TimeCaptain’s collection… in 2014

This is one of my favorite topics and it often comes up in forum discussions — how many timepieces should a man have in his collection? It’s the old quality versus quantity debate. It’s the question of saving up every penny for one awesome “grail” versus buying several lesser timepieces over a period of collecting and buying. Although everyone has different budgets to work with, the same questions apply to all collectors.

I will be contradicting myself in this blog. I began collecting by buying all kinds of watches over a few years. Then I regretted NOT having waited for a grail, so I consolidated and acquired several grails. Then I grew restless and began going for variety, diversification and… quantity.

I feel as though I am constantly evolving as a collector. For the longest time, my obsession was to have the TOP piece at any meeting, function or cocktail party. Today, I am far less concerned about the perceived status or image of my timepiece. Rather, I am wearing pieces that speak to me and that give me some satisfaction on my wrist. Some of these timepieces are quite expensive and some of them are simply beautiful or appealing in some other way.

The truth is, I always admired guys who put their money into one single high-end piece. You have seen it a dozen times, right? The guy who saves for several years and doesn’t buy anything until… he buys a Rolex Submariner. Then he wears that Sub every single day. He services it every seven to eight years and keeps wearing that Sub until he’s a really old man. That Sub looks awesome with business suits or with swimming trunks and it always looks new. I admire that guy. He is smart. And I did sort of try to emulate him.

Longines Saint-Imier L2.766.4

Unfortunately for me, I begin to crave something else no matter which grail is sitting in my watch box. And despite my story about Rolex Sub Guy, I am always obsessed with having different types of timepieces. I want something on a brown leather strap for certain outfits. I want a black dressy watch for formal events. I want a sports chrono, and I “need” a utility piece on a steel bracelet. I want a loud statement piece and maybe a weekend beater. For sure, I maintain a certain minimum standard of quality in my collection. But I always seem to desire at least four or five different pieces to choose from.

Choice — that’s another thing. I enjoy seeing my watch box quite full. As you guys know, mechanical watches need to be wound to keep ticking. It becomes a game for me to keep several pieces set and ticking, using winders and wearing, so that I always have a few pieces “ready to go.” That way, I can choose among different pieces as I get ready in the morning. I can match the piece to my mood and outfit. When you have only one or two grails, you lose on the fun of selecting from a variety of watches, and I like to change up after a few days of wearing the same piece. I like to change just for the sake of it. So, despite so many blogs I have written, I seem condemned to be more of quantity guy.

So do I have a “grail” at all? Is there one single piece that, if acquired, could make me stop collecting? I fear the answer is no. I could say that the PAM00422 is my grail. But even after acquiring some awesome PAM references, I kept collecting and even trading. I could say that a platinum Rolex Daytona is my grail, but after wearing one, I would start to crave the gold Daytona on a leather bracelet. I could say that an IWC Ingenieur F1 chrono is my grail, but I would crave a diving watch as soon as I got one. I could say that a forged carbon Audemars-Piguet is my grail, but I would be dreaming of a new Panerai after a few weeks with the AP on the wrist.

Radiomir Black Seal Acciaio – 45 mm PAM00183

Seeking help with my inner conflict, I reached out to some members of my favorite watch forum. One guy made a statement that really summed it up beautifully. As guys were posting about their regrets of trading away certain watches or buying too many “lesser” pieces, this guy said that his collection is always “liquid” and that he could always sell, trade or change up his collection if he felt the need (this is what I have been doing!). He said that if you “lose” a piece in your collection and want it back, there are always ways to re-acquire one. And if you need to thin down your collection in order to buy a dream piece, then you can get active on the forums and find willing buyers for your watches. This guy’s statement really helped me because he expressed how you are never “stuck” with your inventory and you can always re-invent yourself as a collector. As you move between being a grail guy and a variety guy, you can move your pieces on the secondary market. In this way, you don’t have the pressure of defining yourself, once and for all, as a certain type of collector.

And that’s good because my tastes, targets and watch goals are always changing; always evolving. Perhaps, I will wake up one day and be appalled at the variety in my current collection and want to trade in a few pieces toward a more “serious” piece. Or perhaps, I will just keep my eye open for the next interesting opportunity in a lower price range. In either case, the fun is always in the search…

Yours truly,

TimeCaptain