My first automatic piece, a Seiko 7005-7130. Took it in for a crystal replacement and that entity that called himself a watchmaker scratched the dial. Here I am, 6 years later, and I haven't made peace with the scratch.I changed the watchmaker I go to a long time ago. That fella who messed up my dial also happens to have went out of business two years ago. I wonder why... My fault for not doing my research. Retired not by choice.
I've got aprox 60 watches at the moment (don't even know the exact number) many are de facto retired. I don't wear them not because I don't want to but because I can't 'be arsed' to. Every now and then I force myself to list one so I can keep on buying
Many collectors acquire watches that have been retired by a previous owner. Someone who tired of the watch, or were disinclined to return the watch to use because of expensive repairs. I have several hundred pounds of those that are used as donor watches. As most collectors are inclined to do (I suppose), the really interesting ones are brought back to life by extensive effort, a bit of expense, or both. Most of my collection of about 125 or so watches fit into that category. Most of them I could use if I were inclined, but mostly I go to my favourites. The word “retired” can have many different meanings, depending on who is defining it.
I started unofficially retiring watches when collection grew to about 6-7 watches. That was the inflection point where I had 2-3 watches I gravitated to, with the remaining being relegated to the back of the safe. HOWEVER, one of the small joys in life is when I forget how nice a watch is and get to wear it for the “first time” all over again. If I don’t get that feeling then I generally just unwind it.
I haven’t retired anything yet and don’t know if I ever will. Even when I receive my father’s watch, I still think I’ll wear it on occasion to spur up some good memories. I have seen a lot of NOS watches on here and I will say if I owned one or came across one I don’t think I could bring myself to wear it, so that could be considered ‘retired!’
I have just reached that point in my collection that I have begun to sell a few pieces. The motivation isn't money, rather it's a refinement of what I have in my rotation and which pieces truly make me happy. In that sense, the exercise of selling is more a reflection of what I've learned along the way, and a lack sentimentality tied to the piece itself. Maybe this is what is referred to as "bonding" with the watch? I know the few that I have sold, and the couple I am trying to sell are all awesome time pieces, but fall squarely into that category. I have found that if there is little emotional connection, then it's also likely to receive little wrist time, so why not move it along to someone who will enjoy it more? Now, obviously, is a strange and difficult time to sell any watch, but I don't think that any of mine qualify as "retired". As another posted earlier, the only watch(es) that I would really considered retired would be a piece that I love, don't ever want to part with, but is otherwise too fragile to be worn in any regular setting.
Ive basically retired all my quartz watches except: 1. Snowflake 2. Seiko Solar 3. Citizen Solar 4. G Shock 5. Technomarine (semi retired) So those retired include: 1. Fossil 2. Kenneth Cole 3. Tiffany 4. Movado 5. Gucci 6. Swatch 7. Jorg Gray 8. Rudy Project 9. Philip Stein