that somewhat imperfect rationale I can justify around 20 watches.
I only own one "good watch", but that is not what I'm necessarily going for. I modded a few watches, until I felt they were just right. I tend to wear those more frequently, for sure. None of my watches are truly collectible, and the money was lost the moment I bought them, or when I bought the parts they were made out of.
And you are right, I only got two watch compliments that were out of context, ever. If you are a guy, spend your money on proper dress shoes, and people (women and men) will notice. But I'm fine with nobody noticing my watches. There is an advantage in that, meaning that if nobody notices, the watch will likely fit your overall style.
I think the reason is that I have had a previous hobby, where I might have slide into hoarding territory, and I don't necessarily want to repeat that.