Watch collection size......the million dollar question!

Check out my watch collection. Then don't go crazy like I did. Think of all the money you will save.

Its a nice collection though

I would say 4 is the minimum. The three stated but with a beater watch added. Then you need to add a spare for each. Then obviously one or two "funky" or fun pieces. So minimum of 10. 👍

50+

Because I got a problem.

Am aiming for fourteen. Now at twelve, so not much room for playing around anymore 😳 Fourteen allows all watches to be worn on a regular basis and leaves room for dress/diver/sports/vintage/fun/beater type watches, all of which I think should be part of a collection. Let’s see whether I can indeed stick to that number 🙃

Beginners beware. Exercise some restraint. After a couple of years you might be complaining about eBay/Chrono24 fees while you "consolidate" (ie sell most of...) your collection.

6-10 is what I'm going for but no more than one box.

Rather than point to shoes, take a look at her jewellery box and compare it to your own. I suspect you're 50 pieces light.

One of anything isn't a collection. Three is entry level. A box of 6-8 gets you a decent variety. After that it could be considered excessive. In my case the Mrs has hundreds of pieces of jewellery so I'm ok 😉

I think it’s really up to the person, no matter what anyone says this is NOT a one size fits all situation.

Personally, I’d love to have 9 total because 10 is clearly too many and 8 is not enough… but alas I sit here with 18 and broken dreams. 😂

Diver, chrono, dress, a black dial do it all, one with a popping color and one grail = 6 would be ideal

The perfect collection size is whatever satisfies the collector and make you happy.

For me somewhere between 4-10, tho only 5 in rotation regularly.

I don't think there is a maximum but there certainly is a minimum. I'd say you need a minimum of 4 watches. A work watch, an everyday watch, a dress watch and a quirky fun watch.

There is no right answer for this beyond collecting responsibly for your life situation and ideally having some kind of driving philosophy or agenda so you’re not just collecting indiscriminately with zero rules . . . Bc that’s not so much collecting as hoarding shiny objects like a dragon.

Nobody NEEDS a certain watch or a certain watch in their collection. That kind of advice tends to be too broad and kind of useless as some people might just hate the aesthetics of chronos or some people are more dressy or some people have very small wrists which might mostly rule out certain categories.

I think there can be cases made for a 3 watch collection or a 3 + 1. The issue of course comes with watch categories not being very useful for all collectors and watch categories overlapping for many watches.

There’s also the 5 or 5 + 1 (one for each weekday and a weekend piece or alternatively one for each week of the month and a more special or unique piece) or a 7 watch for one for each day of the week.

Personally I find collections over 10 to be a bit much, but I also want to wear all my watches regularly . . . But there are likely some legitimate reasons to keep certain watches that you never wear related to sentimentality or just simple mistakes that are not easily sold etc

Ah yes, the ever widening gaps between what we have, what we need, and what we want…

What we need is often less than what we have, but what we want is always indefinitely more than both.

So we get more, need less and yet still want more.

I think the answer is:

Be grateful for what you have, recognize you don’t need more, and be joyful if you get to add more to what you have!

My problem is that over the years I have sold very few watches and regret every single one of them.

All I can say is be careful with impulse buys, that was my biggest problem with my other collection which got to the point I ran out of room and I feel it's about what makes you happy, with the space I have I can hold a total of 28 watches once each box I have is full and that's where I draw the line...hopefully 😅

The perfect size as some others have said is what makes you happy and within budget. I will say that as you collect and learn/experience more watches you will find some watches no longer fit in your collection and you will probably want to curate.

I like 10. One for each day of the week plus 3 to have some fun with (i.e microbrand, crazy dials, etc)

8-10 has proven to be the right amount for me over the last 3 years. A few pieces that get worn heavily and a few that get sprinkled in here and there. Just enough to have good variety, but not be overwhelmed by the choices.

As far as I remember from guitar players/collectors (a rabbit hole I only went down passively), the ideal size of a collection is n+1 with n being the number of items currently in your collection. In my case n=5.

There is no perfect size. All subjective in my opinion.

X is just an awesome number. You flip it, it's X, rotate it, still X. X isnt greater than 11 and not even smaller than 9. It's the middle ground. It's just perfection.

Yeah well put...... its very individual but definitely more than 1 😉

I tend to research everything anyway....... watches...... cars....... grocery shopping......everything so I should be safe from impulse buys but good advice

I believe the ideal is purely individual. There is no correct answer except for your own.

See this is where you’re wrong my friend. Your wife is right. 1 watch is all you need. But to figure which is the one watch, you need to experience multiple watches; get a taste of different watches to know which is the one. At that point, you’ll get rid of the other watches. It’s like marriage, you go through various partners, until you find the right one. 😂 I’m up to about a dozen watches, still trying to find the one 😂

There is no way I'm showing her a post that says she is correct lmao

The perfect number does not exist but I suspect that you already know that. My dad had one steel Rolex OP circa 60s that he wore for every occasion, I might buy a new watch walking out of a mall. I suppose a certain selfishness is at play at our contemporary living habits: we work long years, mature, reward ourselves with items we enjoy. I have friends who donate less to charity than the expense of their annual vacations but still criticize me for treating myself well relative to what I give away to a few preferred social assistance agencies. I might count at least 40 watches that I presently own, certainly not an idea or practical number but I do have most events covered, I also intend to pass to family and good friends all my watches one day before my final adios!