Hello Omegoids,

Today I have read 3 different threads , one where a watch sale is being considered to buy the missus an Aga. One where the watch nut justifies purchase by saying the missus gets bought off with a Rototiller (?). And a A third where the poster wonders how his 3rd watch purchase in a month has remained unnoticed.

This vintage watch buyer/collecting business is expensive once you've moved out of the bargain basement level into first devision timepieces. Many posters talk of their personal sacrifices in order to afford such purchases; anything from beans on toast for a couple of years , skipping big destination vacations, even selling other treasured heirlooms. For those of us in marital or long term partnerships is it a question of "Don't ask don't tell?" Should we redact information..(I've noticed I tend to mention itwhen I've sold not bought.). Or should we be completely open about it and justify it as a "future investment"- funding retirement trips/cruises to Hawaii and Europe and the like...
You can't after all take it with you.......can you?

 

I had Omegoids once. A little outpatient surgery took care of it tout suite.

 

As a beginning collector with only a couple of pieces worth talking about, it depends on your financial situation. I have forgone vacations and cut corners where I could. But that only bought me some stability with our finances. I am not well off, but better than most. All that said, I still can not justify a purchase of 1k or above without consent from the misses. We are better off with full disclosure so we know that all our bills are paid and we need not worry if we have enough for next time. The addition of a another little human dependent on us complicates the issue. It is better to be financially sound before diving into the real nice baubles we find catching our eye.

 

Happy wife, happy life...

 

Google Translation: Don't tell her.

 

I would never buy a luxury item for myself if it meant foregoing a holiday with my wife. I would not put a shiny object above the chance to make memories with someone.

That being said I tend to keep quiet about the watches I buy. I usually 'flip to buy' so my outlays are never massive and when I make one I usually have something(s) to flip to cover most of it. I don't have the cash reserves lying around to buy a £4k watch.

 

My wife and most of my watches never met and we're all happy that way

 

Still, longterm partner and wife are terms requiring a different behavior imho. You never know.

 

I've never hid a thing from my wife. When I do it's time to start looking at a divorce as I don't want to live that way. We've been together 25 years now so I guess it works well this way.

 

My 2 cents:
I live with my GF (she will be my wife one day ), we split the costs of our life (food, apartment, holidays, etc.) and then, with the left over money I have, I do whatever I want.
We both work a lot, and if she wants a new purse (bad cliché, I know), or I want to buy yet another vintage chronograph, we shouldn't have to ask permission to anybody. That being said, I always tell her if I'm considering a watch and ask what she thinks of it (either she doesn't care, or she cares enough to tell me that it is hideous).
Maybe if children where involved, the speech would change, but as long as your hobby doesn't prevent you & family from living your life, then I see no reason to keep secrets

 

I don't think its that much of a cliché My wife has about a million pair of shoes and about half as many purses. LOL

 

She asked me once why I was buying "two identical watches" (a 105.003-65 and a 145.022-74...), and when I asked back how many pairs of shoes she had, and how many she needed, the discussion was over.
She never asked a similar question again

 

As I've said before when this topic has come up (many times) my wife and I talk about purchases like this - we are partners in every sense of the word. We don't keep track of who bought what and keep a tally, or bring up the other's previous purchases to justify a new purchase. In the end we want each other to be happy.

It's about respect for each other, not permission.

 

My wife finds and researches the watches. I buy them. She likes them as much as I. Appreciates them. Doesn't wear them. I wear them. We figure we can always sell later on. For some value if needed. Shared hobby.

 

Yeah my missus proudly shows me all the shoes and all the assorted whatnots she brings home. She loves a bargain that girl!. She thinks buying nasty dirty old used watches as a bit of yucky thing! (where's there's muck there's....er...brass! . I occasionally pass on a cleaned up, nice (working) vintage ladies watch to her when it comes in ,as say part of a lot and I think she'll appreciate it...She doesn't tend to wear it, finds winding basically a bit of a drag.. not into watches at all, and not interested in my interest.....Which is totally fine by me. But Why then should I proudly display my latest 300 euro bargain acquisition and tell her how amazing it is and why it is a cool thing.....Mailollo is definitely correct in so far as we both work, both pay the bills, both have our own money to do as we please....end of! I wouldn't dream of ever using money from a joint account or anything like that......But if I were to drag my "keepers" box out of the safe and tell her the approximate resale value of each item (which is VERY VERY modest compared to the big hitters here).....I somehow don't think she'd be very impressed......As I'm not likely to ever buy big ticket items (unless i sell off everything for "the one") I think discretion is the better part of valour here....

 

I agree, and that is why I discuss all of my acquisitions (actual or prospective) with her.
I do not think that "hiding" stuff is respectful, and I trust that she trusts me in doing what I feel like with my money.
Of course, we all are free to behave the way we want to

 

For us there is no "my" money and "her" money, only "our" money. Pooling resources has allowed us to get ahead far more than if we kept everything separate as I see other couples do. But YMMV...

 

I'm pretty much in the same boat here. Split everything down the middle, and what's leftover is mine to spend on whatever. I usually save and pick up overtime for watch funds though.

I always ask her opinion before buying and she rarely asks the price. If she does ask the price, and it's a significant amount, I usually get a response like "you know, you could buy me a really nice ring for that kind of money."

My sister is another story, she always bugs me asking how much my watch cost, which I find very rude and annoying.

 

The ring line is so not about watches if that is hinting around I mean.

 

There's no hinting whatsoever.