Long time lurker here, figured I’d finally make a proper introduction. I am a lady enthusiast who has always loved watches but I never put much thought into quality. Whenever a watch battery died, I tended to replace it with another fashion watch. Fast forward to a few years ago and I was traveling with my mom outside of Vancouver. We stopped at a mall and I went for the watch case. Around that time I had read that I should stick to companies that only made watches so I went for a Seiko gold plated dressy watch but I told the salesperson that I absolutely never want to change batteries again and she offered a solar or an automatic. I grabbed the automatic without understanding what that meant. So I wore that watch and liked it enough but I noticed that whenever I didn’t wear it for a few days, it stopped running and I had to reset it. I figured I had a lemon and started researching why on earth the watch kept stopping! The rest, as they say, is history and down the rabbit hole I tumbled! I still have that Seiko but now it’s a little too big for my tastes. Like a lot of new enthusiasts I went A LITTLE NUTS in the beginning and bought a ton of affordable watches that I have now given away to family and friends. Below is a summary of my current collection in the order I acquired them. Seiko SKX 009J: all roads led here as my first purchase once I understood what automatic watches actually are and I bought this one from Mark at Long Island Watches. I kinda have a love/hate relationship with it. Now it bugs me that there is orange font, a black dial, and Pepsi bezel (why so many colors?!). I definitely wear this the least though I don’t want to get rid of it. I also have an orange dialed one too and I take turns wearing these swimming or at the beach. Speedmaster Professional: My love!!! My heart!!! After the SKX I jumped right into luxury and this was my first choice. It is by far the watch I love the most. I got it to commemorate a few professional accomplishments and I wear it in important professional settings. I honestly wish my journey had ended here! The Speedy really hits on everything for me and I would have loved to just have this watch and not share time with the others. This was the true gateway drug that led to all the others but oh if only I could have stopped at that first hit of the crack pipe!!! Hamilton Khaki King: I really wanted this watch but again, like the SKX I started not liking it once it arrived. I wish I had gone for the no date/day variation as it driving me a little crazy to have the numbers cutoff. Other than that, I can appreciate this one for maybe a day at a time. Rolex Explorer 2 16570: After vowing that I’d never want a Rolex because of my loving devotion to Sir Speedy, of course I became curious and I had an opportunity to get this from a jeweler around the time of my birthday last year. I actually love this one and it is a part of the forever crew. I wear it mostly when I travel and since the bracelet is trash in my opinion, a lot of the times I wear it on a colorful NATO or a strap. I’ve worn this watch traveling abroad and feel totally safe because it’s so un-Rolex. And the GMT complication has beaten out the chronograph as my favorite. That jump hour feature is so enjoyable. Tudor Black Bay 58: Crazy story of how I acquired this while on vacation in Florida (maybe I'll share another time). Bought it new and was deciding between this and a pre-ceramic Sub. Went for the BB58 and have not been sorry. I love the gold gilt and attitude of this little guy. Absolutely perfect on the sizing for me too! So simple but dare I say, has more personality than a Sub? Anyway, this one is definitely part of the forever crew for sure. I tend to wear it when training our dogs so it also reminds me of puppy time. And who doesn't love puppies? Rolex BLNR Jubilee, aka Batgirl: I got the call! Another long story on this one but suffice to say, when I got the call to get it new from an AD, I immediately made it happen. I actually had to sell 3 watches to be able to afford this and that process taught me that I am not a seller or flipper or whatever! I hated selling those watches and have reacquired two out of the three. I do love the look and feel of this watch but I bought it for my birthday this year and since I got the call basically six months early, I haven’t worn it much because I think I’m saving it for my birthday month. I have worn it for a week or so but my plan is to wear it a month straight starting on my birthday and then reflect on it more. Needless to say, forever crew. IWC MK XVIII Le Petit Prince: Purchased two days ago. Intended to get a Railmaster because I have wanted a Railmaster ever since I saw them in person a year ago. Wrote about the pleasant experience for my first posts on the forum. Going to wear it leading up until my birthday and will say more about how I like it then. So far, I’m pleased. Really rounds out my collection in my mind as I wanted a little more color. That’s it! My keepers/Fab 5 are the Speedy, BB58, Polar Explorer, BLNR, and the IWC. I’m very interested in how people rotate their watches so maybe I’ll make a post about what I do soon. Thank you for listening/reading!
Very nice collection. Classics all around. The Polar Explorer on red nato is so unRolex that I just bought a red nato for my Polar Explorer from seeing yours As the kids said it “Awesome wrist game!”
Glad you like it! I liked the Polar from the beginning and I still wear it on the bracelet occasionally but I felt like giving it some funky colors really made it playful and fun. Like this one.
Great collection. You've accumulated watches that are very well-regarded on the forum. I notice that you haven't ventured into vintage watches yet. That's an entirely different rabbit hole.
True! I have some passing interest in vintage Moonwatches but I currently feel that my knowledge base is way too low to pursue anything seriously. Perhaps over time as I learn more I will build the confidence to really start considering and enjoying vintage.
