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Originally Posted by DoubleF
Sounds pretty cool. But I feel like I'd be a guy showing up on a bike to an exotic car meet.
I guess I'll repeat my question from earlier.... although it does sound a little weird.
How does one justify keeping a watch shelved? I have my eye on the Omega Aqua Terra (Blue or Bond, still deciding) but circumstances would keep me from using that thing as a daily driver. I'm also a little odd in the sense that I literally have something like 5-6 watches on cycle. All are <$300 watches. Going from these to an Aqua Terra is insane scaling. Is there a need to justify the purchase somehow?
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In my case, I just enjoy the variety. I have more Swiss mechanicals than I'd like to admit, as well as half a dozen or so Seikos, Orients, etc.
I generally wear a watch for 1 or 2 days then switch to something else in my collection and for whatever it's worth, I don't have any hesitation to wear a Rolex one day and a Seiko diver the next. I think a true collector can appreciate what a cheaper Japanese watch offers, even if he or she owns multiple expensive Swiss pieces.
I've also found that if a person buys carefully off the pre-owned market (and you should know what you're doing if you're going down that road), one can own expensive watches that hold their resale value as opposed to buying new from an AD.
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Originally Posted by DoubleF
My second question is regarding a weird habit I've noticed lately. I've been finding myself browsing Breguet, Vacheron Constantine and IWC watches that are on occasion nearly as old to triple my age. I've weirdly been fascinated by hand winding watches that are on occasion from the 1930s to 1980s. Are these watches something to avoid?
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There is no reason to avoid the vintage market, as long as you know what you're doing. As TourqueDog mentioned, repairing or servicing a vintage VC or Breguet or Patek is going to set you back a lot more than servicing a vintage Omega.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoubleF
Lastly, what makes a person a watch guy/collector? Is it the ownership of the watches? The knowledge of the watches? Or the history of the watches? I've further noticed that in general, many watch people have no issue with others "not preferring" certain brands. In other circles, that's a no no.
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I don't think there is a hard and fast definition of a collector. It means different things to different people. To me, a collector is someone who has an appreciation for the workmanship that goes into watches. I focus almost completely on mechanical watches as opposed to quartz. I'm fascinated by the precision of these tiny minute machines we can strap to our wrists, many of which are accurate to 99.9999% per day (5 seconds/day).
I don't think you would feel out of place coming to a get-together, even if you feel your collection is somewhat humble. If nothing else, meeting other watch collectors gives you an opportunity to handle and try on a number of different watches than you otherwise might not be exposed to.