Is being a watch collector still fun?

To answer your question very briefly; to me, it is at least as much fun as before. I might not be buying, visiting GTG's and fairs, nor frequenting shops, but I do enjoy wearing my vintage watches more than ever. Great to have something that ticks and makes sense in what continues to be a chaotic and unpredictable environment.

Also, this whole situation will eventually blow over, by then, I am sure the much anticipated GTG's will restart and enjoyed. Something to look forward to, for sure!

Ironically, I am not wearing my watches as much, partly because I'm spending most of my time at our second home and my collection isn't here, but even when I'm home, I often don't wear a watch. But I'm still enjoying the hobby in the context of learning about vintage watches and hunting for new purchases. Our local NAWWC chapter has started Zoom GTGs, which is better than nothing. Actually, I would be interested in having more of those, perhaps with some OF members, but they need to be fairly small, just a selected handful of people at the most. If it becomes a large group event with open sign-up, it's basically pointless on Zoom.

One of the things that is making watch collecting slightly less fun for me is entirely my fault, and also under my control to fix. Over the past 5 years, I have gradually "upgraded" my collection, which is obviously a common stage of collecting. My collection had grown unwieldy, and it made sense to let go some of the pieces that weren't as important to me. So now, having done that, I am less likely to impulsively buy a low-end watch, or a watch in mediocre condition, which means that I am doing far fewer transactions. It's all logical obviously, but buying and selling is part of what makes collecting fun, and instead of doing that a few times a month, now it's maybe one transaction every few months. And the transactions I do are generally much higher value, and therefore more stressful. I don't think I had really realized this until just now, so thanks for forcing me to confront this.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/does-of-deserve-a-pat-on-the-back.117653/

This other thread popped at up the same time. As you reexamine your thoughts and feelings about collecting I hope you are comforted and take pride in having built and contributed to this forum. It is a special place that has brought comfort and a sense of community in a difficult time. Thanks to each and everyone of you.

As an addendum, as much as the internet has made things like this forum possible, it has also contributed to some of the negativity.

I have been a fan of VW Vanagons for awhile and by extension buses. You probably are familiar with the crazy split window bus prices. It used to be that i could buy a vanagon and drive it for a few years, sell it and buy another one when I missed it or if I saw something cool. I didn't think about prices because they were depreciated and stable. There were some parts of the country where they were expensive like the Northwest but cheaper elsewhere. The hunt.

Then came the internet. Suddenly there's an explosion of information if not knowledge. Now everyone can instantly know the price of anything even if it has no value to them personnally. What was once a community of like minded individuals is overrun. It's not all bad because alot of new interest is genuine. But when a small like-minded group gets more popular it changes things. Then enter the speculators. I can't sell my Vanagon and buy another one because the price has gone up and because it gets harder if not impossible to find one. Then I have to worry about getting hit and replacement of my now expensive asset. Instead of being an old man in a Van I am a poser.

This is still just talking about veedubs. But there's a correlation with watches and probably pretty much most collectors. Some of this is in my own head. It's necessary to check in now and then to see where my head is at and what is my motivation, like this thread. Definitely gotta have the fun factor. A break is not a bad thing though. I keep coming back to Vanagons because I miss driving them. I am not at the point in my watch journey that the fun is gone but I can empathize with folks who have been into watches for a long time and have seen what some of you have shared. Hopefully whatever you do next, whether it's contine collecting or downsizing, it will still bring you joy. Maybe you'll figure the answer to that age-old question, if I can have only one watch, what would it be?

This is why members often get snarky with people who make threads talking about investment, flipping, or whether their watch will hold its value. It’s a mindset underlying all the things that make collecting less fun for all of us.