Reply With QuoteMy mother's well off friend in the late 70s-mid 80s, she wore a Datejust and drove a BMW 3 series. She influenced me.
I wear a Datejust, my favourite watch, drive an E46 coupe and M4 (which is really a 3 series with a different name).
“Give me the Child until he is 7 and I will show you the man”, Aristotle 300 BC.
Or expose the proto-WIS to TZ-UK for 2 years and their tastes are fixed for life
I have been reflecting on this today as I had a new arrival, a watch that is 13 years old, unfashionable and devoid of social media hype. Nearly all of the watches I have, particularly those bought in the last couple of years seem to be watches I discovered in the first couple of years after arriving here in 2010. It seems my tastes and interests were set a long time ago.
Rolex, all preceramic, most modern is 2010
Tudor, vintage
Panerai, all between 2008-15, nothing in production
B&R, todays out of production BR02, and although my BR03 is 2020, I fell for the design back in 2011/12 when it was PVD steel
40mm turn of the millennium Breitling Aerospace
SBDX001 MM300
Probably the only watch I haven't yet tried to acquire from this early interest period is a Breitling titanium Chrono-Avenger E13360
Modern stuff?
Rolex got blingy, availability issues not withstanding
Modern Tudor are perfectly good, but less interesting to me than pre-ceramic Rolex
Panerai did some cost-cutting, repeatedly exposed by Perezscope, and decided aged brunito steel and vignette dials were a good idea, and so expensive!
Seiko started putting a Prospex logo on everything
B&R, doing OK in my book, although its a shame they culled the bonkers BR02 and the current diver has a very conventional bezel and dial, once you get past the squareness.
The only new taste I have developed is Grand Seiko quartz / Spring Drive and the new wave of independents, although at £30K and up I'm not that interested. I think if I was offered free reign to try anything a modern well stocked dealer could offer, I wouldn't be bothered.
Are you still excited by new releases, or is it all a bit meh, give me what I grew up with?
Dave
Last edited by helidoc; 9th November 2024 at 14:36.
My mother's well off friend in the late 70s-mid 80s, she wore a Datejust and drove a BMW 3 series. She influenced me.
I wear a Datejust, my favourite watch, drive an E46 coupe and M4 (which is really a 3 series with a different name).
I'd agree with that. I'm still hooked on getting the ones I wanted 8-12 years ago when I first discovered watches and was sucked in heavily. I'd still absolutely love a JLC Geophysic 1958, an IWC pilot from that era and a JLC Deepsea Chrono though. I'm over Rolex, sold all of mine in 2017.
Not at all the case for me.
Breitling, which was the first luxury brand I encountered, is still one I'm attracted to although I went off them for a period and then returned.
But generally the style of watches I loved probably wouldn't be what I'd go for if I was buying today.
In fact I've had a lot of classic divers but currently I'm interested in totally different.
My wish list, after a trip to Switzerland recently, is a white speedy, a Sherpa compressor, a Louis Erard regulator and a M.A.D.1.
What hasn't changed is that I like unusual but that's me in life and not specific to watches.
Helidoc, I’m similar in tastes.
My favourites from Rolex are four digit or five, certainly drilled lugs.
I also like Omega from that era. I have a Panerai from your preferred period, and a couple of older Seikos.
I am not a B&R fan or Breitling.
I like modern GS and would have another. Also have a Tudor FXD and the Zenith Chronomaster, so I have more new watches than I might have expected in 2017.
I think GS and Panerai are the only real change for me since joining TZ. Have tried plenty of others along the way.
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My tastes have definitely changed over the 15 or so years I've been a member here. I was initially pretty much only into sports watches, and then I went through a predominately vintage phase with a focus very much on Rolex and Heuer (and to some extent Omega). I'm now much less focused on vintage and would say that I have a far broader taste in general (albeit my collection is still a little sports watch heavy).
All part of the fun, in my opinion, and long may it continue.
My collection has changed over the past decade, but I don't think my taste has.
I've become braver with my cash and truer to what I really like, less involved by impressing others, more into what I think it cool.
I don't think my perception of cool has changed, my awareness of certain brands has - I'd very much like a Breguet whereas a decade ago I thought they made pocket watches
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I agree with this, but I’m a bit contrarian by nature. If you are going to have a collection, it’s best it reflects your own tastes, rather than ending up with something curated by others.Originally Posted by oliverte
Tastes certainly evolve as Tony said, but I am a little surprised how much core interests align so closely with my 2010-12 period.
D
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I think I can answer this with a couple of photos.
From 2005 - my collection:
2023 - slight change...
I think some diversification, probably need a GMT...
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
My dad had a 16710 Rolex when I was a kid, and I still want a Rolex (and I have a Tudor BBGMT). My first 'proper' watch was a Seiko GADA / dress watch with a dark blue dial, and I now have an equivalent Grand Seiko. There's definitely some truth in the idea that watch tastes are set early.
My tastes havent really varied since i was young.
Mine are all older model Rolex or heritage reissues with the exception of my palm dial 126200, but, the DJ has never really modernised and ive always loved Deco (hence the palm-love)
Really not interested in "modern" bells and whistles.
I became interested in watches in 1994, aged 35. Vintage 50s/60s gold dress watches appealed most and they still do, despite owning several so-called 'sports watches' I've moved away from them, I still own a couple but they don't get much wrist time. Can`t say I find modern watches very appealing, the relentless increase in size over the past 20 years leaves me cold, I don't like anything bigger than 36mm thesedays......which is where I started off in 1994!
I had just bought a DRSD when I joined the forum and have been round the houses so to speak ever since, having tried newer watches, many different brands and loads and loads of the sub £500 micro brands.
I have one main watch at present which by no strange coincidence is another 1665, only a GW this time. The prices of the DRSDs have gone a bit heavy over the years. Having owned both, I’m actually happier now with the GW than I was with the DRSD all those years ago.
Like a lot of people I like the golden age of Rolex, being in my eyes from the 60s/70s. If money was no object I think a pretty decent collection would be 5512, 1665, 1675, 1019 and I’ll let one five digit in with a white Zenith Daytona 16520. Just those five watches, would be great to have them and call it quits.
I think it has to be an evolution, no? It would be a bit boring if we each just fixated on one style or brand of watch and never deviated.
I started off collecting Seiko chronograph watches because I inherited my Dads one. I went right through the range, bought loads of weird and wonderful stuff all over the UK, as well as from Japan and America, then hit a bit of a wall... I started having my head turned by higher end watches (at the time Seiko chrono's could be had for pocket money). I launched into a crazy "buy everything you see" phase before settling into vintage Omega, particularly the more obscure 70's stuff. That led to me realising the Pilot watches were what excited me the most and that led to sticking to that style watch from other brands (Breitling of course, and Fortis, always a fave). Now I'm back to a slightly less structured collection where I just buy what I like and keep it until I'm bored of it. Apart from my Dad's original Seiko which I've had for 20 years, I don't own a single watch I had five years ago and nothing in my meagre collection remotely resembles the stuff I used to collect and wear. I reckon a snapshot of my full collection taken at two year intervals would be an absolute mess!
Very much an evolution. I started out not liking Rolex and gradually discovered their more subtle vintage and neo-vintage models, now I can appreciate the odd newer one too. I was also fairly allergic to the SEIKO logo, but GS slowly won me over, and eventually I discovered some beautiful 60s Seikos too.
AP was another one as I had no idea what a Royal Oak was 15 years ago, until I stared at one long enough to be seduced. I didn’t like gold either and was convinced it didn’t suit me, now I enjoy it. I’ve fairly consistently liked 60s-70s design, but now I’m so bored of lazy faux retro designs, I’m more interested in anything fresh and modern that belongs in 2024. So it’s a journey and an evolution. Design, like music, doesn’t stand still, though sometimes people do seem to stop in a particular year and insist that nothing good happened after that, it’s an unfortunate side effect of growing old.
I’ve definitely evolved! My GS appreciation was a long time coming as well as liking what the smaller independents can do.
But I am a middle aged curmudgeon though, so of course I believe that Panerai hasn’t done anything of note since about 2015!
D
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I never had a role model, who introduced me into the world of Horology.
Instead mine came from looking at the watches being advertised in the old Motorsport magazines, which mainly centred on Chronographs.
Hence why the 1st watch that I purchased was a Seiko Pogue.
During my teenage and early adult years, there was only two watches that I wanted, both of which were Rolex, from opposite ends of the spectrum.
A Submariner Date and a Y/G Day Date, which had to be fitted on a President bracelet and most importantly with the concealed clasp.
I have had the luxury of owning and wearing both.
And though my tastes over the many years, I always come back to those two pieces.
When I was a kid, what I wanted, and thought I would want forever was things like this
So I guess not....
I had one of those calculator watches with the soft rubber buttons.When I was a kid, what I wanted, and thought I would want forever was things like this
So I guess not....
Sometimes the wheel turns slowly...When I was a kid, what I wanted, and thought I would want forever was things like this
So I guess not....
When I was 12 I was obsessed with digital watches. Between the ages of about fourteen and fifty-four I was largely indifferent to digital watches. Now I'm 55, and I'm obsessed with digital watches.
Definitely changes for me. Tried an Hublot on at LHR last week and was quite taken with it! Well aware they aren’t to most people’s taste
Prior to that was mainly dive watches and the occasional dress watch in the collection, but am thinking of adding something gaudy to the collection now…
Hublot are my guilty desire pleasure. I don’t own one, but I appreciate the 44mm Big Bang, in steel, ceramic bezel and rubber strap. The price is insane, the used price is insane, it’s an SW500, but, I can’t help wanting one. Of course the ROO is the original in that style…..
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Last edited by helidoc; 17th November 2024 at 22:22.
My watch interest has changed very little over the past 50+ years. In 1973, on holiday in Jersey, aged 16, I bought my first proper watch. It was a Sekonda Strela chronograph on a leather strap, identical to this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125893344...hoCEI0QAvD_BwE
Today my collection includes 3 Speedy Pros, which together with a few Heuer chronos and a couple of PD chronos are the main interest. Yes there are a lot of other watches too but nothing recent and I haven’t seen any new watch that has sparked an interest.
I have sort of come full circle, and was quite late getting into Watching in my mid 40's, now 55, with the exception of a teenage gift from my parents when in my teens ( accurist chronograph ) my first watch was a Seiko skx007 followed by many other well researched Watches like other Seiko's, Citizen and micro brands, I then remembered stepping up to what I then called mid tier Swiss brands like Oris and Longines, although i didn't ever own the likes of Rolex and Patek I had the pleasure of wearing a few Omega's and Breitlings, Moon watch probably being the most iconic, now i hace the three very modest Watches in my collection, a Casioak, Duro, and a Citizen eco drive, so although I have come back to those classic Swiss Watches in certain content with my present collection
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