Three Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Collecting Watches
Ask any watch collector what they wish they knew when they started collecting and you’ll likely get a laundry list of advice. Watch collecting isn’t necessarily intuitive: there’s a required understanding of the brands, understanding the luxury conglomerates that own brands, the dynamics of vintage watches versus modern watches, the difference between independent watchmaking and microbrands, and understanding the retail environment.
At best, it’s a confusing landscape.
While hindsight is 20/20, there are three key lessons based on this that I have learned with time.
1. It’s a Process
There’s the saying that it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey, and that applies to watch collecting. Early in my collecting journey, everything was interesting, new, exciting, and a way to learn something or to begin to judge what watches were of interest to me.
2024 is a great time to be a collector because there is so much access to information. During the initial days of my collecting journey, my tastes changed by the hour. Then they started changing daily, and little by little I found what I love and what really speaks to me.
My journey began with the humble dive watch - a style of watch I remain obsessed with to this day. That style changed over the years as dress codes changed, I needed dress watches for suits, I wanted different styles of watches, something more avant garde, something rarer, and I tried a little bit of everything. Many years later, I still love the humble dive watch, but my love has changed to dual-timezone watches, whether it be a venerable GMT-Master or something a little more crazy, two time zones remains the most useful complication for me.
The beauty of watch collecting is that the journey unfolds over the course of months and years, it’s not a quick dopamine hit. The joy is in the continual learning and evolution. It’s an analog process that has to be done in person, physically handling watches, trying them on, engaging with them. The digital world and social media can aid this process by showing you brands and what is available, but there is no substitute for the analog interactions between a collector and a watch.
2. Try Different Watches
In your evolution as a collector, the process of self-discovery doesn’t unfold until you’ve owned a number of watches and worn a watch daily. Collecting data points for how and when you wear a watch, what you like about a watch and what you dislike can point you to what you might want to try next.
Hands down trying on every watch, getting a feel for it, and taking a photo of it on your wrist will help you understand how that watch makes you feel, if you’d be happy with it tomorrow, a week from tomorrow, and a year from tomorrow.
I swore up, down, left, and right that I would love, absolutely love the MB&F HM5. I had been hunting for one for years. When the opportunity arose two years ago to try it on in the metal, I immediately realized it wasn’t for me. Compared to other watches that were on the table, it just didn’t resonate with me in the way I imagined it would. That’s why it is so important to try on a watch; on the flat or on a screen you can convince yourself that you will love it, that the watch will fit your lifestyle, but the proof is in putting the watch on your wrist, only then will you know.
3. Tastes Change - That’s Okay
When I began my collecting journey, my tastes changed by the hour. One moment I loved Panerai, the next it was only Rolex, the next day it was Audemars Piguet or bust. Even the most seasoned of collectors have changes of heart and taste with time. Over time there are going to be watches in a collection that inevitably never get wrist time, or you might find yourself wondering why you spent money on a particular watch. You were in love with it at one point of your journey, but it’s okay for tastes to change.
It’s a sign of progress, much like learning a language when you hit a plateau and wake up 30 days later much more fluent than you were the night before. There is a market to sell or trade watches that you have outgrown into something new, and that is exciting, and one of the most fun parts of the process of collecting.
As I look back on my journey as a watch collector, I remain grateful for those formative years. Even if I had a Delorian and a nuclear physicist best friend, there’s no way I would go back in time and start over with the knowledge I have now. It would rob the experience of the highs and lows of a collecting journey, which is ultimately what makes collecting worthwhile.
Looking for a new addition to your collection? Not sure what the next watch you want to add is? Looking to find the next independent watchmaker to support? My custom curation reports help collectors find and identify their collecting philosophy and build a collection that is curated for them. Click here to start a discussion about how I can help you refine your collection and find the next great watch for you.
