I got into watches around when Apple released it's first watch, it made me think about watches in a way I hadn't really ever done before. I had of course always had a watch growing up and I remember been fascinated by my grandfather's watch and of him letting me wind it up while saying "be very careful don't overwind it". Been a child of the 70s and 80s I really wanted a digital watch and never had any interest in analogue watches so my first watch was some kind of Casio which I lost at the beach some time in my teens, from then on I just bought cheap watches to tell the time and when the battery died replaced it with a new cheap watch. This process lasted up until my first iPhone in 2008, once I had that I stopped wearing a watch and used the phone to tell the time, from 2008 until Apple announced their watch I didn't think about them at all. I happily didn't wear a watch for nearly seven years.
When the Apple watch was announced I started to think about watches again, when I saw the concept I wasn't impressed it seemed to be the opposite of what Apple said it was, ie help you disconnect from your phone, to me it seemed a tool to make you want to get your phone out more. I also think I was in some kind of tech overload and having recently gotten back into film photography was having a anachronistic moment. It was a opportune moment to become interested in the mechanical watch.
So I looked around on the web and found some forums and learnt about mechanical watches and the various brands. I had heard about Rolex, Seiko and Omega before but brands like Patek, IWC, AP, Sinn etc were eye openers as were the prices, I had no idea that they cost so much. I did though find the homage watch forums on watchuseek and I found you could buy a watch that looked a lot like a Rolex sub for £60 with a display back and an automatic movement! I was sold, purchased it on Amazon and had it the next day, it was a decent watch for the price and I put it on a nato (because that's what watch people are supposed to do!) and enjoyed it for a month or so, but I was never really happy with it, it was trying to be something it wasn't. Which is when I found out about fake watches, what a rabbit hole that was. For the people really into it it seems a hobby about obsession with miniature, they spend countless hours arguing about differences like the angle of the f on the dial of their fakes. Anyway I figured if I was going to wear a watch that was dressing itself up as a Rolex why not go the whole way and slap on the lipstick and name too, so I brought a three fakes a Panerai, Omega and Rolex, I was rather surprised at what good quality they were, however I felt the same way, didn't matter to me that pretty much nobody else could recognize it as a fake I knew it was, so they didn't give me any satisfaction to wear, and ended up not been worn.
So I ended up on these forums, armed with a decent knowledge of watches and the thought that I wanted at least a few watches I dutifully spent some time here enjoyed the mostly informative posts and contemplated my first "nice watch" purchase. I also had a few interesting experiences because of my new found interest in watches (like the lady who had four vintage rolexes in a plastic bag filled with odds and sods! Still waiting on probate as far as I know)
Which brings me to now, four months ago I purchased an omega 2531.80 off these forums and basically have not taken it off for more than a few days since then. It's comfortable, extremely accurate and I like the way it looks, about a month after buying it I realised I wasn't really interested in buying another watch (I had planned for my 50th to get a Speedmaster) I just don't like rotating watches, I prefer to wear just one watch.
So while I still like watches and enjoy reading about them, I don't have any desire to own lots of them. I still have my G-shock for a beater if I ever needed it, but I have not put it on in months and months ,my Apple watch is unpaired and probably going to be sold and my other cheap beaters sit unworn in a box.
I tried to think about why I like to wear only one watch and I came to the conclusion that I don't identify with the watch if I only wear it sometimes, a watch feels deeply personal to me and because of that I don't feel a connection to a watch if it's worn a few days a week, wearing the Omega every day I feel connected to it and I identify with it and if I wear another watch I feel out of sorts, a jolt when I look at my wrist and see a different watch. Not very logical but it seems the best reason I can think of why I enjoy just wearing one watch.
So are any of you one watch people too! Or am I in a den of addicts who will stare at me in my glassy eyed horror at the thought of only wearing one watch :-)
I’m far from a one watch person, but the 2531 is in my all time favourite watch list, and in my watch box.
If I was ever able to do one watch it would have to be an iconic watch, and over 100m WR - the SMP fits that bill.
But so would:
A Seadweller
A Sub
An Aquanaut
A Nautilus
Plus many many more
The 2531 is by far the better value prospect, despite the possible future value growth/retention of any of the others. I wouldn’t be without mine, in fact I had three at one stage.
It's just a matter of time...
Yes the SMP ticks a lot of boxes for a one watch watch. Any of those you listed could be my one watch, just wouldn't want more than one of them :-)
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