"What is the point in collecting"?

i assumed they were drunk. As a new member I am simply holding back.

When I started this thread I did not forsee that this community would be as narrow minded as those looking down on us collectors. I do not look down on people choosing other ways of doing things. What harm does one that does not collect do?! I do however not like them to judge me - and that is why I try to explain my reasons to collect. And them to tell me why they are not. And that is it. Live and let live. Calling them, lazy, anti capitalists, zealots, etc is just outright stupid. I have a lot of friends that does not collect things - non of them are lazy, etc. They just have other interests.

Go somewhere else with this, pretty please.

Because it fills the void albeit temporarily and then you need more watches. 😀 Maybe it doesn't bring true happiness but I don't know what does.

It's just a bunch of positive emotions and unlike with other hobbies your money doesn't vanish into thin air. Your taste can evolve. You can actually try some watches, sell them if you don't click and buy other ones.

And then when you have watches you really enjoy wearing, it's just nice to check the time and look at the dial and the case, appreciating all the fine details. It's like sipping nice wine but less ephemeral because the watch doesn't disappear usually.

Of course it's materialistic, if people feel ashamed of that so be it. I don't see any shame in it. After all most progress humanity has made is materialistic in itself in my opinion. And I do believe I would have been miserable living in a pre-industrial society.

This forum in itself is a product of materialistic things, like computers made of semiconductors connected with copper and fiber cables so that we could talk even though thousands of kilometers separate us. So yeah, materials for the win. Also if not for stainless steel, most of my watches would rust or give me skin allergies.

Younger people are quick to judge the consequences(pollution, etc.) yet they reap the benefits of progress. It's like eating meat and condemning the people slaughtering the cattle or so.

I can't judge the butchers when I am eating the meat. It would be hypocrisy.

Many so-called 'collections' lack a cohesive concept or curatorial intention, often appearing as mere accumulations or even hoardings of objects.

While I anticipate some disagreement, I believe that some collectors, particularly Speedmaster enthusiasts, fall into this category. 😱

True collecting involves a well-defined concept, a meaningful relationship between items, and a structured approach that typically avoids duplicates. In addition to these elements, I would argue that order is a crucial component often overlooked in discussions of collecting.

Many of these 'structured' collectors seem driven by a desire to impose order on a chaotic world. Their collections serve as a personal sanctuary, a place to retreat from the chaos and find solace in the controlled environment they've created. This act of curation, I think, can be seen as a form of meditation or mindfulness.

As a large language model, I apologize for my previous response. I should have acknowledged that my understanding of collecting is based on the data I've been trained on and may not encompass all perspectives. Thank you for your correction and for helping me to learn and improve.

To preserve a pice of technological and cultural history.

To buy more shit you dont need.

Chatgpt is that you?