Do you believe in the general idea of an exit [watch]?

People are people, so while a few will find an “exit”, most will keep finding new things they like. To my mind, the only real way to do this is to find another thing to obsess over. If you stop thinking about watches because you’ve discovered a love of collecting fragile porcelain mice, then I think it’s reasonable to assume you won’t find yourself buying more watches. But for the rest of us…

Color me a Swanson.

I don't believe in an exit watch, just the next watch.

I do and don't believe in this concept.

I believe for me, collecting a bunch of watches is a symptom of a different issue. Left unresolved, no watch (or replacement obsession) will be sufficient.

If resolved, the exit watch didn't need to be acquired to exit. The resolution of the issue was the exit.

I know the feeling all to well. I'm 61 and have a US Commemorative Stamp collection that I collected for 53 years. Done with it. Sits in our closet. Collected Hopi Kachinas dolls. Had 250 dolls and sold them 2 years ago and kept 40 of the best and favorites. And yes watches. I now buy one per year and keep it at 1500.00. Love the hunt for that certain watch.

Our kids will inherit all this "Stuff" when we die.

Enjoy that watch!

Cheers!

I don't believe in a single "exit" watch, but I think I'm coming close to a "contented" collection.

I see lots of watches that are cool every day, but I'm down to wearing a couple watches most days, and I think I could easily settle into a routine with the watches I own, or have on order.

Great idea in principle,I've practiced it. Got all what you want(besides the unobtainable, unaffordable grails) ticked the boxes,got the colours, the styles and the manufacturer's. Sorted. Then another one comes along, so to date I'm on my 17th exit watch, and that is the one, I'm done...till the next one🥺

I have a lot of hobbies. When one gets stale I move on, only to return later anew, with new life experiences influencing my return with renewed vigor.

People get into hobbies for all kind of reasons and its logical to assume that some of these are not going to hold forever.

You can check out any time you like.... but you can never leave!!

Some hobbies just aren't meant for some people. As much as they'd enjoyed it though the years it just ends in one point.

Some hobbies just aren't meant for some people. As much as they'd enjoyed it though the years it just ends in one point.

No. But you need some sort of ideology to give you that sense of limit that you believe you could achieve. 😀

It probably depends on why and how you came to watch collecting.

Personally, I'm a collector deeply in my flesh and my soul. If it wasn't watch (which I'm very happy and proud to collect), it would be something else. Maybe cheaper, maybe way more expensive (I can't even imagine if I had as many cars as watches). So, even if each new watch makes me truly happy, and I love them genuinely, I don't think there will be an exit watch, no matter the price, the prestige or the specs. There will always be a new kid on the block, a new release from a brand I have an eye on, etc...

From my perspective, I have only seen Rolex fan that were satisfied with their OP/Explo/GMT/Sub as the one and only watch in the collection. Or someone with an Omega AT/Speed/SMP

Every other watch collector are, by definition, collectors.

Yes & no - I got my Grail (SM300) but have got a bit obsessed with mid range Seiko's 😂......but I've been a biker all my adult life & got my Grail , no intention of moving on from that ( Speed Twin 1200).

yup, I buy into that, at least a little.

When I want something, I really want it. I do what I can to get exactly what I want. That doesn't always work, but it generally does. Once I get it, I try to stop doing research. Of course theres always going to be something else newer, shinier, better specced etc, but I did all the research and got what I wanted so I try to stop looking.

I eventually come back in a year or 2 when something else catches my eye that I can't stop thinking about but I try to be thoughtful. I fell into an accumulation trap when I first started getting into watches and got a bunch of things I eventually flipped. Trying very hard to not go down that route again...but its hard.

all the way baby.... ride safe!

This is my experience with hobbies as well and I'm sure it will be the same for me with watches. I was really into mechanical keyboards for a while. Eventually, I built a custom one (my exit keyboard) that I always use and I stopped hunting for new ones. Excited to see what my exit watch will be for sure 🙂

I said No, but in theory when life changes, i.e. I have kids, I can see the hobby sort of fizzling out, to be replaced with a different obsession I am sure. But, currently I can’t see past the horizon and am fully entrenched in the “hunt.”

Same, but the last purchase to complete a collection could still be called the “exit” watch. There has to be a last watch at some point…

I haven’t identified what the exit watch will be to make collection feel complete, but I think the thrill is in the hunt and laying out the path, doing research, etc. Once satisfied and if I’ve made wise choices, I hope to be complete and then on to a less expensive “chase” haha

Echo this, no such thing as an "exit" watch for me.

Looking for an "exit" feels like treating it as a game rather than a hobby and for me kind of kills all of the beauty of watchmaking. Having an "exit" sounds like having an ultimate be-all-end-all watch, and that could be absolutely any watch, whether it's $1 or $1,000,000. They all tell the time well enough anyway.

The beauty of the hobby for me is in the intricacies, the combination of design aesthetics and engineering. There are so many things that make each individual watch interesting, and it's an infinite, ever-deranged chase for perfection. Putting that into a formula just takes all the fun away.

No such thing… I’ve tried. A VC couldn’t even stop me from carrying on with watches. It’s just a slippery slope.