How to Choose!
Which Watch is Next and Why?
Exploring the Nuances of #Watchcology and Watch Collecting:
I’m curious what makes you select the watches you own. I think there are some traps that early collectors get into (depending on your financial situation) where you buy something because it’s attainable, looks sort of in line with what you think are your preferences are, then you realize that it’s not really the perfect watch but hey, you have it in the lineup now so you’d better enjoy it or offload it (if it’s worth anything that is).
After this phase, which seems to hit pretty quickly for most people, it’s time to become a little more discerning in what you really want to collect. While some may be going for quantity (to each their own) I think that quality starts to really matter. This means different things to different people, however. So what now drives you to make that purchase? If you’re like me, you have so may inputs that could shape your preferences. Social media, emails from every brand under the son, Reddit channels, watchuseek, all of the traditional watch media channels, podcasts, and more! It’s a lot!
And so now you have to start trying to pick out what your next watch is. Yes, it’s obvious that cost is still a factor but say you’re now willing to wait and save for the “perfect next watch.” What will your qualifiers be? Here are a few things that really seem to drive my choice and I haven’t necessarily resolved the spectrum that exists within each one (I’ll try to explain what I mean here in a moment).
In-Depth Considerations for the Avid Collector:
1) Price: If you’re like me you have a list (real or in your head) with the next watches you want. Please tell me you have something like this and I’m not the only weird one keeping this list. So there’s a new spectrum…Are you ready to pull the trigger on the $500 watch you really think you like or do you keep waiting on the $5,000 LE that really would be great to own and you know you’d like it more than the other $500 watches but you can get that one now and you’d have to wait a long time for the other one (other priorities exist…your perfect partner is side eyeing every package that now arrives at your door…I may speak from personal experience here.) This is one consideration and it also assumes you sort of know what you might want.
2) Brand: Do you care about the brand? Are you really wanting that watch that says Rolex on the side? It’s a status symbol after all and everyone knows that crown logo when they see it. I think this is also where we have to start talking about where clout of a brand takes the mind and that is the story that comes with the brand. Is it important that a brand has heritage? Is it important that there’s something unique behind the brand? Story sells. It’s marketing 101.
3) Story/Heritage: If your watch has heritage connected to Hans Waldorf or Abraham-Louis Breguet then there’s that historic connection to the art of watch making and that may be important to you, too. In this same line of thought, if your watch has been to the moon…or one that looks like it, then is that the piece that you need to own? If it’s able to go to depths that are truly impossible for you to fathom in a wetsuit, is that the watch for you? There’s the previous ownership aspect as well to consider in this arena. If your watch belonged to a famous actor, singer, or race car driver does that make you want it more than the one that looks just like it? If your Daytona was awarded to a Daytona winner then it will certainly cost more does that make you want it more? Or rather, is it more likely you’ll wait for that specific piece if you have the means?
4) Functions: I realize that we’re getting to the point where we have to consider multiple factors in selecting our next watch. It’s not as black and white as simply selecting the watch with the best story or the brand. Much more goes into our preferences. So let’s talk about functions. Many like a good tool watch or that dream GADA piece that you can bang on the side of the table in the wood shop and it’s still ticking. That watch that has a 600 Meter depth rating and you’re a diver so that’s important to you. Or you just really like to know that I don’t ever have to set my date on my perpetual calendar watch and besides that may very well be the coolest set of complications so maybe that’s what you absolutely need in a watch. Obviously, there area may functions and complications that may drive your selections here but on the spectrum of things you consider, how important are the functions beyond time?
5) Accuracy: How about you just really want a watch that’s hyper accurate? Willing to get a quartz movement because accuracy is what matters most to you? Grand Seiko makes some pieces that are off a few seconds…per year! That’s incredible! Are you wanting COSC or are you good with knowing that the company you’re buying from will regulate their movement to around +- 5 seconds per day and that’s still pretty dang accurate.
6) Design: I know this is a really broad title. Maybe you’re really into that sweet case design. Maybe you really like that the pushers look and feel just right. More than likely this is where you start to consider the dial and how it makes you feel. Of course when you’re considering the dial and the color or texture, you’re also consciously or otherwise, really looking at several factors that make a watch stand out to you. Yes, color is something that will work or not to your eye (color bling joke here because I regularly have to ask my nearly 9 year old daughter “what color is this dial?”) Here’s where your’e also looking at the hands and do they work with the dial. You’re looking at the font or typeset and your brain is starting to click or not with the package all coming together. You’re also going to start thinking about how it looks and feels but that’s going to get into the next consideration as well.
7) Size/Feel: So assuming you’re enjoying the watch to this point, now you have to consider how is it on wrist. Is that dial size one that you can pull off on your small/large/medium wrist? Size matters…with watches. If you have small wrists then some 40+ mm watches will simply be uncomfortable when you wear them. If the lugs are turned down then perhaps you can wear something larger on a smaller wrist but still you want to know if it’s comfortable. This is likely why you’re seeing the trend to downsize watches to be a little more wearable and to hopefully get away from watches that are made “for men,” or “for women.” To get more insights here just talk to a woman (Listen to Lydia Winters on her podcast - This Watch Life…she talks about this in a few episodes!) who is an avid watch fan and they’ll certainly tell you that it’s downright offensive to be directed away from the 36 mm Explorer because there’s the section over here in the store with the diamonds surrounding the 26 mm case. (Let me add that I’m not saying anything bad about those watches. Those are great watches too. I’m just saying that the assumption that men and women should be put in different sections of the watch case simply based on some design aesthetic is hopefully a trend that’s being done away with).
I have a 7 in wrist like a certain famous YouTube watch enthusiast (Looking at you, Evan at YoureTerrific!) and I think that there are some smaller case watches that are extremely comfortable and look cool too! Let’s offer sizes that get more people into watches (easy to say when I don’t have a watch company to look out for).
8) Materials: Are you looking for that watch that’s made of the new material that no one else will have the material (insert joke about unobtanium here).
9) Movement: Quartz or Manual or Automatic? Japanese or Swiss? Miyota or Seiko? ETA or Sellita? Do you care if it’s an 200 or 300 series? Are you even factoring this in when you buy the watch? This may be one that matter to many but not really as much as most other factors on the list. I think that’s one of the reasons you’ve seen so many go for the Series 1 from Studio Underd0g. Though the movement is not one that most would say is “great” the design is so incredibly fun that the movement doesn’t matter.
10) Country of Origin: Swiss Made? Whatever that means any more (there’s a big debate about what you need to do to meet that requirement and many argue it should be more strict that it is today). And there’s the hometown pride! The UK is having an absolute moment with their brands. Yes, many of those brands are still Swiss Made, but the companies that are home-based (sorry that’s not how best to say this) in the UK are making absolutely amazing pieces! These brands are killing it and that’s making many of us look at perhaps it has a movement I know and trust, but I want to support the company that’s down the road and it’s always fun to root for the home team!
There simply aren’t as many people going to Switzerland to become watchmakers. We’re in a global world and economy where people can get trained via YouTUbe or at least at the nearby watch college and still come away with the foundation to take on working for an Omega or Rolex. While this is a bit of a tangent, I think this will be an important topic to flesh out in a future piece. We’re not done talking about this.
11) Quality/Craftsmanship: Of course the heavy hitters like AP, Patek, Vacheron are all famous for their high quality and those brands have been rewarded with significant growth because of their connection to high quality time pieces. We’re also now seeing several smaller brands that are dedicated to making the highest quality pieces and for equally high costs but they don’t have the fable behind them. They don’t have the assencion to the peak of Mount Everest or a connection to the watchmaker that made pieces for Napoleon or Marie Antoinette.
Independent brands like Fleming, Roger Smith, Rexhep Rexhepi, and Reuben Shoots (more and more coming out regularly, too) all have offerings that have a staggering price but their quality, attention to detail, finishing quality are all of the highest level of horology. If you are willing to consider the lack of heritage (and assume there will be heritage someday. Let’s face it Rolex didn’t start out as a fabled brand that helps kick off every Grand Prix.) You can find some of the best-made watches we’ve seen - ever. Artisan and small batch matters in so many other industries that it makes sense to be critical in the watch world as well.
12) Investment potential: Certain collectors have the will power to buy a watch and place it in the vault, rarely to be seen let alone worn. I think this takes a perspective of watches that is wildly different than mine, alas these collectors are out there and have the foresight or ability to set these pieces aside and let them increase in value and they’ll one day sell them off for what they hope is a tidy profit. I don’t have much to say about this category because it’s not one I’m very familiar with nor do I think I could pull this off if i were someday in the position to buy whatever or however many watches I want/desire/need.
13) What others think/say about the watch: Ok so this one is perhaps subconscious for most collectors but if we’re honest with ourselves it is a small piece that comes into play when considering what we’re going to buy. I love the meme that shows the person with the new watch and while they’re hopeful that someone that they’re attracted to will show great interest in their watch…it’s always those that are sharing our interest in watches that will hopefully say something. I think that’s more rewarding anyways. I like that it’s something that can bring others with similar interests together to discuss it even if it’s a brief “cool watch” while you’re boarding your flight or passing in the grocery store. These tiny art pieces bring so many together and that’s rewarding.
Concluding Thoughts:
Then there’s the spectrum of considering some combination of many of the list above and some of it is just how the mood hits you on that particular day or if something is even available (looking at you Rolex ADs) (Just for the ADs: I’m looking in a very nice and respectful manner. Please don’t remove me from the list…I’m behaving).
I mention all of this because, as I mentioned before, I have a list, they are diverse in cost, function and all other manner of the list above, and I have the best partner who I’d like to ensure is happy with me when I’m online shopping or heading to the nearest shop to try on any number of fun timepieces. After all, it’s important to remember that watches are 17th century tech that are not as accurate (most of the time) as the phone in your pocket. But that’s not as much fun either.
Watches are about the art, the technology, the history, how they make you feel, and to a certain extent, what they make others feel about you too (not saying it’s why you or I buy one but it’s still a factor that comes into play. It’s this mishmash of attributes that makes me thoroughly love this hobby that is horology.
I really enjoy this community. I think it’s the fact that it’s people from all over the world, all walks of life, so many different and diverse backgrounds that connects us around this really fun topic.
I’d like to point out that I’m someone who has had a tough time finding a hobby that really speaks to me and I’ve certainly found my group in watch collecting or just talking about it even if I’m not in the position to always be swapping in new pieces and telling the rest of the community that i have a new and exciting “New Watch Alert!” One day!
Thanks for those of you who hung in there and are reading these. I really do appreciate it. I am enjoying learning and writing about watches, brands and people and would love to connect with you. Find me on Instagram and shoot me a DM or an email!
Cheers!
Adam
Other than the first two photos - the rest are credited to the brand that made the watches. Thank you!