Beaters always ?

While there is some question as to what constitutes a collector versus an accumulator; this concern has never entered the discussion to my knowledge. 

Some people say you need a theme or reason beyond "I want more than one watch" to be a collector. 

Others say if you have more than 2 watches, you have a collection and are thus a collector. 

I say we just call ourselves enthusiasts that have an accrual of watches & leave it at that. 

If I own a watch then I'm going to want to wear it .All of my watches ,excluding the pocket watch,have been worn to work,used when I'm doing DIY and on my wrist on camping trips.

Maybe my criteria is everyday watches rather than luxury brands or dive watches etc?

Everyone's collection/accumulation is different and everyone's lifestyle or reasons for wearing a watch for a certain activity is different. People that can afford multiple $5K+ watches will do very different things than those that own sub $500 watches. 

There's no one way to be a collector/enthusiast. Be yourself; even if (maybe especially if) you want to collect & wear stuff most of the community doesn't like. 

Don't understand why people buy a divers watch and are scared to go in the sea with it 

Sub $500?!?!

That I should be so rich!

Not sure what this fine community would dislike! It looks like if it tells the time then all is fine .

I never understood the term collector in this context. Car collectors don't commute in their collector cars. Spoon collectors don't stir their tea with their collectables. Coin collectors don't spend the coins on philatelist stamps to mail letters.

Needless to say, I don't consider myself a collector. I doubt anyone else does either. No museum is going to offer to display the Klosoff Collection of Assorted Watches. 

But yeah, the term is like anything nowadays. Just call yourself it you want or act offended if called it if you prefer.

Perhaps a horological fancier would be better ? Or a wrist-candyist!

I think a collector is a watch enthusiast. It doesn't matter which watches you wear, how many, how much cost, as long as you like it and wear it.

Another point about beater watch. I think not everyone has the same concept for a beater. Maybe some consider according to the shock resistance to the sport or activity to be carried out, others consider beater for the value of the watch according to the possibilities of each one, and others to the personal appreciation of the watch itself to use everyday.

For example in my reality, my Khaki Field auto, despite the military history and that I use a quite often in the office, I would never call it as a beater to put it in “danger” like a mountain bike trail. Mountain bike trail call for a G-Shock, a proper beater in my opinion.

#hamilton  #khakifield #gshock #beaterwatch 

My most worn watch is my most expensive watch (Omega Aqua Terra) and I do not consider that a beater. My beater is my G-Shock for when I go to theme parks or go karts or when I play hockey and will be leaving the watch in a pocket in an unlocked locker room. 

I think the watch you wear the most should be your most expensive piece. After all, why pay that much for a watch you don't intend to wear the hell out of?

If you dress up a lot, get a Cartier Tank or a Reverso and wear it every day in the office. If you live a more casual life, get a Seamaster or a Submariner or whatever and wear that every day (for the most part). If you have more of a dress casual lifestyle, get a DateJust or an Aqua Terra and wear the hell out of it. That's my motto.

I wouldn’t lose a second over thinking about the semantics. 

There’s nothing objectively or subjectively bad about the term collector. 

It’s a human practice older than any recorded history, yet in the watch community niche somehow it got a bad connotation?

Honestly I don’t get it and it doesn’t make any sense to me.

However you identify is absolutely up to you and perfectly fine whatever which way you decide 😉

I only have one expensive watch and the rest are affordable ones. I wear all of them... I just take the Tudor off before I do DIY!

I'm definitely an enthusiast not a collector.

Watch collector habits on wearing are as variable as humans are.  My safe queen (most expensive) is also my most worn, that’s just me though. 🙂
I think when you give some thought to the why of a watch I.e. - I like the movement, I like the design in the dial, I like the bevels and polishing of the case , l like the history, etc ..  is what defines a watch collector 🤠.  
Number owned not important 

Many of us here on ‘crunch will never own the baller watches we see on these pages. 
 But love reading about them and looking at them!🥰

If you appreciate watches and are on a forum like this, you are a collector/ hobbyist/ watch fan/ whatever AND definitely one of us.  This is true whether you only have 1 watch or a collection of budget beaters/ dive watches/ tool watches/ high horology pieces/ Rolexes/ Speedys/ homage watches/ diverse collection/ etc. 

Given the uncertain economy, I have focused this year on more affordable watches and it has been great and actually made me rethink some of the less affordable pieces on my list.  

Welcome to the insanity.

One and done is a Fantasy! If you've come this far, It's too late.  

And there was I thinking that I didn't belong !

I CAN’T BELIEVE this actually got a response from a Cruncher named @JAWS80 . This place is the best!

True ahahahahahah

🍻🍻🍻

I wear everything with 100m of water resistance in the ocean, pool, etc. I prefer a screw down crown ( we could talk that out all day) but if a watch has the rating it gets wet. In a previous life I was dive qualled and actually used a dive watch as a tool. Today computers do that work more efficiently & accurately.  I grew up & old with a tool watch. It's cool to see a watch on my wrist in the ocean. When I owned Submariners they dove, swam & were rinsed off in the shower. All part of the fun

While there are watch people as described in the OP, there are also people like me who have - at any given time - up to a dozen watches, many in the 500-1000 dollar range, which aren't 'dailies'; they might get worn once or twice every month, but they aren't being saved just for special occasions, either. They're just rotated based on my moods and the more you have to play with, the less often you wear them.

Would never buy a watch I do not feel comfortable getting scratched. Or at least more than one. 

Having a beater is a strategy: First you spend a lot of money buying the watches that you love and then you wear the one that you don't.

Is that because your pools to deep for the watch 😂

Same here. 

I don't think of them as scratches though.They are marks of overenthusiastic enjoyment !

What he said 😄

I have a G-Shock for my beater (DIY, gym, cycling, swimming, etc) then rotate between three for everything else. 

Whether you have watches or not, if you intend to increase the amount of watches you own, or improve the quality of your collection, you're a collector - otherwise, enthusiast is a good handle.

As a collector, you can be constantly collecting - whether it is researching brands or models, saving money, planning how much you want to spend, checking out grey market dealers - even selling watches to fund the purchase of others. It can take a lot of your time, and certainly can become an obsession. Collecting is a state of mind, and not necessarily indicated by how many watches you have.

Here's my take on this subject. I like the term enthusiast but collector is fine also. If you love watches and love wearing them, then you're one. I'm a budget watch guy also. And there's no such thing as a beater watch to me. Any watch I buy will get scratches. If I could buy a $5k+ watch I'd expect the same as my $10 Casio. 

Not to mention, the community here is very welcoming no matter what your budget is. So, don't be afraid to participate. Let us see what you're wearing sometimes. And most of all, enjoy your watches. That's the whole point of this place, right?

I rotate my watches every day of the week. The only ones I don’t wear regularly are my dress watch and a thick tissot chrono I received as a wedding by gift. 

There is definitely a distinction between quartz watches and mechanical watches with me. I'm putting on a quartz watch if I'm running out of time, or want to change my watch after work.

Otherwise my goal is to only have watches I want to wear, so I cycle through my mechanical watches about every two weeks. If I find myself not wanting to wear a watch, it needs to be modded or removed.

Enthusiast, collector, hoarder, curator, aficionado. Those are the five stages of Watch collecting addiction. Each has its own philosophy. 

I'm actually debating this at the moment with myself. I would love to add another Cartier to my collection, but I also think I'd wear something like a Tudor Pelagos much more often due to its robustness. 😞

My most expensive watch is my Cartier but it has its days, as I consciously wear it on my day offs.