A beginner's collection: 23-24

Hi folks, I'm new, and I suppose I'll introduce myself through my very new watch-collecting journey.

TLDR: I just discovered how cool watches are and bought some.

I just recently caught the watch-collecting bug and have been exploring it slowly. I've had a g-shock for many years that has been really good to me, but I didn't daily wear it.

It started when I bought the Draplin x Timex collab. I was on the Draplin website looking at his stuff. I think he's a really interesting guy and ended up buying his Timex watch for a hundred bucks. It seemed as cool as any watch at the time.

I made the mistake of looking up info about the watch on YouTube, and BAM! all of a sudden, my feed was full of Russians, Brits, and Irishmen, showing me all sorts of things I never knew I needed.

After doing a little homework, I decided on the Hamilyon Khaki field would be a good first mechanical watch. I didn't want to spend too much, what if I got bored next week, and didn't like watches anymore? Also, I'm originally from Philly and spent my youth riding the Hamilton Trains. There was a heritage and a local connection there. I also wanted to experience of winding a watch every day. I really like the watch. I think it's so cool. I love it.

Ready to move up a little and wanting to do a little travel, I scored a Christopher Ward Sealander 63 GMT. I think the GMT function is fascinating. I would have liked a 'real' GMT instead of an 'office,' but at this price point, these only seemed to be available from the swatch group (Mido was in the running). I already had a swatch group watch, and I wanted to support an independent microbrand. I think it was the hand-distressed green dial that really sold it. Mr. Wonderful says it's all about the dial. I like it pretty well, but not as much as the Hamilton. I don't think the power reserve is as robust as advertised. And I'm never really more than 3 hours difference from home, and it's easier to do that in my head than to read the dial.

Then, I decided that I wanted a solid diver's watch. I have the submariner archetype in my head and really wanted that vibe, but I'm in no mood to spend submariner money. The Tudor Black Bay 58 seemed like the right move. I've only had it for a few days. There weren't really any other watches in the running was my first pre-owned watch. I got it from eBay; it had authentication, which made me feel safe. It has the box and papers. The documents are in Japanese (i think). I do really think the BB 925 is awesome, and it felt really, really good on my wrist, but too quirky for my first dive watch/'really nice watch.' I'm happy with it. I think it's really nice looking. Anything bigger than 39mm would probably be too big. I caught a glimpse of the lume today and was spellbound.

I don't know what's next. I'm in no hurry. Looking back, doing this much watch shopping in 18 months was a bit impulsive. I'm sure I can take a break. If you made it this far, thank you.