Reply With QuoteConsolidate, but only if the grail watch is a keeper.
I've been in 2 minds recently, whether to trade up 3 of my pieces in favour of a mega-grail I've had my eye on for 6 months or so, the AP Royal oak offshore ceramic in Rose Gold
It would mean parting ways with my Cartier Santos XL, PAM 372, Breitling Bentley GMT Midnight Carbon and a big chunk of change that could fund another decent watch, so its effectively swapping 4 pieces for 1 grand piece.....
I've been thinking that you can only wear 1 piece at a time so I'd be better having a 3 watch collection (with the other 2 pieces I will be keeping) with grander watches, rather than having 6 pieces of a lesser individual value
I know the ROO in RG will divide opinion on here, but I was wondering in general whether you would consolidate your collections down in numbers and have just a couple of dearer watches?
Consolidate, but only if the grail watch is a keeper.
I would certainty be willing to trace 3 or 4 for a mega grail.
I have ROO's and i like AP rose gold, ceramic bezel etc however it wears huge, which given the watches you have is probably ok for you, but i found it a bit too much.
Also given what else you have i am not sure it will work if you want a little bit of variety.
Thanks for the Feedback - yeah that was my other concern, (that everything would be quite RG orientated).....If I did the switch I may trade out the YMII bi metal for the steel version to have some varietyOriginally Posted by JP28
I keep thinking 'yeah lets go for it' then when I open the safe door and look at the watches they all pull on the heart strings and say 'don't sell me' lol!
Do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, I would if I were you. I don't like any of them but that's not the point, it would all be boring if we all liked the same stuff. I've thought about it myself, I'd like a Great White for example, but I'm either not ready or just don't have the balls to do it!
"A man of little significance"
It's not about what anyone else thinks of the watches you will trade or the watch you will buy. If you really want that watch then it is probably a good idea to move on some watches you have enjoyed. Nothing is ever irreversible. Move forward . Do it
I really don't get this having one watch when I can have many. The reason I like watches is the varied ways in which they translate the passing of time into art, craft and design. For me this constant desire to reduce one's collection to a single watch is a bit like liking art but at some arbitrary point thinking to myself, 'well I like all this art but y'know I'm just getting a bit tee'd off with looking at it all. Why don't I save myself another bout of Stendahl's disease and only look at the one picture from now on.' I like the fact that I can look at pictures by artists as varied as Braque, Friedrich, Turner and Pollock. There just isn't one artist or one art movement that would keep me that captivated that I wouldn't want another glimpse at a Chagall or a Rothko. So although I suppose we mix up the cost of watch ownership with the appreciation of watches, and although my budget for my collection of watches is far less than the OP's, for me I'd embrace the variety, and maybe think about getting interested in something else that I hadn't thought of before and sneaking another couple in.
I really don't like the AP. It looks to Hublot-like and doesn't have the 'class' your Cartier and Panerai have. And in my eyes it looks a like a pimp watch... ;)
keep your lovely collection the AP is just plain fugly! like something from Elizebeth Duke at Argos
Hello, am new here. First post ever!
Seems eminently sensible to have a few finer watches instead of a great many. But fashions change and the risk in a way is that you might tire of the ones you invested in a few years down the road. Having six slightly more affordable watches gives you a bit more freedom. It's a tough call.
I am perhaps of more modest means, but have always seen the pam 372 as a Grail watch if I were to get a Panerai. How have you enjoyed owning it?
That's one of the more intelligent things I've ever read here...
You'll lose a kidney when it comes to move it on and have kittens when it needs servicing. Do it!
I'd keep what you have chap after having an AP myself new from a dealer
I cant see me buying another , time keeping was 10 seconds a day after
sending it back they got it down to 8 sec and when I went to send it back
again they woundnt touch it saying that was when in there standards :/
The only good thing is you can get some big discounts at the min as many
of the dealers have dropped them in the uk over the last year I was offered
something like 20% off after I got my one
I don't think this is about watches, it's about personality. Are you a person who like to have some different watcher or not? And do you have more watches? I think it's risky to sell this three if that is what you have. But first, answer the question(for your self) who you are.
Very interesting thread. I like watches but being a pensioner means I have curb my enthusiasm a little. I have a small selection of eight watches. I feel that a cull is required, I shall keep those shown as I feel that they each have a distinct use. And in their way are nice examples of watches to suit the occasion.
The others I shall dispose of eventually as they are just surplus. Take as an example a Hamilton Khaki, nice well made watch, great ETA movement etc but just ordinary. Another is my Steinhart Marine, just one thing wrong, it's too big.
Come to think of it I might change one of my 'keepers'. Sell the surplus watches and the Omega Constellation Chronometer and buy a vintage Omega/iWC etc etc in 18ct Rose Gold. That would be nice on the odd occasion when the Black Tie comes out.............which means not very often, if at all.
I have thought of consolidating my collection down to a single or two pieces but what always stops me is that even though I know I would love the 'grail piece' I love the completely different styles of the watches I already have and I know I would regret chopping them out.
The Royal Oak isn't excatly to my tastes but I'd say go for it without hesitation, so long as you won't miss what you'd be giving up.
That's a very interesting way of putting it, and I agree to a certain extent. On the other hand, I suppose once your collection reaches a certain number, the difficulty of choice (watches, unlike art, are mainly for wearing) could necessitate a cull of some sort. That number will vary on an individual basis
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2
A very sensible and intelligent summary. However, using the art analogy, what if you had the chance to swap some of your existing items for something more special to you, something that would otherwise be out of reach? That one piece that you long for, despite your superb existing collection.
People collect for different reasons. For some its variety and being able to enjoy a wide range of items. For others it's about exclusivity and enjoying less 'every day' items, vintage perhaps. For others, perhaps the OP, it's about aspiring to greater things than you have now.
If the OP has the chance to acquire something special to them, something they have aspired to own for some time, that may well be worth a lot more than the variety the current collection offers.
There is no right or wrong answer in this, which is the beauty of collecting something.
You're absolutely right, there is no right and wrong answer to this.
But there seem to be a lot of threads on the site at the moment on which people talk about consolidation or reducing the size of their watch collection. In terms of practical need one only really needs one watch in order to tell the time. When one has more than one watch there is a thought that you never really know the time, and the more watches one has the more this is probably true. So from a practical point of view having more than a couple of watches, maybe one for best and one that you don't mind getting wet or knocked about, or maybe one for a specialist activity like diving doesn't make much sense.
Yes you can't wear them all the time that's true, but there again I can't read all the books in my over extensive collection or listen to all my music at once but it's really nice to have access to them and know that all my books and CDs are there when I'm in the mood for them.
If you have an absolute goal to trade or buy your way up to a special piece then there is a lot of sense in consolidation. But on the other hand I seem to detect a tension for some between the monetary value of a watch collection and the number of watches they have. In terms of cost, watches are a ridiculous frippery. I have around 17 at the moment but I doubt if the sum total of the collection is more than the price of a second hand Rolex - certainly no more than the price of a new one. So I guess the trade off for me is do I want one very expensive watch that I may have problems justifying, that puts all my eggs in one basket from a practical and aesthetic point of view or do I have 17 that represent a spread of design and interest. I guess I'd tend towards the second option. There is never a right answer to this and I suspect that people's collecting varies over the course of their interest and is affected by disposable income. I think there is a cycle - we tend to start by getting as many watches as we can and then whittling a collection downward as we discover what we really like and as our tastes change. I guess I just wanted to put a different perspective on the thread. I think also that when people ask this sort of question they normally have an answer already in mind they just want it confirmed, I thought that I'd give an alternative view.
Some very interesting points and views on both sides, I am still torn and changing my mind by the hour
I'm a couple of months saving off being in a position to make a move n yet so will wait and see, but obviously in an ideal world I would like to own them all at the same time - although that's never going to happen!
Posting Permissions
