Watch Buying Strategy: Daily Dollar Voting
I'm trying out a new method to help inform the purchase of my next watch. I'm going to be turning 30 next year and would like to get a new "lifer" watch. I have an SPB143 playing that role beautifully but imperfectly already, and it could use some company.
Problem:
My preferences change from day to day! New releases, old favourites, conservative designs, wacky colours - what I like depends on the day. I can't buy everything, so I want to know what my modal perfect watch is. Some people love flipping watches, but I'm more inclined to buy and hold.
Solution:
Every day I will transfer a small amount of money ($1, $5, $10, etc.) into a savings account to go towards the purchase of a particular watch.
I set up a separate tracker where I answer two questions for the day:
1. What watch I chose.
2. How much I'm putting towards it.
Currently I have a google form where I answer these two prompts with every transfer. More elegantly, this would make an awesome app or WatchCrunch feature. Just saying…
It's like asking "how much would I pay to wear x watch on my wrist for today"? Would I pay $10 to wear a Tudor FXD to the office today? Sure would! $5 for a Doxa on the beach? Yepperz.
When I'm finally ready to buy a watch (based on time elapsed) I will tally the google form and see what watch I put the most money towards. I should get some cool insights around weekend/weekday and seasonal preferences too.
Implications:
- This is a more thoughtful use of money than one big spur of the moment purchase. I like to be very thoughtful with my money and I love the idea of having real data about what I prefer.
- Stepping outside of the hype cycle. By averaging my preference over year I'll be less swayed by individual releases or seasonal favourites. Sure, an FXD might be my summer favourite, but summer is short, and I want something that I'll be into year-round.
- Daily dopamine buzz from several hundred small purchases, rather than one big one. I get to buy the watch hundreds of times! This gives a daily reward when I make the small transfer and choose my favourite for the day, in addition to making the eventual big purchase even more satisfying.
- I can always throw this all out of the window when the time comes to pull the trigger. But even then, I'll feel better knowing all the thought I've put into it, and having the data to base my choice off of.
This method is of course unique to my values and interests, but I thought I'd share with any who are interested.
Contenders:
And for those who are curious (because of course you are), here are my top contenders. My entirely negotiable and subjective criteria are: wearable dimensions, timeless style, cool history or brand association, significantly under $5k Cad, dunkability (~100m of water resistance, or 50m with a screw-in crown), and a great bezel for timing the laundry and fidgeting as I wait for the elevator. That leads me to:
- Pelagos FXD. The more I look at this thing the better it gets. I swim in the ocean nearly every warm day here in Vancouver and am hoping to improve my cold-water dipping frequency in the fall. What a great swim timer the FXD would make. But is it a bit too bold? Too much of a summer watch? Time will tell.
- Oris Divers 65 with the 400 Calibre. Perhaps the 12hr bezel (total smokeshow, but maybe too similar to the SPB143?) or the Hodinkee 38mm edition. Ideally, they will release a 38mm non-limited that really hits home design wise. I'm talking about a vintage inspired case and form, but modern applied markers and the blue inky blue from the Pointer Date 400. I like Oris as a brand, think the 400 Calibre is super cool, and dig the style.
- Black Bay 54. I mean, of course. A modern take on a Rolex 6204? So, so cool. This might leap ahead as season changes and the Vancouver rain settles in. Love me a gilt dial and wool sweater on a rainy day. But I do want the hype cycle to cool a bit on this one.
- Bremont S302 or S300. Super cool. The triptec case is bonkers in person. But perhaps a bit too neo-vintage with those lume plots? Not a "value" watch either, so I'd need to be very sure it was what I wanted.
- Serica 5303 - Undeniably cool. I'm not overly phased by the last round of movement concerns. But it’s not exactly a selling point. And in 10 or 20 years will "Serica" mean anything to me? Does that even matter?
- Sinn U50 or T50. These are killer. But some part of me just can't get past the German u-boat association. I know Sinn isn't part of the WWII history, but still, I can't quite unmake the association.
Wrap-up:
Let me know what you think! Anyone have similar strategies?
Welcome to my WatchCrunch profile.
This is an extremely thoughtful and data packed way of deciding your next watch… love it! I however tend to get moved by my heart, not my head when it comes to my timepieces. Great post!
Absolutely brilliant madness! Love it!
My best friend loves to over-analyze EVERYTHING. Just because he loves the act of thinking and coming up with novel ideas. He's going through a divorce with a woman that's the first woman he ever dated (they were Mormon, so you know, you get married after knowing someone for like 10 days or whatever). Now, he ain't Mormon, he's tall, he's good-looking, he makes $1M+ per year, etc., etc. And just like you, he spent something like 8 weeks coming up with an entire system for how he would approach dating, how he would meet gals, where to take 'em on dates, is it better to buy flowers or chocolates, etc., etc.
And then, he says to me, "Yeah, but here's what I worry about. How am I going to let down those gals who I'm not that into? I mean, ultimately, I understand that I have really strong relative bargaining power, and I don't want to abuse that."
My reaction...
"Okay... you've never been on a real date in your life, and you haven't even finalized your divorce and actually gone out on a date with a real girl... and yet you're worrying about how to break up with a hypothetical gal that's too attached to you?"
I think what he realized after some time is that a priori reasoning is a fairly limited tool. The real world is so complex that empiricism is the only real way to understand it.
I would say the same about buying a watch!
This is a good idea! Worst case scenario is you have a bunch of money set aside.
Delayed gratification. Perfect.
Absolutely brilliant madness! Love it!
My best friend loves to over-analyze EVERYTHING. Just because he loves the act of thinking and coming up with novel ideas. He's going through a divorce with a woman that's the first woman he ever dated (they were Mormon, so you know, you get married after knowing someone for like 10 days or whatever). Now, he ain't Mormon, he's tall, he's good-looking, he makes $1M+ per year, etc., etc. And just like you, he spent something like 8 weeks coming up with an entire system for how he would approach dating, how he would meet gals, where to take 'em on dates, is it better to buy flowers or chocolates, etc., etc.
And then, he says to me, "Yeah, but here's what I worry about. How am I going to let down those gals who I'm not that into? I mean, ultimately, I understand that I have really strong relative bargaining power, and I don't want to abuse that."
My reaction...
"Okay... you've never been on a real date in your life, and you haven't even finalized your divorce and actually gone out on a date with a real girl... and yet you're worrying about how to break up with a hypothetical gal that's too attached to you?"
I think what he realized after some time is that a priori reasoning is a fairly limited tool. The real world is so complex that empiricism is the only real way to understand it.
I would say the same about buying a watch!
Or treat his gals like his watches and keep them all. Sounds like he can afford it
I don’t know when collecting some mass produced objects came to be somehow connected to a person’s life journey but it did, a watch that was sourced after vaguely defined extra effort(s) were “grails”. Obviously if you speak to 101 enthusiasts you should hear exactly 101 different versions of how they arrived at their relevant watch choices, the pragmatic approach that you have developed should be no better or more lowly regarded than the guy who jotted down 10 watches on slips of paper that he did not hate owning and having a stranger pull the final choice out of a hat. Personally I bought some watches that appealed to me, my extra love for a few grew organically through the situations and circumstances of my own life. Spending a pile of dollars on a timepiece that turns out to be an error or a disappointment will not be the biggest mistake in any person’s life, she or he will survive. I was casually shopping for a next Panerai timepiece last Christmas, more precisely I was investigating a potential next purchase when I feel the time will be right for me, picked the brain of the new sales professional. She suggested a Navy Seals Limited Edition that was launched, difficult to buy and might retained value after purchase. She was most helpful because a Navy Seals watch would feel wacky on my older Chinese man’s wrist and the last watch that I would buy. Her advice was not terrible just not right for me. Over the years, I have stumbled onto the timepieces that have the potential to be more right than wrong for me through trial and error. I respect your plan 100% was merely reminiscing, reflecting on a hobby that has entertained me well over the years.
Great dedication, love it! And what about mixing up Sinn and Tudor to get a Pelagos 39mm? That’d be my choice for versatility!