Do you have Watch Rules?
In order to help myself not get overwhelmed by this fun hobby, and let it turn into something negative, I’ve created some rules for myself. I think it helps me make sure I don’t affect my relationships, finances, or make dumb watch-buying decisions.
1. Never ruin your relationship with God, your wife and your kids; watches are not important and are just a hobby.
2. Always spread joy to your watch neighbors, never judgement.
3. Never overextend your finances unless the wife allows it for a very special reason/occassion.
4. Always buy used or at a big discount unless you plan to keep it for life.
5. Never re-buy a watch that you sold; yes you still like it but there was a good reason why you sold it too.
6. Never sell or trade-in your Moonwatch; you love that watch and it will go to your kids one day. You have memories already with this watch and the more you wear it the more memories you will create with it. Also, it is a great GADA watch despite the critics… if it was good enough for the Astronauts to go to the Moon, it’s good enough for your daily chores.
7. Never buy a watch on impulse. Sleep on it. Research is part of the interest of this hobby.
8. You don’t need to buy a watch at the price point of the money you have saved in your watch piggy bank. Waiting and saving up more is part of the journey of a watch yet-to-come. Waiting isn’t easy and it makes it even more worth it in the end.
Do you have rules for yourself? Anything I’m missing and should consider? Cheers fellow Crunchers!
Disciple of Christ, Husband, Father, Son, Brother, Cousin, Nephew, Uncle… Air Force Veteran, Space Nerd, Watch Enthusiast, Pianist, and Baseball junkie.
Yes, I do: never get them too close to the fire 😉
One rule only: Buy the watches you like and would bring you joy - never buy for approval and acceptance.
#2 is key, especially these days...and not just related to watches.
Solid rules. Some of them I've applied to other areas of my life as well.
Now about #6... I need to ACQUIRE one of these MoonWatch things you speak of to apply it and it appears that you recommend it. True? 😉🤣
One rule only: Buy the watches you like and would bring you joy - never buy for approval and acceptance.
That’s a good one! I’ll add that to my list, thank you!
No watch rules here.
This is a good list.
I'd remove the get-out clause from 3. Never overextend your finances for the sake of a watch, regardless of what your other half thinks.
Though I've never had the urge, I reckon re-buying is OK, as we all make mistakes and can learn from experience.
Speaking from personal experience and because I love a financial framework, once you're in pretty deep, a "one in, one out" by value rule may be required. Possibly paired with a deprecation mechanism to acknowledge that you've had time using and enjoying the watch which will educe its value. This can be paired with some ground rules about how loss-making your "watch enjoyment business" is allowed to be each year.
Great advice and I agree!
One rule only: Buy the watches you like and would bring you joy - never buy for approval and acceptance.
Okay but what if approval and acceptance bring you joy 🧐🤣
Okay but what if approval and acceptance bring you joy 🧐🤣
Then you are definitely not into watch collecting but approval/acceptance seeking.
Then you are definitely not into watch collecting but approval/acceptance seeking.
Who’s to say the two are mutually exclusive?
My only rule is that if I walk into a shop and they have stock of the watch I want at the price I’m ready to pay, I expect to leave with said watch. Not wait years for an AD to call me from a waitlist.
I have a couple rules with these being important.
1- never impulse buy. Always vet a watch for 6-9 months before buying.
2- never put yourself in debt for a watch.
I agree with all your points, except no.5; I have rebought two watches (Hamilton Below Zero and the Frogman I wore yesterday). Albeit slightly different colours but I needed to rebut to correct silly mistakes from a few years ago!
One watch per brand (I have exceptions for vintage and non vintage of sorts) and always try on the watch before buying no matter if grail watch or beater.
@Max and @MWC2020 do you gents have any rules to share with the community? I highly respect your opinions and I’ve learned a lot from you both!
I Kind of have a ruff guide line,love this though my friend not a man of god but still appreciate everyone's beliefs,there a set of rules everyone should apply,if your not a preacher you just gave your first surmen.🙏🫶
“It's a fool who looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart”.
~Ulysses Everett McGill
I have a new rule ... I'm DONE! After my latest purchase (and the ordeal that was!), and the fact that my modest collection now numbers 17, I figure I'm thru buying more. I'll just continue to enjoy those that I currently own, and of course continue to hang out here and enjoy all of those that you guys own! 👍 😎
Let me know how long that lasts!
Never buy a cheap watch that reminds or covers a more expensive one let alone fakes and homages. Wait and save to buy that expensive one instead. If that holy grail is way beyond your financial capability than dream of a less expensive one that is in your range. Ten pieces of one thousand dollar watches can make you ten thousand dollar happy. One ten thousand dollar watch makes you a million dollar happy.
I think I “may” have learned that lesson. I love the Explorer but have tried to fill that void with cheaper alternatives, to no avail. I guess I just need to save!
Never confuse friendly with friendship. Social media personalities are thirsty for your clicks and views and that unyeilding thirst often has a corrosive impact on the integrity of the content being created. It is after all a business for them and no clicks equals no revenue.
It's ok to be entertained by them but calling one's self an "influencer" is all I need to hear to consume the content with a grain of salt regardless of how earnestly a content creator presents one's self.
https://youtu.be/3CIWoRw_JEs?si=oTE60vE_d9PsH7nt
Oisín O’Malley made this great point about “para-social relationships” with YouTubers. He’s wicked smart. I love his videos!
It’s not watch rules, it’s rules of any hobby/interest (and life in general in some respects), really:
Rules of Engagement
Hobbies are about joy. I don’t owe the hobby anything. If I’m not finding joy from it, I’m out.
Neither my preferences nor anyone else's are objective truth, and preferences (with limited exceptions) betray nothing about someone’s morality or intelligence. For example, I immensely dislike ‘eaten’ numerals, where the sundials cut off a number. That’s a “me” thing, not a “you” thing. Preferences might betray something about someone’s taste though 😄
Hobbies are also not about proving I’m better or smarter or anything else over someone else. Everyone gets to enjoy a hobby their own way. I have no interest in engaging in ____-measuring contests.
Be kind. Don’t ‘yuck’ someone’s ‘yum.’ And if I don’t have something constructive to say, don’t say anything at all.
Be thoughtful. Don’t throw out half formed thoughts expecting other people to put more thought in their response than I did in my statement. Thom Hogan (noted photographer) crystalized this thought for me in a post just today.
Don’t worry about validation, or following trends. Worry about making the photos I want to make/hiking the trails that I want to hike/express myself through my watches the way I want to express myself.
Learn as much as you can. Listen/read more than I speak/write. But don’t assume that my knowledge means I’m superior to anyone else in the hobby.
Rules of Purchasing
Buy as if I'm going to keep it for it’s useful life (or mine 😉). Sure I can sell a watch or piece of camera gear, if needed, but I’m likely going to lose money on it. It also makes sure that I’m not lying to myself that something is “an investment.” If I want to invest, that’s what the brokerage account is for.
Be thoughtful and deliberate, but don’t overthink it. I get analysis paralysis (you should see the multiple spreadsheets I have about buying just anything over $1,000), but once a satisfactory conclusion is reached, don’t go back over it again and again and again. And again.
Always sleep on it. It’ll be there tomorrow. And if it isn’t, oh well. There’ll be something else.
Don’t bug my wife about a purchase more than once or twice, until it’s time to spend money. If I want to get my thoughts out, a blank word doc that doesn’t get saved tends to do the job. And also make sure not to annoy/shock/anger her with stuff that’s unjustifiably expensive 🙂
Make sure the savings goals and all family wants are taken care of first before spending hobby money.
Minimize duplication, be flexible and willing to compromise, and creative in figuring out solutions. I don’t need another daypack if I have one that’ll do the job, albeit with a few compromises. I don’t need another macro lens if I have a good one already that’ll suffice, even if it can’t get quite as close as I’d like. I admit, though, - I fail at this one all the time (and in rather spectacularly fashion 😬).
These are great! Thank you! I’m definitely going to incorporate the one about bugging my wife. I too also get analysis paralysis about watches. There are too many choices and my tastes change and my lifestyle changes from time to time. I think I’m finally getting over the point of wanting to buy a bunch of sub-$1000 watches and just save up for a couple of the big boys.
Yup, it’s just a hobby so no reason to ruin your finances (as they say, patience is a virtue and I’ve never paid over 50% of MSRP for a watch).
Also, enjoy the watches that you have instead of obsessing about the ones you don’t…
And specs don’t define a watch… Rolexes were fine without sapphire crystals for over 80 years.
That’s a great point about enjoying the watches you have instead of obsession about the ones you don’t. That’s definitely going into my list!
Via a long journey collecting watches this is the best guidelines I’ve yet seen. I’m kind of with you on all of them. Only one is the rebuys my box now has many rebuys and while I’ve made a list of watches I want in the order I’m going to get them I will be rebuying at least 3 more. Because I’ve got a limited budget I’ve always sold on watches to try others and now I’ve experienced so many I can identify exactly what I like most. but most of the ones I’ve sold along the way I’d agree with you I’ve enjoyed them glad I tried them and can leave them in the past
Good list 👍
Thanks! Yes, I still want to rebuy some watches because I totally agree that it helps to narrow down my tastes. I think I regret a lot of watches I’ve sold but I tell myself that’s part of this experience of the hobby, that’s it’s part of the journey and helping to refine what I like. I guess it’s a temporary rule right now as I continue to refine what I want my collection to be.
I Kind of have a ruff guide line,love this though my friend not a man of god but still appreciate everyone's beliefs,there a set of rules everyone should apply,if your not a preacher you just gave your first surmen.🙏🫶
Thank you! I love sharing my faith and I never try to push my beliefs on others. Just try to be a good example. 🍻🍻
Thank you! I love sharing my faith and I never try to push my beliefs on others. Just try to be a good example. 🍻🍻
Good advice is good advice my friend,if I needed a reality check in our hobby reading that would have given me one 👌im OK though I know my limits ish 🙄🤣and keep preaching my friend,the world and everyone in it needs to be more positive and stand together regardless of our differences.
I totally agree with all the rules set out by the OP.
I have one more: never buy a hype watch regardless of the hysteria surrounding it.
I totally agree with all the rules set out by the OP.
I have one more: never buy a hype watch regardless of the hysteria surrounding it.
Thanks! Yeah that’s a good one too! Although, sometimes the hype that surrounds a piece does start with some truth. The tricky part for me is making sure that I’m buying it because I like it, and not because of what everyone else says. The Speedmaster may be the most hyped piece ever, but I still love it! The Submariner maybe the the 2nd most hyped piece and I’m not a big fan. 🍻
Regarding no. 1, about never ruining your relationship with God and family, we will be eternally rewarded for this. Here's how it works.
Heaven is eternity, and therefore there's no reason to keep track of time. But God will want us to have watches anyway because spending eternity without a great looking watch on your wrist would be . . . well . . . Hell.
Regarding no. 1, about never ruining your relationship with God and family, we will be eternally rewarded for this. Here's how it works.
Heaven is eternity, and therefore there's no reason to keep track of time. But God will want us to have watches anyway because spending eternity without a great looking watch on your wrist would be . . . well . . . Hell.
Nicely played! 😂