Community Stories

Since you are a watch collector (Retirement)

Dsloan
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Scarecrow Boat Scarecrow Boat
I have graduated to making homemade ramen 😀

However, my favorite Top Ramen flavors were chili & soy sauce.

That said… I can’t afford anything as of late ever since my daughter was born 🙃

Don't worry! Soon, the parts of your brain that urged you to enjoy things for yourself will atrophy, leaving only the parts of your brain that enjoys doing things for your daughter to rule your life. At least, I think that's how it works.

We hit some financial milestones and can now splurge on really fancy ramen:

ttingly-chili-on-noodles-WEB_ad404018-7fcd-4441-aeae-276b87fe4cb1.webp
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Archer
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Love the momofuku ramen! Good stuff!
 
Canuck
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An acquaintance is going thru a combination of retirement, and failing health, right now. A mutual acquaintance contacted me that the guy has watches he wants to sell, and that he feels he would benefit from some advice from someone who has experience as a collector (in this case, me.) This guy isn’t really a collector, but he has four pocket watches he wants to sell (all Hamiltons.) I haven’t seen the watches, but he has said he’ll let them go if someone meets his price. His price tells me they really aren’t being offered for sale. Seems he expects there is a huge market for the watches he has! He has no family to leave them to, so I expect the liquidators will deal with them for pennies.
 
Scarecrow Boat
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Dsloan Dsloan
We hit some financial milestones and can now splurge on really fancy ramen:

ttingly-chili-on-noodles-WEB_ad404018-7fcd-4441-aeae-276b87fe4cb1.webp
I love David Chang! I’m definitely going to splurge on this. I found I can get a three pack & starter pack, which includes various seasonings of his. Time to soft boil and marinate some eggs 😋
 
Speed2Sea
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My brother-in-law on his way to Vietnam first sailed to the Philippines. He had a very similar custom stainless steel watch band made for him. It is paired with Seiko he purchased in Japan.
 
Walrus
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Seiji Lépine Lépine
May 1969, Hamburger Hill, the battle that Americans fought the North Vietnamese for a worthless hill. Is buying watches at the beginning of retirement the Ramen Road?

EcRVymZ.webp
Whenever I see 1/2 I automatically try sweeping the screen
 
RevZMan123
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Dsloan Dsloan
Don't worry! Soon, the parts of your brain that urged you to enjoy things for yourself will atrophy, leaving only the parts of your brain that enjoys doing things for your daughter to rule your life. At least, I think that's how it works.

We hit some financial milestones and can now splurge on really fancy ramen:

ttingly-chili-on-noodles-WEB_ad404018-7fcd-4441-aeae-276b87fe4cb1.webp
1733331789748.webp
this is the top ramen! if not this one, go for the spicy carbonara buldak
 
Dsloan
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RevZMan123 RevZMan123
1733331789748.webp
this is the top ramen! if not this one, go for the spicy carbonara buldak

$6 a bowl!? I guess I need to add 5 years to my retirement projections.
 
khanmu
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So originally, way back when, I’d planned to retire this year. However getting married and having kids a bit later in life put paid to that - so I have another 5 years to go! Plan is still about the same though - mortgage paid off, pension pot to have a steady inflation proof pension, reduced living expense, and built up a nice little wine cellar to enjoy as it ages like me.

In terms of other assets, as I was once told - everything you own today, will one day be owned by someone else. So I will start winding down and selling off - and putting away on funds for the kids. Will ask them which watches they they want, and will probably keep my beloved 145.012, 5513 and a dress watch, and sell the rest, over the coming years. As someone said - who needs the hassle of insurance, servicing etc? I’m going to spend my retirement drinking good red wine, reading good books, and going hiking in the hills with my dog, and pestering my boys for grandchildren…
 
TIMElyBehaviour
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For me I have collected what I want to keep and pass on to the kiddies later. I do some watchmaking bringing old pieces back to life. I plan on doing this until the eyes and hands say no more. Until that day, if there is something I like that I fix I will keep. Otherwise I sell and buy more to restore.
 
Seiji Lépine
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TIMElyBehaviour TIMElyBehaviour
For me I have collected what I want to keep and pass on to the kiddies later. I do some watchmaking bringing old pieces back to life. I plan on doing this until the eyes and hands say no more. Until that day, if there is something I like that I fix I will keep. Otherwise I sell and buy more to restore.
That is admirable, swapping out a stem and crown or an odd hand alignment is pretty my the limit of my skills. I find more and more a difficult time finding a watchmaker in my area I would trust with vintage watches.
 
TIMElyBehaviour
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Seiji Lépine Seiji Lépine
That is admirable, swapping out a stem and crown or an odd hand alignment is pretty my the limit of my skills. I find more and more a difficult time finding a watchmaker in my area I would trust with vintage watches.
I’m kind of lucky in a way. I learned watchmaking the hard way I guess by watching vids and reading up on it. Along the way I have made friends in the industry. One is ex-breitling and the other was the service manager for Rolex in melb. Both point me in the right direction and have been fantastic to bounce ideas and problems off of.

I guess, give it a go and network. I know there are quite a few good watchmakers in here, archer comes to mind, that are happy to help where they can.
 
gbesq
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Speed2Sea Speed2Sea
It's really a question of buying within your means regardless if you are working or retired.
What he said. I retired about two years ago. I still purchase watches that interest me, but i'm selling more than I am buying.
 
Walrus
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I’m heavily invested in Seiko 5’s I’m sure I’ll be fine
 
Waltesefalcon
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My plan is simple, work until I die. But, if I do get the opportunity to retire I will start parring my collection down to something my kids can easily manage when I'm dead.
 
river rat
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I sort of been retired a long time. I bought property in Montana in the 1990's for when I retired. I built a house on it in 2014 after I retired and moved out of Calif. I sold some of my collection thinking money was going to be tight. That was a mistake because I won't be able to buy them back, they went up in price, and I won't pay what they sell for today. I added some great watches since I retired. I just do it smarter go after the under the radar stuff but even that stuff went up later in retirement. You buy fixer uppers like a Hamilton Canteen watch that had wrong hands and dustcover I got recently were I got the parts and it's as correct as I can get it but at half price, I did OK. Got a Hanhart 417 just before the price jumped up on those. You just collect smarter. Got a Longines US Navy comparing watch got that at half price due to it was a nonrunner my watchmaker made the part to make the wind indicator work and she is running. You just get cheap. Tell you glad I bought property early in Montana 7 grand for an over an acre that same property maybe over a 100 thousand with no house on it today. Heard in Bozeman a house could cost a million that's nuts thanks to all those stupid shows about Montana, and most are filmed in Texas dam move to Texas liked it when People thought us in Montana lived in a shack like the Una bomber I was ask that once when in another state I said I have a pot belly stove and need to feed it a lot of wood not to freeze in my shack smaller than the Una-bomber shack little did they know I have a 3 bed room 2 bath house.
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Turpinrr
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I retired in 2019 early-ish.
And celebrated by buying myself a BB58 and a 1926 for Mrs Turpinrr.
Since then I've bought a Tudor Royal, 2 Bremonts, 2 Breitlings, 2 Longines, a Hamilton, a Tag Heuer 2000 and bought my missus Omega Aqua Terra and De Ville, and 3 Longines.
Edited:
 
Walrus
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Turpinrr Turpinrr
I retired in 2019 early-ish.
And celebrated by buying myself a BB58 and a 1926 for Mrs Turpinrr.
Since then I've bought a Tudor Royal, 2 Bremonts, 2 Breitlings, 2 Longines, a Hamilton, a Tag Heuer 2000 and bought my missus Omega Aqua Terra and De Ville, and 3 Longines.
Did the Mrs like the 1926? I almost picked up a moonphase 1926 as someone local was selling one and I still don’t have a moonphase in my collection.

But I stuck to my guns I need to get a nice guitar first. I’m finding a parallel in the collectable watch/guitar market. A lot of frankens and fakes in both and the level they are done you need a keen eye to tell many of the fakes.

I guess that runs true in most collectibles. It’s just kind of a bummer as I ain’t out to beat no body I just want to give you your cash and get my “real” item.

Someday I’ll buy my last guitar, watch coin or drone. Then what? Might as well be buried in one nice watch unless I get cremated.

I never really looked at retirement but I cracked two ribs playing baseball two weeks ago and after trying to ignore the pain I went to get checked out and along with the damaged ribs they found early pneumonia again. I can’t with 100% certainty say the pneumonia originated at work but I know other cases have.

I know the medical line is “we don’t typically give each other pneumonia” but I beg to differ. As long as watches bring me a smile I’ll find a way to get them. I probably won’t be stocking up on VC and such as my life span shortens I could even switch to quartz cause I don’t think I’ll be layin on my death bed bummed out I have a quartz on.

Damn that got depressing I’m going to get a Mr Jones lazy after noon watch lighten the mood.
 
Turpinrr
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Walrus Walrus
Did the Mrs like the 1926? I almost picked up a moonphase 1926 as someone local was selling one and I still don’t have a moonphase in my collection.

But I stuck to my guns I need to get a nice guitar first. I’m finding a parallel in the collectable watch/guitar market. A lot of frankens and fakes in both and the level they are done you need a keen eye to tell many of the fakes.

I guess that runs true in most collectibles. It’s just kind of a bummer as I ain’t out to beat no body I just want to give you your cash and get my “real” item.

Someday I’ll buy my last guitar, watch coin or drone. Then what? Might as well be buried in one nice watch unless I get cremated.

I never really looked at retirement but I cracked two ribs playing baseball two weeks ago and after trying to ignore the pain I went to get checked out and along with the damaged ribs they found early pneumonia again. I can’t with 100% certainty say the pneumonia originated at work but I know other cases have.

I know the medical line is “we don’t typically give each other pneumonia” but I beg to differ. As long as watches bring me a smile I’ll find a way to get them. I probably won’t be stocking up on VC and such as my life span shortens I could even switch to quartz cause I don’t think I’ll be layin on my death bed bummed out I have a quartz on.

Damn that got depressing I’m going to get a Mr Jones lazy after noon watch lighten the mood.
Yeah she does, its the one with diamonds.
I also got her a green Primaluna Moonphase but I haven't got a Moonphase either.

I've also had a new hip and knee, both on the right side, since retiring.
The hip has been great, the knee not so.
20231225_093038.webp 20191206_150928.webp
 
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