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Is being a watch collector still fun?

  1. kov Trüffelschwein. Aug 4, 2020

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    Decided to start this thread as I'm really getting bored with the hobby and hope to get other members' thoughts on the topic.

    2020 has been - for me - a blank year in terms of watch-related stuff happening. No GTG's, no fairs, no events, no auctions, almost no watch friends casual meet-ups, no brand factory visits, no museums, nothing. A void.

    I decided to reshape my collection and open for other brands instead of Omega only for 10 years but now I realize that it didn't really bring the expected fun since the main component has been totally missing this year : sharing with real people. Yes, I still can share here but you will agree it's nothing comparable to the joy of opening a watch pouch in a GTG and talk about the new incomings with peers.

    Funny enough, I am opening this thread exactly one year after Arial Adams wrote this article on A Blog To Watch : https://www.ablogtowatch.com/on-ariels-watch-is-being-a-watch-collector-still-fun/

    I read his post again today and have the feeling that nothing has really changed so far, or maybe it even got worse, thanks COVID-19. ::yawn::

    How do you guys feel?
     
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  2. SpeedyPhill Founder Of Aussie Cricket Blog Mark Waugh Universe Aug 4, 2020

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    Indeed a "strange" year...
    Wrote some preparatory articles in preparation of more elaborate stuff for the 50th Apollo 15 and more specific 50th Apollo-Soyuz anniversaries
    Met the Omega Museum staff in Bienne last week...
    Looking forward to actual GTGs such as Time4aPint and probably #SpeedyTuesday events...
    :coffee:
     
  3. davidswiss Aug 4, 2020

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    I suppose it depends on whether you still pleasure from owning, researching and wearing the watches you have. I agree that meeting other collectors is the plus side of this hobby. My only only experience of a get together in London was very enjoyable and apart from learning about the watches that the others brought, it put faces and personalities together with the names. Unfortunately I don't get much of a chance to do that any more but I still do enjoy the collection I have and being a member here. So on balance I,d say yes it does.
    I'd also say that any similar collecting hobby is in the same boat.
     
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  4. lillatroll Aug 4, 2020

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    Not really done many in person meets but the joy of putting on a watch is still there, reading and learning is still a pleasure. I have focused on maintaining the the watches I have rather than buying new ones. I have bought a casio G Shock and a Hamilton PSR.

    I am not even sure what I would like to buy, I think it would involve selling a watch in order to replace it with a different but similar type of watch.

    Having other hobbies helps.
     
    Edited Aug 4, 2020
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  5. Shabbaz Aug 4, 2020

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    I feel great. I never saw or spoke to somebody in person about watches so nothing changed. I did however decided to have less watches and I've sold many the past 12 months to use mainly for a big house renovation. And I must say I dont miss any of them.
     
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  6. Eve Aug 4, 2020

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    Everything in life is in constant flow, we grow older, interests change.
    A few years ago i couldnt even imagine i would be interested in watches. I guess the interest might vanish as quick as it came.
    But i must admit i have other interests, that give me even more joy.
    At the moment i does make fun researching. I am still looking for that one perfect watch that will make me say "i am done here". :)
     
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  7. Canuck Aug 4, 2020

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    I live in a wasteland for watch collecting. There is a club here, but they get maybe 5 people out to a GTG, and they are mostly clock people. You know, those who haunt garage sales, looking for Korean clocks. They take them home, shoot them up with WD 40 and make them run, then all of a sudden, they are “experts”! So I retreat to the OB for my daily fix. One event I look forward to each year is an exhibition of model trains at which two of us exhibit railroad standard pocket and wrist watches, And railroad standard clocks. We have exhibited at this show for about 25 years. But not this year! I have been into watches (and clocks) for a very long time. And I am privileged to be active in repairing watches and clocks, and I have a large customer base which helps keep me connected. Yes, I still enjoy what is a hobby (and a business). I recently heard our son telling me how much he hates what he does, (he’s a chef). It told him how that was indeed a pity.
     
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  8. pongster Aug 4, 2020

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    still fun for me. 2020 shaping up to be another banner year for me like my 2018. Though my watch collecting addiction has really gone berserk starting 2016.

    i still get to meet with a few friends who appreciate watches. Not into big GTGs anyway. Been to only three so far including one in January. All local. Would love to go to a GTG where travel involved.

    what i miss though is travelling and buying a watch as a memento.
     
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  9. Larry S Color Commentator for the Hyperbole. Aug 4, 2020

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    2019 was a pivot year for me. I retired. This of course necessitated stomping, not tapping (2018) on the collecting brakes. Can’t take full credit for my discipline as Mrs S has a heavy foot. :) Prior to this I was traveling a lot, meeting some OF members and other collectors, actively buying, even hit a couple of Time For A Pint sessions in London. I loved the energy in watches and the community. Covid 19 is just a very depressing situation. I’m sure we will spin out of this eventually. In the meantime, I too am considering what to retain and what to sell. As an active person, I’m wearing expendable watches most of the time. I’m not dressing up and going to the office anymore. I really don’t need all these watches, yet when I pull one out to wear, I’m glad I own it. Adding to the cost of ownership is insurance and maintenance which really hammer home the need to cull the herd. I suspect the arrival of colder weather will see the departure of watches. I need to be stone cold about letting go. Not there yet. I’m not going to stop enjoying watches. They still fascinate.
     
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  10. eugeneandresson 'I used a hammer, a chisel, and my fingers' Aug 4, 2020

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    Well done : you made me read an AA-ABTW article for the first time in many years (at some point the verbosity turned me off ... that was a nice concise piece) ... and I do agree with him.

    While primarily gravitating toward Omega and wearing Omega for about 25 years, I have always had other brands in my collection (even as a child I always had more than 1 watch). Whilst primarily gravitating towards vintage, I still like (and purchase) modern. While loving chronos, I actually have a thing for divers as well that has been a thing for a lot longer. While being a social butterfly I prefer people to like me for the smile on my face and my wicked sense of humor as opposed to my watch-roll, and I primarily get my watch kicks out of what’s on my wrist at any given time instead of what it cost or what it looks like on IG, and I actually despise lots of stinky grubby fingers fingering my preciouses in anycase. So all in, I would say I am not bored with my watches, or the variety that I could still add to my collection, although some GTG's I do miss.

    But back to his article

    Certain marketing campaigns have left me close to wretching. Social media 'influencers' (and some of them are members here) posts on social media leave me close to wretching. The 'Hype' trains that so many brands/collectors/dealers etc try and create leave me close to wretching. Give another watch a nickname and I will vomit on you. The fact that I can't buy a watch I like, because of scalpers/speculators/flippers is beyond a joke (brands should somehow make a test to weed such people out so new watches go straight to their final homes). I have enjoyed hanging out here, but it seems that the content is getting worse and it appears there are way too many every-watch-is-just-a-deal-where-I-butt-fakked-some-other-bloke-out-of-a-few-coins-Dweebs (and thats about the sum-total of what the hobby appears to be about for such people). Thats just a few things which leave me some what ill-feeling and disillusioned and have culminated to my overall #watchbore and #watchdisillusion.

    Covid-19 has had the + effect that there are less releases/marketing/hype ... so has been a bit of an 'ease' on the things which bother me a bit ...
     
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  11. janice&fred Aug 4, 2020

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    Oh the fun will all come back. This pandemic is casting a dark cloud over most everything we are used to enjoying and is in the back of your mind all the time.
     
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  12. lindo Aug 4, 2020

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    I have drifted in and out of active watch collecting over the years, usually because some new hobby/interest demanded that I sell things to pay for whatever has just got me excited. My current watch collection is bigger than ever before (still less than 20), but every item has been carefully selected and each one gives me joy.

    I really don't want to add to it, but I know that something will pop up sometime that begs to be acquired - and if it is a bargain so much the better. In fact it happened this morning - but that is for another post.

    So to answer kov's question I am not bored with the hobby, but not pushing it either: just trundling along, enjoying what I have and appreciating the social interaction of this excellent Forum.

    Good luck finding that 'one perfect watch'.
     
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  13. Tony C. Ωf Jury member Aug 4, 2020

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    I will always enjoy the vintage watch world, partly because the pleasure derived from the ongoing "treasure hunt" aspect of collecting is not easy to give up. The market is also so deep and broad, that even amidst the inflation in values of many models, there are always opportunities to find something nice that represents good value.

    Having said that, I was re-prioritizing the focus of some of my time and energy well before the virus struck. I doubt that I will ever return to the level of collecting that I once enjoyed, but even at half (or quarter) speed, it continues to remain attractive and enjoyable.

    The other obvious point is that there are always interesting things to learn, and that attraction will always remain. As @kov suggested, it isn't as fun when one can't travel to fairs, and meet friends who share the passion, but that will change over time.
     
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  14. janice&fred Aug 4, 2020

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    Yep that's what does it for me. I can't drive by a second hand store, antique or pawn shop without making a quick stop.
     
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  15. Shabbaz Aug 4, 2020

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    I really must admit something. This whole pandemic changed some things in my life.

    First, I'm wearing most of the time a Samsung galaxy watch. ::facepalm1::

    Second, I've lost 12 kilo's because my work as a lawyer was partly gone (courts closed, etc) and I started riding a bike excessively. The need for dress watches was suddenly gone as well.

    Third, I quite smoking after more then 30 years. I started at 12 (same age as my oldest son).

    So what is a pandemic for one (or most) person(s) is salvation for another...
     
  16. kov Trüffelschwein. Aug 4, 2020

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    @Shabbaz Congratulations for losing weight and quitting smoking ! Those are by far better achievements than another new watch whatsoever :thumbsup:

    Referring to the first point, it's interesting to see how our activities influence the choice of the proper tool watch :) fully understand the change !
     
  17. kov Trüffelschwein. Aug 4, 2020

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    I first thought I take the points of his post one by one and comment them here before I realize that the whole point of willing to refer to his post was elsewhere...
     
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  18. eugeneandresson 'I used a hammer, a chisel, and my fingers' Aug 4, 2020

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    So you are saying 99% of my post is redundant :D
     
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  19. kov Trüffelschwein. Aug 4, 2020

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    Are you saying that I only got 1% of what you said? :confused:

    [​IMG]
     
  20. krogerfoot Aug 4, 2020

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    This hobby is supposed to be fun? Dangit