Anyone collect watches?

[DrRoy]

I went big into watches last year. Posted some of it under BTD. Here’s a few fav’s.
Anybody else?
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[Koolau]

I have 4 or 5 $8 to $10 watches that the batteries have died. I've ceased wearing watches now that I have a phone with an excellent clock included.

Having said that: I always pause when I'm leafing through a magazine and see an add for an expensive watch. I am fascinated by the verbiage describing the quality as "finest" and "time piece" etc.

I have a friend who owns a collection of "fine time pieces" such as Rolex and others. They are truly beautiful. Works of art, really.

So I appreciate your collection and I appreciate your passion for the art of fine watches. Enjoy your collection and your passion!! Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[Luvtoride]

Dr Roy, I’m a collector and big fan of watches. Unfortunately, in recent years I wear my Apple Watch most days and only wear my “nice watches” when I go out evenings and weekends. Before retirement I would wear my good watches to the office daily.

Your collection looks great. I’ve always thought about an IWC and yours is beautiful. I would also love an Omega Speedmaster. I will post some of my watches in the coming days. It would be interesting to hear about any stories or reasons behind our watch purchases/ acquisitions i.e. special birthday, retirement or other celebration.

I hope that others participate in this thread. It could be a cool and long running topic here.

 

[Koolau]

My friend has been offered substantial profit on some of his older watches (from dealers). Apparently there is a real market for top-tier time pieces. So far, he has chosen to keep all of his collection - and add to it.

 

[Luvtoride]

Maybe a new “Asset Class” we should include in our retirement portfolios?
I’m sure mine are worth a fair sum and have increased in value but I don’t think I would want to sell them either (unless god forbid I had to).

 

[Midpack]

Not a collector, in fact I don’t even own a watch anymore. Once covered a Rolex but never bought (thankfully). Sold all the watches I had of any value (Movado, Lassale, Rado) on eBay years ago. I always have my iPhone with me, a watch would be redundant. And the only watch DW owns is an Apple Watch…

 

[Pointby2]

Also not a collector, but I love watches. I just have my Omega Speedmaster 3570.50 and my Garmin running watch.

 

[Koolau]

Maybe a new “Asset Class” we should include in our retirement portfolios?
I’m sure mine are worth a fair sum and have increased in value but I don’t think I would want to sell them either (unless god forbid I had to).

I think in this case, watches might be included in "collectibles" (such as antiques, art, cars, etc.).

Here's hoping you never need to sell your collection.

 

[OddGuy]

Any wristwatches and other jewelry and collectibles of notable value will be listed and appraised for your estate one day, so it makes sense to consider them part of your net worth.

 

[Texas Proud]

I used to have about 10 of them... none that would be collectable...

Different colors, sizes etc... I would wear them when working... when I retired I stopped within one year..

I have given a few away to my BIL and IIRC has about 5 but 4 need batteries... the 5th is solar charged... bad news is I have forgot to get it in the sun an it stopped... it has day/date for the next century or so.. it handles leap years!! Just need to set it again as I have it sitting in the window so it is fully charged...

 

[SecondCor521]

I don't, but my son does. His latest addition is a Grand Seiko spring drive UFA (SLGB005) and he showed it to me at dinner tonight. I'm not a watch guy, but that one is beautiful.

SLGB005 | Grand Seiko

Grand Seiko official site. Made by hand for those who value perfection. Grand Seiko raises the pure essentials of watchmaking to the level of art.

www.grand-seiko.com

I don't know how many other ones he has currently. He buys and sells pretty regularly so his collection shifts over time.

 

[Koolau]

My friend who collects watches has one (I don't recall the brand but it's one of the premier companies) you can see the mechanical "goings on" behind the face. It's fascinating.

My friend told me the prices (or values) of some of his collectible watches and they are in the many thousands to 10s of thousands of dollars. Some have doubled in value according to his dealer.

The only issue I see with collecting watches is that some collectors would never be able to part with their watches to take a profit. My friend is like that. As long as he doesn't need the money, that should never be a problem.

 

[DrRoy]

Dr Roy, I’m a collector and big fan of watches. Before retirement I would wear my good watches to the office daily.

It would be interesting to hear about any stories or reasons behind our watch purchases/ acquisitions i.e. special birthday, retirement or other celebration.

I hope that others participate in this thread. It could be a cool and long running topic here.

Last year my wife and I were visiting Vegas and went by a blue JLC master control calendar chronograph in a shop window. I thought it was stunning but would never pay $17K for a watch. That stuck with me well after we got home, and eventually I got myself a blue dial Tissot, thinking that was it,

Some months later, my wife’s idea for my BD did not work out, and somehow it came up that if she was ever to get me an upscale watch it would be an Omega moon watch, because I’m a big fan of the NASA Apollo program. I looked them over and my choice was the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 I posted above. She said go ahead and get it, and that kind of launched me into collecting watches. I already have collections of coins, art glass, and rocks & fossils, so this fit right in.

 

[DreamingOfFI]

I have roughly 15 watches and unfortunately I'm always looking for new ones whenever I'm online . These are certainly not collector level watches as I'm a cheapskate by nature. Citizen is probably my most expensive brand if that tells you anything. The Omega in the OPs post is beautiful, but I could never see myself spending that much on a watch.

 

[old medic]

I only wore a watch at work, It stayed in my locker... left it on the table on my last day.
I do have my grandfather pocket watch someplace around here

 

[Luvtoride]

I have roughly 15 watches and unfortunately I'm always looking for new ones whenever I'm online . These are certainly not collector level watches as I'm a cheapskate by nature. Citizen is probably my most expensive brand if that tells you anything. The Omega in the OPs post is beautiful, but I could never see myself spending that much on a watch.

Dreaming,
I find the real draw of looking at, coveting, longing for watches comes from seeing them in person. We have a great jeweler nearby who we have done a lot of business with over the years who has a tremendous selection of watches…both high end and moderately priced. It makes accompanying my wife on her visits there to look at jewelry, get her jewelry cleaned etc. a task I don’t mind.
This jeweler is not a ROLEX dealer but he has a tremendous selection of pre-owned Rolex watches (I guess a lot of people do end up “needing the money” to sell them). If you’ve ever tried to buy a Rolex watch from an authorized dealer,it can be a frustrating and futile search. Most don’t have inventory to sell to the public. I think this is because when they receive the small allocation of watches to sell, they usually offer them to their regular customers/ collectors. I know there is a definite market in purchasing these brand new watches and “flipping” them for a profit.
My first Rolex purchase several years ago was a used Skydweller, white gold watch from our jeweler friend. Its unique feature is that it keeps time in two time zones, making it ideal for international travel. I forget how much I paid for it (it was about as much as a brand new one cost) but every time I visit the store, he offers to buy it back from me. The value of these watches keeps going up…the retail MSRP is now more than 2x what I paid. I wear the watch often as well as whenever we travel away from home. It has a special place in my collection as my first really extravagant watch purchase.

 

[Luvtoride]

That stuck with me well after we got home, and eventually I got myself a blue dial Tissot, thinking that was it,

My Blue dial Tissot….is your similar to this one? I love this watch as it is pretty unique to my collection. It’s a bit sportier with the rubber band vs, a metal bracelet.

 

[FIREd]

I used to have a dozen watches, nothing fancy, mostly Seikos.

I downsized to a handful of watches in recent years. My everyday watch is a vintage-looking timepiece, an Orient Bambino. But living near Geneva, Switzerland, at the heart of the luxury watchmaking industry, I also have 2 fancier watches - an Omega Seamaster Professional Titanium purchased second-hand many years ago and a dressier moon phase watch made by a local watchmaker (a gift from my GF for me 50th birthday).

 

[Flieger]

Had a few, now down to 2:

Flieger

 

[marko]

I started wearing Hamilton watches when I was about 25. Only brand I ever owned. I wore them mostly because they were unique and very unusual. I was never able to toss them even when they finally died, so I have about 15 in my drawer. Even had one of the first gold LED ones back in the late 70s, which was a great conversation starter.

One time, I had bought one, brought it home, took it off and left it on the hood of my car to go do something...yep!...brand new $3,000 watch crushed in the driveway, worn about 2 hours.

But the day I retired, I took of my watch and never put another one on since. (Good thing my phone tells time!)

FWIW, I always coveted the high end Omegas but never was able to overcome my Hamilton fetish.

 

[Fermion]

Do pocket watches count? I have a silver one from the early 1700s but would love an earlier one, like mid 1600s. I am fascinated what people were able to make back then without computer controlled machinery.

 

[DrRoy]

My Blue dial Tissot….is your similar to this one? I love this watch as it is pretty unique to my collection. It’s a bit sportier with the rubber band vs, a metal bracelet.

 

[DrRoy]

If you’ve ever tried to buy a Rolex watch from an authorized dealer,it can be a frustrating and futile search. Most don’t have inventory to sell to the public. I think this is because when they receive the small allocation of watches to sell, they usually offer them to their regular customers/ collectors. I know there is a definite market in purchasing these brand new watches and “flipping” them for a profit.

I understand that if a Rolex AD catches you flipping, they won’t sell to you anymore.

 

[Lorenzo]

Not a collector and haven't worn a mechanical watch in years since phones and smart watches have relegated them to purely esthetic purposes. But I do have my late father's 1960s Omega Constellation that I would like to have restored. I suspect it still works. It's "self-winding," but I have been reluctant to move it, as decades later the date still shows the date he died. Anyone know a company that restores vintage Omegas?

 

[Luvtoride]

I understand that if a Rolex AD catches you flipping, they won’t sell to you anymore.

Yes, I’ve heard that too. I’m not sure how they would learn, but it’s also not fair (legal?) to hold,inventory to sell to “preferred customers” vs. a new customer who walks in seeking to buy one. They just say they have no watches to sell. Ridiculous.