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2021... the hobby is dead ?
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Taddyangle
·This could be winter blues speaking but at times the world of watches doesn’t seem fun at all. And when things stop being fun maybe it’s time to walk away from them.
I have thought the same at times, but they I think about the wonderful friends I have made due to this hobby. Good friends that I will have for life. In addition, I have really enjoyed attending get togethers in Los Angeles, Orange county and San Diego. I am now living in SW Florida, and I very much miss the get togethers.
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tyrantlizardrex
·I have thought the same at times, but they I think about the wonderful friends I have made due to this hobby. Good friends that I will have for life. In addition, I have really enjoyed attending get togethers in Los Angeles, Orange county and San Diego. I am now living in SW Florida, and I very much miss the get togethers.
Before restarting GTGs in October last year I was fairly certain I was done with it all. And then I remembered what it was I liked about collecting the most - the people, and in particular being in the same room with the people rather than seeing the watered down/hyped up world of collecting as it often appears online.
I suspect the lesson here might be to spend less time on the internet looking at what other people are doing/saying and more time talking to nice people?
There’s gotta be a little SW Florida crew you could pull together right @Taddyangle?
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tyrantlizardrex
·Well perhaps, but certainly everyone needs a
Speedmaster 2998-1 with a lollipop hand 😲
I know I do 🙄
Not only do I not need it, I don’t particularly like it… 😒
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cicindela
··Steve @ ΩFNot only do I not need it, I don’t particularly like it… 😒
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bradurani
·LMAO. It was you. You made the prices rise. You bought up the best examples. You drove up demand by drawing attention to specials variants. You paid too much at auction. You posted pictures online. You read Hodinkee. You watched the YouTube channels. It was you
Edited:
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S.H.
·There are millions of used wristwatches out there. If you are only chasing those that cost a bundle and are overhyped, well, it sure won't be very satisfying in the end. Personally I just tune out when the price is over my threshold, it simplifies a lots of things.
I really don't understand why people complain about price/hype. Just buy what you like and can afford safely, and be curious FFS. There are more than enough watches for everyone. I cringe when I see these posts:
https://www.fratellowatches.com/cru...ces-are-spoiling-the-joy-of-watch-collecting/
"So, I feel sad for Ignacio, Jorg, or anyone else who once had the dream of owning a specific watch that has become unobtanium. Whether that’s a Speedmaster, Submariner, Royal Oak, or Nautilus, it doesn’t matter. The question is whether they can find solace in all the more affordable alternatives out there and if they will bring them the same level of satisfaction."
🤦 "find solace"
As if my life has significantly improved since I managed to get a pair of vintage speedies and a 1950s Rolex running properly... 🙄
I really don't understand why people complain about price/hype. Just buy what you like and can afford safely, and be curious FFS. There are more than enough watches for everyone. I cringe when I see these posts:
https://www.fratellowatches.com/cru...ces-are-spoiling-the-joy-of-watch-collecting/
"So, I feel sad for Ignacio, Jorg, or anyone else who once had the dream of owning a specific watch that has become unobtanium. Whether that’s a Speedmaster, Submariner, Royal Oak, or Nautilus, it doesn’t matter. The question is whether they can find solace in all the more affordable alternatives out there and if they will bring them the same level of satisfaction."
🤦 "find solace"
As if my life has significantly improved since I managed to get a pair of vintage speedies and a 1950s Rolex running properly... 🙄
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pdxleaf
··"I cut it TWICE and it's still short!"I really don't understand why people complain about price/hype. Just buy what you like and can afford safely, and be curious FFS. There are more than enough watches for everyone. I cringe when I see these posts:
https://www.fratellowatches.com/cru...ces-are-spoiling-the-joy-of-watch-collecting/
"So, I feel sad for Ignacio, Jorg, or anyone else who once had the dream of owning a specific watch that has become unobtanium. Whether that’s a Speedmaster, Submariner, Royal Oak, or Nautilus, it doesn’t matter. The question is whether they can find solace in all the more affordable alternatives out there and if they will bring them the same level of satisfaction."
🤦 "find solace"
I think I found Solace.
Seriously, you make some good points.
In defense of Fratello and other writers, I suspect some of their over the top language is due to trying too hard to come up with new material. Blame the editors.
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JwRosenthal
·I found solace in this the other day
Sunburst black dial- (pardon the crystal scratches- will need a wet sand as it’s beyond poly) and keeping time well. This is my third chrome plated Swank (made by Yema/LeJour) and all are fun cheap thrills- I paid $59 on eBay. Still fun stuff out there if you do your homework and enjoy cool for the sake of cool and not get hung up on the petty stuff.
Sunburst black dial- (pardon the crystal scratches- will need a wet sand as it’s beyond poly) and keeping time well. This is my third chrome plated Swank (made by Yema/LeJour) and all are fun cheap thrills- I paid $59 on eBay. Still fun stuff out there if you do your homework and enjoy cool for the sake of cool and not get hung up on the petty stuff.
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cicindela
··Steve @ ΩFI found solace too, 31 years ago, cost me $1900. Bucks.
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Shabbaz
·My life sucks because I dont have a Ferrari. Complete failure
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stonestone
·So much depends on what you choose to read and who you choose to hang out with. If you’re a successful lawyer making $500K a year but you read AP and PP watch catalogues for pleasure and hang out with hedge fund managers for whom your annual income is a rounding error, chances are you will have a harder time “finding solace” with your life choices, including the watch you wear.
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Syrte
·To the Fratello watches of this world and those who are still «crushed » at this date by their watch problems I have a great suggestion to find solace: turn the news on, see what’s happening in the world, and rejoice if your worst problems are your watch problems. Wake up people. 🤬
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tyrantlizardrex
·To the Fratello watches of this world and those who are still «crushed » at this date by their watch problems I have a great suggestion to find solace: turn the news on, see what’s happening in the world, and rejoice if your worst problems are your watch problems. Wake up people. 🤬
It is possible to care/think about more thing at the same time, but this is a watch forum.
So the problems discussed here are likely to be mostly around watches.
That does not mean that I or other people that are annoyed by changes to our hobby aren’t aware of other problems in the world or dealing with larger problems in our own lives.
Am I “crushed” that I can’t find or buy things I used to at sensible prices and that the world seems to be full of profiteering investors and shitty pseudo dealers? No.
Am I annoyed about it? Yes.
And that’s ok.
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TIMElyBehaviour
·I’m going to brave the waters and post my opinion. So I got into the game about 4 years ago. I have had a pretty steep learning curve with over 200 watches owned and moved on in that time. Mainly I do it to fund the “keepers”. I’m not a rich man and had to come up with an alternate income to spend on such objects.
out of this all I managed to learn watchmaking and service my own stuff now. Yay.
I have ticked off all the boxes for me except 1 which is a memovox and I’m leaving that for a milestone celebration. I have to have something to be excited about.
can the regular guy get in to the hobby now and survive? Yes definitely although it’s not as easy as it was 4 years ago. Are there some nice pieces out there for a good price? Sure there is. Look at the brands of yesterday that didn’t survive quartz as we know it. Some damn fine watches produced with tonnes of history and most of the “collectors” investors don’t pay any attention to yet.
I have all the ones I want and for me I get to kick back and enjoy them now. I get to work on watches I buy to service and move on and I get to service friends watches etc.
This is what I have and what I intend on keeping going forward to enjoy and cherish.
out of this all I managed to learn watchmaking and service my own stuff now. Yay.
I have ticked off all the boxes for me except 1 which is a memovox and I’m leaving that for a milestone celebration. I have to have something to be excited about.
can the regular guy get in to the hobby now and survive? Yes definitely although it’s not as easy as it was 4 years ago. Are there some nice pieces out there for a good price? Sure there is. Look at the brands of yesterday that didn’t survive quartz as we know it. Some damn fine watches produced with tonnes of history and most of the “collectors” investors don’t pay any attention to yet.
I have all the ones I want and for me I get to kick back and enjoy them now. I get to work on watches I buy to service and move on and I get to service friends watches etc.
This is what I have and what I intend on keeping going forward to enjoy and cherish.
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tyrantlizardrex
·LMAO. It was you. You made the prices rise. You bought up the best examples. You drove up demand by drawing attention to specials variants. You paid too much at auction. You posted pictures online. You read Hodinkee. You watched the YouTube channels. It was you
I’ve nearly always bought broken watches in need of repair.
The demand for the watches I like has not measurably increased, the supply is still plentiful, the prices are now just 4 times what they were 3 years ago.
The only watches I’ve bought at auction were broken and less than £1500.
I did post pictures online… I don’t think that convinced anyone that the things I was buying could possibly be worth 4 times what I paid, or the cost/time of repairing them properly.
I don’t read Hodinkee. It makes me cross.
YouTube is for guitar tutorials and cat videos… you can check my search history.
The one watch I own that has become a hype watch, became so because someone who had an interest in selling them for big profits and owns a couple of well known magazines went out of his way to make it one. That doesn’t fill me with joy.
Collectors may have drawn attention to vintage watches, but an awful lot of us have nothing to do with the new breed of “asset diversification investment” bro’s or “this watch is undervalued despite being produced in the 10s of thousands” pundits. There are special circles of hell reserved for those folks.
I will continue to be amazed that people are willing to treat items that are mass produced in huge quantities as “rare and valuable”, that level of stupidity is both baffling and a watch brand marketing departments wet dream.
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Moadib
·We've a bad confluence of 'too much money chasing too few goods' and a consumer driven society fanning the flames of it. Not saying it's right or wrong, it just is.
I actually find bad on both sides. I 'lose' when I can't buy a watch that I like for the price it went for not long ago. But I also lose when a watch that I own goes insane in demand or price - I didn't buy it to sell it, but it affects my enjoyment of wearing it as I might damage it / get mugged / look like a flash git.
As much as I love those, more and more I prefer something I can just enjoy with less associated baggage. But despite that I still get drawn in by a nice watch!
I actually find bad on both sides. I 'lose' when I can't buy a watch that I like for the price it went for not long ago. But I also lose when a watch that I own goes insane in demand or price - I didn't buy it to sell it, but it affects my enjoyment of wearing it as I might damage it / get mugged / look like a flash git.
As much as I love those, more and more I prefer something I can just enjoy with less associated baggage. But despite that I still get drawn in by a nice watch!
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STANDY
··schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collectorSomeone joined yesterday as the 87853rd member
@tyrantlizardrex is the 1643rd member that joined in 2012
So say 10,000 newbies a year nowadays, (as it wasn’t 10,000 a year in the early days) this has had a increase in the competition for watches and definitely a increase of prices for watches.
Pseudo dealers that buy cheap and sell high to fund their nice watches…. These 🤬ers started popping up on mass in 2016-17
Add Instagram and hundreds of YouTube channels from 20 year olds that were in primary school when many of us started.
I watched Mad Men increase members here, I watched La La Land increase new members wanting a Seamaster. The 50th anniversary Speedmaster was a huge bump to the Speedmaster collectors pool.
The Rolex
brought a heap of people here and the Rolex situation ushered the rise of the Nautilus and the Royal Oak.
0-2% interest rates have created the biggest rise in luxury spending in the last 100 years. 10 years from now when interest rates are at 5% watch how many watches are affordable all of a sudden.
As I have said a few times in the last few years. “I’m glad I’m not young heading into the next 10 years
@tyrantlizardrex is the 1643rd member that joined in 2012
So say 10,000 newbies a year nowadays, (as it wasn’t 10,000 a year in the early days) this has had a increase in the competition for watches and definitely a increase of prices for watches.
Pseudo dealers that buy cheap and sell high to fund their nice watches…. These 🤬ers started popping up on mass in 2016-17
Add Instagram and hundreds of YouTube channels from 20 year olds that were in primary school when many of us started.
I watched Mad Men increase members here, I watched La La Land increase new members wanting a Seamaster. The 50th anniversary Speedmaster was a huge bump to the Speedmaster collectors pool.
The Rolex
0-2% interest rates have created the biggest rise in luxury spending in the last 100 years. 10 years from now when interest rates are at 5% watch how many watches are affordable all of a sudden.
As I have said a few times in the last few years. “I’m glad I’m not young heading into the next 10 years
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M'Bob
·Watches, like relationships we seek, don’t often make rational sense, and often fail under scrutiny. That’s both the joy, and the suffering.
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Widows Son
·Interesting and very complicated topic. I was reading a thread about what items kids don't want to inherit from their parents. These included furnature, pianos, china, sterling silver flatware, pictures, etc. This loosely mirrors what people collect. There will always be a tiny percentage of people who collect artwork, paintings, watches, old cars, motorcycles, fountain pens, you name it. Speaking from personal experience my 11 year old son isn't the least bit interested in my hobbies. Gun collecting, watches, motorcycles, old cars, fraternal organizations...No interest whatsoever!!! Go to a local car show sometime. Nothing but old people (like me!!!) arriving with their cars. Are the older people the only ones that can afford them, or maybe younger people don't want to mess with the expense of servicing and storage??? I don't know. Motorcycles??? Forget it. Harley is in serious trouble. The average age of a Harley owner is 60+. Younger people just aren't getting licenses. Watches?? I have a large network of people I know through Church, Lodge, work, sports, etc. I can count the number of people on one hand that are into watches. Again, I know there are people who collect super high end cars, watches, homes, boats, firearms.....But if any hobby is to continue, it needs an influx of new younger people.
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