Reply With QuoteI find 3 watches more than enough.Originally Posted by warhog
After having built up my collection up to 6ish nicer watches, I'm finding rotating them difficult, mainly because I just prefer some to others when it comes to every day life.
Now I'm thinking of selling a couple of pieces to slim down the choices and perhaps getting that long term grail, calling it a day for while (wishful thinking).
Keen to hear how others have dealt with this. After slimming down a collection, did you feel more satisfied with the rotation? haven't had this thought before, but surely I won't be the only one
I find 3 watches more than enough.
I sold off all but 3 of my mechanical watches to fund a house purchase. I also have 4 cheaper quartz watches that didn't get a look in when I had my larger collection. Now I'm enjoying my G10, Timex and GShock etc more than ever before. I miss the Rolex etc and I'll build the collection back up but for now, money is going into my new house plus saving.
In summary I'm enjoying my collection more but I do miss the more expensive pieces.
In your situation if you aren't wearing a watch, that's a good reason to move it on. I had a Grand Seiko that I loved but it was too dressy for my casual style so I ended up getting rid and using the money for something sportier that I wore more.
I’m happy to own watches that hardly ever get worn, I’ve been known to get the enthusiasm back for a watch after a year or two of not wearing. My interest is predominantly vintage and older watches, its far harder to acquire nice examples than to sell them, once they’re gone they’re gone.
I'm down to two quality pieces (Fortis and Sinn), an Apple Watch for the gym, and a Casio for very rough stuff. The Sinn is soon going to be heading out the door.
The watch I wanted for years and finally arrived a few weeks back is my Fortis Cosmonaut Chronograph. It's everything I want, need and love in a watch, and the build quality, line up, materials and bracelet construction is absolutely impeccable.
Every morning I pick it up, wear it and really enjoy it. It's with Paul Walker currently for a de-dust and a seals check, and I miss it very much.
Definitely quality over quantity.
I actually wear my cheaper watches over my Subs simply because there all hidden away!.So flip between 7 cheaper watches thru the week and maybe even during the day.
A very fine choice, if I might make so bold. Glad it eventually found a home....
I'm down to two quality pieces (Fortis and Sinn), an Apple Watch for the gym, and a Casio for very rough stuff. The Sinn is soon going to be heading out the door.
The watch I wanted for years and finally arrived a few weeks back is my Fortis Cosmonaut Chronograph. It's everything I want, need and love in a watch, and the build quality, line up, materials and bracelet construction is absolutely impeccable.
Every morning I pick it up, wear it and really enjoy it. It's with Paul Walker currently for a de-dust and a seals check, and I miss it very much.
Definitely quality over quantity.
If I had free reign I’d probably buy and sell more watches than I do as there are some still I’d like to try. However I find six or seven give a good variety at any one time. I suppose I could cut that to four or five. I do go through phases.
Do you want the same three watches and stick or do you want to buy and sell keeping three at a time?
Personally I am going for quality (expense) over quantity these days.
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
Personally I'd much rather have a few watches than spend that same money spread over lots of watches. So I guess I'm valuing quality (relative to the budget) over variety. But I'm the same with pretty much everything really, I enjoy finding the right few and actively dislike having too much 'stuff'.
On reflection, if I had say 10 equal watches and I could only sell (i.e. no option to consolidate and buy more expensive watches), I'd still probably end up selling more than half of them to bring the numbers down. So really I guess it's actually simplicity I value over variety.
I'm down to two quality pieces (Fortis and Sinn), an Apple Watch for the gym, and a Casio for very rough stuff. The Sinn is soon going to be heading out the door.
The watch I wanted for years and finally arrived a few weeks back is my Fortis Cosmonaut Chronograph. It's everything I want, need and love in a watch, and the build quality, line up, materials and bracelet construction is absolutely impeccable.
Every morning I pick it up, wear it and really enjoy it. It's with Paul Walker currently for a de-dust and a seals check, and I miss it very much.
Definitely quality over quantity.
My B42 cosmonaut is the only watch I actually need to own, it does everything I need and want a watch to do. Chronograph, rotating bezel, 200m water resistance, good looks, fantastic build quality. 2 things let in down in my opinion. Mine is luminova and the brightness of the lume is poor (unlike my other Fortis which has Seiko bright lume) the clasp feels a little dated/ old had compared to the rest of the bracelet. If you have the wrists for it is a cracking watch.
To answer the OPs question…
If you are not afflicted with the collectors curse like I am am, go quality over quantity every time.
I agree with you on the lume SL, after almost 15 years there ain't much brightness to it. However the strong contrast of the hands and dial does make it easy to read even in low light.
Last edited by Filterlab; 4th February 2023 at 07:46.
I’m thinking of slimming mine down. Mainly to boost my pension.
If I can get £8k for my Submariner for instance,£8k in my pension gets me another 25% off the Government. £2 extra in my pot isn’t to be sniffed at seeing as I’ll be taking draw down.
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Already sold mine and down to three in preparation for retirement. Probably two long term though as despite buying a long time grail I find I just don't wear it for lots of reasons already discussed at length by the forum in other threads.
Once it's gone I'll have a Speedmaster for daily wear and a GO Panomatic Lunar for "nicer" occasions - I might consider a dive style "beater" though - something like a CW Trident 600 if one with the newer logo comes around in the right colour/price combo.
I’ve gone from 12 down to 7. But I feel like if I consolidated down further I’d be really happy. Only issue is the 7 I have right now I love and all have a story. Always harder to sell watches when you have an attachment to them.
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I’m very much the same. My collecting criteria these days is not about how much money is tied up the piece any more, just ‘do I like it?’ or ‘does it mean something to me’? That has had me chasing after some proper junk over the years! But also some peaches. Very rarely sell these says - in fact the last watch I sold was a modern Rolex and the reason that one went was because I realised I didn’t actually like it!
For sure there are watches I own that I have absolutely bonded with, and are completely 'keepers' for me. There are also others that while really nice watches, I just don't generate that same connection with, and they may not get worn in rotation, and/or I simply don't generate the opportunities to wear that type of watch. Those - for me - are better to sell on, to own and experience others.
The really challenging ones are watches I really enjoyed - fell a bit out of favour - but come back into favour later. It'll likely always cost more to replace later, plus finding right condition etc. So for me selling on the watches that don't get worn much is really a better thing to do, but identifying 'is this a watch I'm really ready to sell' is the challenge, that 'me' 5 or 10 years later isn't going to be kicking myself over that decision!
For sure on this everyone will likely be very different, a very individual judgement.
Thanks all for your insights - really helpful as I consider my situation.You hit the nail on the head for me. I'm feeling like I'll get more value out of having fewer watches but getting real use out of them. Consolidating and getting exactly what I want seems the way forward to me. Now if only o could stop being interested in new releases.Previously I'd thought why get 1 piece I like for the price when I could get 2/3 watches for the same overall cost. Now I'm realising, in a costly way, that it's best to just get what you want in the first instance, if you can. A forum mantra iirc
those are the two that are immovable and irreplaceable in my collection! cracking watches
Tending towards 3...but unlikely to ever make it...
I think 3 is an ideal collection number really.
Gives enough change to stay interested without becoming overbearing.
If you dont wear it and like it, get rid and consolidate.
I've got about 60 watches and enjoy deciding which to wear.
I wouldn't get the same pleasure from having just 1 or 2, but that's not to say I wouldn't enjoy owning something like a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms.
Could I live with just a couple of watches? Sure, I could happily wear my Sinn Arktis every day, but I don't see any appeal in owning just one expensive watch, personally.
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
That would drive me nuts, there must be always one requiring maintenance. Saying that, I think you either like a lot of stuff, or don't. I'm definitely in the 'less' stuff category, preferring to have the best possible thing I can for my budget.
Yeah, I have a few that don't work at all or have a problem, but.not that many.
Of course, many are very cheap watches (mostly vintage ones) and aren't subject to manufacturer mandated service intervals.
As you say, you either value the variety a big collection offers or you don't.
I could probably afford a mid range Rolex if I sold the lot, but that wouldn't appeal to me at all.
That's fine if your range of interest is narrow, but not if you have catholic tastes
M
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Last edited by snowman; 6th February 2023 at 21:06.
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
I've got upwards of 200 and like the variety, some quality respectable pieces in there as I just can't hang around for a year or 2 and buy a 20k piece.
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I am down to around 80, I wear my SBDX001 most of the time as my daily wearer (love it) I have a full metal Casio for really rough work but even then I look after it and I could choose from a few in my collection to be my dress watch.
Three I think it would be enough but its so hard to let go and its also hard to not look at other watches like a SD/DS which I don't think are any better than my 001 but handy for the bragging value
A big problem for me is I see MANY that I like the look of but fortunately I can't afford them :)
Probably an unpopular opinion on here, but I am leaning far more towards the buy fewer and better movement on all things nowadays and watches are no exception. I really think that for those that actually wear them, 3 is the magic number.
It seems that the right collection size is a very personal thing.
I have just over 20, which is probably too many, but some that are no longer worn either have personal value, or are part of my horological journey, and I’m sentimental.
I like the variety, but I have them in one of four groups, which makes it seem more of a collection and less random acquisition. It gives me pleasure to own some, even if they aren’t worn so much. There are worse things to spend money on!
Dave
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For me the hobby comes and goes. My modest collection of 8 has little variety across style (all but one have a black dial) and I’ve slowly discovered a few things. Regardless of quality I’m not a huge fan of metal bracelets, I’ve come to much less enjoy complications (even a date) and yet I really enjoy winding a mechanical watch.
I have one ‘expensive’ watch and I will part with it soon as I don’t enjoy it enough to just look at it and my rationale for buying it has matured. Like some posts I’ve read over the years I’m reaching a point where I’m going to thin out the majority of my ‘stuff’. Watches, tools, cars, clothes, boots etc. When I do I will probably stick with the few items that have a strong emotional connection.
So - no answer or help for your question but ramblings on my own reflections on quantity/relative quality.
I’m down to 2 ‘quality’ watches now, but might go for a third soon. That’s max for me these days. I was 100+ at one point.
Last edited by dejjl; 7th February 2023 at 07:42.
Now that is impressive! A very significant change - what drove you from 100+ to two?
Paid a big chunk of mortgage off, but there are several regrets in the offload.
Fewer but better for me. I have 4 decent watches and 2 cheaper but the latter two don’t get worn so speaks for itself really.
As a lot of people have also pointed out I’m of the opinion life is too short to collect watches that are not worn but merely taken out of a box to look at. And if that means consolidation of sort then so be it. I would in my opinion have 4 watches , 3 in rotation and the forth keeping interest in acquiring new tastes . If it works pop it in the collection if not move it out till you find something you love and want to keep. The problem has been price rises which have made some watches impossible to replace once sold but this then creates missed opportunities and stagnation in the collection or just a huge chunk of money tied up . Hope this helps op.
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Very similar thing happened to me over the last few weeks. I had a collection of nine but then sold five including a GS that was being worn very sparingly. I then put most of the funds toward a Seiko LX Spring Drive that has been the daily wearer since it arrived over three weeks ago. Happy with the collection of five that includes a Panerai 00321 (also worn rarely but it was mostly a present from the missus for a significant birthday), the LX, a Damasko DC86, a Helson Shark Diver 45 and a GWG2000 G-Shock as everyone needs a rufty-tufty watch for when the occasion demands.
I defiantly prefer fewer nice watches over lots of less high quality watches. I’ll be working up to 6 then will likely consolidate down to 3.
A few years ago I sold a few watches including a 16600 SD to buy a Great White SD which after a while I decided to get rid of as I didn’t want so much money tied up in a single watch. But I ended up trading up the GW for a full collectors set Red Sub, so that plan didn’t work!
My collection currently totals 25 watches that I wear. I enjoy wearing the relatively inexpensive ones including the PRS 18 and the Seiko SKX as much as the expensive ones.
I do intend to trim down the collection but I doubt I’ll ever buy a single very expensive (£20k+) watch again.
Last edited by andy tims; 7th February 2023 at 19:40.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
I don’t want to overthink this, but I think the correct number must be a function of last time worn and number of safe queens.
Maybe the distribution from the mean?
Anyone care to offer a formula ?
Surely it depends on why you are collecting? Say you've picked up exactly the same pocket watch as Einstein. How often would you have to carry it to justify owning it? This also speaks to the quality V quantity assumption. I just don't buy it. Quantity V price certainly, but you can find the highest quality at most price points in vintage. Even in recent watches, there's a lot of fashion and prominence that drive some truly odd pricing.
I’m not sure the motive for collecting is known when you start buying.
Where are cost is predictable, the value and quality are subjective unless we rely on a collective perception - does this mean different brands retain their perceived quality ranking?
Whereas this thread is about quality and quantity, I’m curious about the diversity of marques, the cost and value.
The wrist time is interesting given watches are sometimes listed as unworn ( I have several that I haven’t gotten around to wearing, which I know is a stupid excuse).
I think it was Willeeeys wrist time spreadsheet that got me thinking. How must did it cost to find out the time, etc.
There seems to be a prevalent view amongst some that having the perfect one or maybe perfect trio is what everyone should aspire to.
It's as valid a point of view as any, but certainly no more.
You could spend £10, 20 or 30,000 on the 'best quality' watch or you could spend the same (or far more or less) on a variety of watches.
Neither approach is better, it's simply what suits the individual.
I don't think anyone with a real interest in watches will ever be happy with just one, though.
The idea of a 'one-watch collection' just seems absurd to me. That is having 'a watch', no matter how much you spent on it.
When I had one quartz Seiko, I had no interest in watches,they just did a job and a Seiko was a reputable brand that was likely to keep going for a long time.
Having one Rolex, Tudor, Omega or Pat Phillips is just the same, for me.
If you're happy with one watch and vicariously enjoying other watches, great. I'm the same with cars, more or less. I love reading about them, talking about them and now and then experiencing a different one, sometimes something 'special', but I don't feel the need to own a selection, just one that does the jobs I want of it.
But that doesn't mean I think people with an interesting selection of cars are wrong, they just value things differently.
How do you (not just you, really, but people who feel this way) feel about artworks, paintings, sculptures, that sort of thing? Serious question, if you can see the point of them, why not technically or aesthetically interesting watches?
M
Last edited by snowman; 7th February 2023 at 22:05.
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
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