The My Wife Said I Needed a Hobby guy.

Do you often sit around the house asking your wife if there are more chores you can be doing? Do you often ask if you can please go visit your in-laws for a change of scenery? Do you volunteer to go to every PTA meeting, dance recital, school play rehearsal just to get out of the house? If so, then maybe watch collecting is for you... A hobby that instantly devours all of your free time and money and makes your wife regret telling you to find a new hobby in the first place. Gotta love it.

 

Which in his case is little more than nothing.

 

Basket Case: The watch collector who refuses to pay top dollar for the perfect vintage watch so he buys watches needing parts / repair to save a buck. Then spends the rest of his days searching for the elusive un-obtainium pieces to make his watches complete.

 

That's more aptly titled "The Project Watch" guy. Doesn't take long to realize it's cheaper to pay the premium for a mint example.

 

This is sooo true. Much better to pony up and buy a top but expensive piece. Buy a basket case and you will end up paying more making it perfect.

The sum of parts is much more expensive than a whole watch.

 

The Wilfully Ignorant

Will happily chime in on any subject whether or not he knows anything about it. Prone to making sweeping statements with little or no factual basis. Prime source of watches are uncles (of which he may have many). Opens casebacks with needle-nosed pliers.

 

How about the "Lucky" type where he gets an all original 321 pre-moon speedy with a brown dial the original owner wants to sell for $200 because it is an old watch? Seems there are lots of these in the forum. While I am always a day late and a dollar short.

 

Two more:

The uncle flipper:

He would never let go of this watch that has an incredible sentimental value but just wants to know if it's worth repairing, and what it's worth...and Is in this specific country, and this is his email, and PM him

The wanna be:

He definately wants to learn, and likes watches and please tell him what he should get first and at what price and from where and what is an automatic and why is it not accurate and all because he can't be bothered to care to do the work himself

 

Industrial Design Nerd

Only owns iconic tool watches, and doesn't get fancy dress watches but owns an affordable dress watch for the off times he wears a tux. Secretly wants a Patek but will never afford nor pay the money for one. Claims his hobby allows him to cash out at any point as his watches will not depreciate or are not huge investments.

Claims the iconic tool watches are iconic due to design and function harmony, claims the Daytona is worthless and flashy due to readability but lays awake at night hunting an early Daytona to fill out his/her collection.

Owns a speedy pro, a dive watch and at least 1 Seiko of which at least one is an SKX or 6309. Keeps hunting for the perfect Navitimer but can't settle as the shear number of variations and unwillingness to just buy the 24 hour cosmonaut cripples him.

 

The Hodinkist.

Is a kaukasian male, typically Northern American between the age of 21 to 40 (there are outliers). Slightly overweight, pale and bearded. Wears his shirt buttoned up, but rarely wear a necktie. Loves bowties, but feel that they make people take him less seriously. Has a job that requires him to stare at a computer screen for at least 8 hours a day, most likely in advertising/communication. This has made him prone to believing pretty much all bullshit he reads, with the consequence that he is convinced that the founder* of Hodinkee.com is Messiah reborn and the rest of the site's editorial staff** are his disciples. The result is a number of grovelling attempts at getting the attention of The Chosen One including, praising the mediocre writing on the reviews, wearing garish wristbands like his heroes and gaining weight in order to achieve the same pudgy look. Is very fond of repeating what he has read on his favourite watch website, including the correct pronouncation of "Glashütte", "A. Lange & Söhne" and "Jaeger LeCoultre*** as well as how cool one-pusher chronographs are. Talks a lot about "craftmanship", "soul of the machine" and about being "authentic".

Dream watches: issued Rolex Submariner (because military)****, Heuer Whatevergraph-Rallyface (because Steve McQueen), Patek Philippe something-or-other (because "Cala-traaava").



*Still can't believe he calls himself "founder" of something, like it's some colony on the outskirts of civilisation or a charity foundation.
**The nerve! THE NERVE!!!!
***Failing miserably in the attempt.
***The Hodinkist will rarely, if ever, leave his room for fear of triggering his numerous allergies/his social phobies, and a military career would be as realistic as him striking up an interesting conversation with Scarlett Johanson.

 

Shots fired!

 

I had to restrain myself. Really.

 

Even a blind pig finds a truffle now and then

He's pointing at me!

Thank you for these words of wisdom.

I can blame it all on @mrsdarlinboy with a (relatively) clear conscience.

 

I have heard of the "Attempting to relive their past as military helicopter pilots by dressing up in their old zoom bags and going to Dunkin' Donuts on Halloween" watch guys.

EDIT LATE ENTRY: @ChuckMK23 may have heard of these watch guys as well.

 

I... er... damn. You nailed it.

 

Let's not forget the wannabe dealers .

 

THE HATER
Has great and utter disdain for every timepiece ever made by Rolex and is frequently spouting this hatred proudly. Is convinced that every Rolex owner is

and therefore has contempt for any fool that falls for the unjustly popularized marketing phenomenon and sees the frequently noted fake Rolex examples as solid proof that the whole brand is a sham.
Completely fails to recognize that there are douchebags wearing every example of timepiece and that the wearer does not define the object worn.