When Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley got divorced, I remember thinking, geez, she must be a royal pain in the ass for a toad like Billy (talented, yes, we have to give him that) to split with her.

My point, though not completely analogous: when we request dibs on a watch, or scour the net for a piece we are lusting after, if we are completely honest, was the chase better than the conquest? Have there been watches that you got that were actually BETTER than the hunt? For me, most acquisitions gave me a day or so of potent endorphin release, then it was on to the next. The exception: a minty Ed White - still gives me a little kick when I stretch the spring links over the wrist, and give the 7912 clasp a snap.

 

Sometimes... yes. There are watches that I HAD to have... and then when I got them... meh.

And then some that I sort of wanted... and then got them... and now they're not going anywhere - Speedsonic, flightmaster, DeVille 860...

 

Allow me to quote somebody very wise from my past: No matter how hot she is, there's at least one guy somewhere that got sick of her shit.

Allow me one further indulgence from personal experience: Actresses never stop acting. Ever. (and all women fancy themselves as a famous actress now & again)

The whole process, from start (check out dat watch!) to finish (Man, dat looks guuuuud on my wrist!) always morphs into the flip (Geez, how long haz I owned dis tired thing?). Even my gorgeous VC Malte Grande got sold. It took more than 5 years, but the only thing constant is change. The guy who bought it 1.5 years ago is selling it now.

 

An extremely accurate, deflating, sobering, and painful truth.

 

I don't hunt anymore. the watches just multply!

 

I don't really "hunt" for watches, unless you consider spending maybe 3 minutes in the private sales section here "hunting" each day...

For every watch I've ever bought, the owning it has been better than whatever hunting I had to do to find it. But then again, I do not suffer from chronic flipperitis as many here do.

Even the one watch I obsessed over, literally lost sleep over, I have enjoyed more than the experience of wanting it before my wife finally said "FFS just go buy it!"

Cheers, Al

 

which one was that out of curiosity? the Red Sub?

 

Let me guess the brand..... it starts with a "G", ends with an "L", and has "lashütte Origina" in the middle.

If you know many watchmakers, you know most of them either roll their eyes at, or get a chuckle out of, the craziness of Rolex collectors. They laugh at the "Ooooooo, a DOUBLE RED!" stuff.

 

No, that "hunt" lasted all of 5 minutes, as it pretty much fell into my lap. I wasn't even looking for one.

 

Bingo!

 

No offense Al, but that wasn't too hard to guess. I know that there aren't many watches that make a watchmaker's heart twitter pate. I still have dibs on that, right? I know it's a frivolous gesture, but I have to try.

 

In my small bit of experience, once you study something and search for something long enough, the hunt always ends in disappointment. The happiness comes from having something unexpected. My latest example is a GMT Master 1675, which was just offered me out of the blue. I knew nothing about it but I said "what the heck I'll take it. If I don't like it I'll sell it". Did not know that I'd love the Pepsi bezel, or how often I actually use the GMT function. Gets almost the same amount of wrist time as my Speedy now.

 

Do a lot of Barramundi fishing and the trip to getting where they are

the surrounding landscape while your fishing

The fight of the catching


But to have that beauty in the boat is the thing gives me the biggest buzz of all .



( more fish than watches get released in my neck of the woods )

 

The hunt is always enjoyable to me, but I only buy vintage pieces...so for me its all about the story. Most of my watches are one owner watches bought from the estate or children of the original owner. I have many fascinating stories associated with several of my finds. But in the end, the joy of owning the watch far exceeds the excitement of the find. After all thats what its all about isn't it? Staring at them endlessly, fondling them, winding them every morning...the joy of the hunt will never exceed touching her.

 

Florida's version of the Barramundi, the Snook .

 

How do you find such opportunities?

 

One I know has the President with the diamond bezel. I haven't had the courage to ask him about it yet.

 

endless hours searching

though I will say...in the last 18 months, the competition has become fierce.

 

For me it depends on the watch. I have a few vintage speedies and a stray seamaster. Sadly., largely due to value and concerns about damage / loss, the only one I wear on a part time basis is my 145.012. It's a beautiful watch and makes me feel like a grownup when I wear it. It has seen more wrist time this last week as my regular wearer (Casio sports watch - yes really) seems to have gone AWOL. Wear the Casio everywhere, so have to be careful not to wear the speedy in the shower. I enjoy my other watches when I ogle them, but not to the same degree as the 145.012.