My Watch Collection
People assume that collecting watches is for the rich and famous--the pezzinoavante, as Michael Corleone calls them. It's not, there are millions of people, rich and poor, who are fascinated by these mechanical marvels. My collection, for example, which was purchased retail, has very little ROI or resale value today. Maybe in a hundred years one or two of the watchs selected will have become "famous" and command collector prices, but not today.
So what does it mean to "collect watches." In the final analysis they all do the same thing--tell you the time. So what makes one watch different from another? I pondered this for a long time then I created the following chart to answer this question.
So what does it mean to "collect watches." In the final analysis they all do the same thing--tell you the time. So what makes one watch different from another? I pondered this for a long time then I created the following chart to answer this question.
As you can see there's a lot more to watches than telling time.
First, there's "the name." At the top are the most prestigous names like Patek Phillippe. At the bottom, dismissed by "serious" collectors as decoration, are the fashion brands like Movado and Fossil.
Next, "movement," that is: 1) the mechanism (quartz or mechanical), 2) the power source (battery, solar...), and 3) the manufacturer of the watch's guts (the tiny machine that measures the time).
Third, "function," that is, what does the watch do? Yes, they all tell time, but they can perform hundreds of other functions (called complications) as well, from displaying date, day, time zones, air pressure to correcting for local difference in the earth's gravity.
Then there are the materials which, of course, are critical. A stainless-steel case with a sapphire crystal and a titanium band is light, strong, costly, and accurate while a plastic watch with an acrylic face and a rubber band is often heavy, fragile, inexpensive, and inaccurate.
Lastly, there are a host of other "soft" features like size, design, finish, color, and history that separate one watch from another,
Next, "movement," that is: 1) the mechanism (quartz or mechanical), 2) the power source (battery, solar...), and 3) the manufacturer of the watch's guts (the tiny machine that measures the time).
Third, "function," that is, what does the watch do? Yes, they all tell time, but they can perform hundreds of other functions (called complications) as well, from displaying date, day, time zones, air pressure to correcting for local difference in the earth's gravity.
Then there are the materials which, of course, are critical. A stainless-steel case with a sapphire crystal and a titanium band is light, strong, costly, and accurate while a plastic watch with an acrylic face and a rubber band is often heavy, fragile, inexpensive, and inaccurate.
Lastly, there are a host of other "soft" features like size, design, finish, color, and history that separate one watch from another,
And while Apple might call their "wrist computer" a watch, most watch collectors would not.
More complicated than you thought, right? Which brings us back to collecting. Every collection needs a purpose or what I like to call the "collection's theme." Some collections focus on particular watch makers like Rolex or Breitling, some focus on a technology such as automatic (movement powered) watches. The important thing is that the theme says something of interest.
My collection's theme had two dimensions: cost and purpose. I wanted to collect watches in groups of three where each group would contain a sports watch, a bang-around everyday watch (a banger), and a dress watch. The total cost of the watches in the three groups was to be: less than $500, $2,000, $8,000. This is a pretty standard way for a newbie collector like me, without a lot of knowledge, experience, or money to start.
More complicated than you thought, right? Which brings us back to collecting. Every collection needs a purpose or what I like to call the "collection's theme." Some collections focus on particular watch makers like Rolex or Breitling, some focus on a technology such as automatic (movement powered) watches. The important thing is that the theme says something of interest.
My collection's theme had two dimensions: cost and purpose. I wanted to collect watches in groups of three where each group would contain a sports watch, a bang-around everyday watch (a banger), and a dress watch. The total cost of the watches in the three groups was to be: less than $500, $2,000, $8,000. This is a pretty standard way for a newbie collector like me, without a lot of knowledge, experience, or money to start.
Three Watches that together cost less than $500
The <$500 group was easy. I bought an indestructable Casio MW240 for $25 as my banger, a Glock made of "gun" metal steel as my sports watch for $425, and a no-name replica of a Cartier Tank watch from Temu as my dress watch for $4. I must admit that I wear the Temu for fun sometimes just to watch how people react to learning that the watch they think must cost thousands actually cost $4.
Banger
Sports
Dress
Three Watches that together cost less than $2,000
The <$2,000 group was more of a challenge primarily because I didn't want to spend $2,000 on watches I wasn't going to wear. The banger I selected was the "unbreakable" Victornox which cost me $200. Victornox substantiates their claim of indestructibility by driving over the watch with a 64-ton tank. My sport watch is the all-titanium Breitling Aerospace I bought in St. Barts in 1990 for $1,000. Talk about accuracy, this watch has not lost more than a couple of seconds a year for 30 years. My dress watch in this <$2,000 category is the $200 Orient, which is great looking, an excellent timekeeper, and automatic, that is, it's wound by wrist movement and needs no battery or stem-wound spring.
Banger
Sports
Dress
Three Watches that together cost less than $8,000
The <$8,000 group is four time more challenging than the $2,000 for the same reason--I didn't want to spend $8,000 on watches I'm not going to wear. Unfortunately, I started this group by buying the current version of the all-titanium Breitling Aerospace. Frankly, this watch is a disappointment--it's twice as big as my 1990 Brietling, it's hard to read the time with all the F-18 bling on its face, and it cost 4x more. Not a great start but a good lesson about price versus value. (Remember, they all tell you the time.) I'm hoping to make up for this mistake with my next two selections which are still to come.
Banger
Sports
Dress