Why You Can’t Afford To Buy Your Watch If You Can’t Afford To Break It
by GaryG
My first rule when it comes to collecting is to avoid setting too many exclusionary rules.
I am sure that there are many theme-centered watch collectors who put emphasis on things such as owning one of each Omega vintage chronograph from a certain year or Elgin railroad watches of a particular decade. These people might consider what I do far too haphazard to be labeled “collecting,” for instance.
If, however, I force myself to set criteria for what constitutes collecting to me, I keep coming back to two rules for myself: passion and enjoyment.
And this is perhaps best defined by asking yourself, “Are you emotionally engaged with the items you collect, be they watches, cars, or bottle caps, and do you take advantage of all of the enjoyable aspects of owning them?”
With watches, I believe, the former criterion – passion – is what separates collectors from investors and accumulators. Which brings me to the second criterion: deriving the full enjoyment from the things you own.
Among Ferrari enthusiasts, there’s a well-known saying: not driving your Ferrari so it will be more attractive to its next owner is like refusing to sleep with your lover so that he or she will be more appealing to the partner after you.
Nevertheless, there are lots of “garage queens” out there, just as there are a high number of “safe queens” and their owners in the watch world. Yes, I’m looking at you, Mr. “Triple Sealed In Its Own Original Geneva Air And Never Wound Let Alone Chimed Patek Minute Repeater.” I’m also speaking to all of the other owners of micro-mechanical marvels who don’t wear them, share them, or in some cases even let them out of the safe.
Why wear the watches that you own? There are lots of good reasons:
· It’s fun! You can’t get that thrill of seeing your pride and joy peeking out from beneath your cuff if you don’t have it on your wrist.
· It’s better for the watch in the same way that running a car keeps the hoses and gaskets from rotting; wearing your watch helps the lubricants do their jobs effectively.
· It shows respect for the maker. As a collector of independent pieces, I’m particularly big on this one. Do you really think that the person who spent hours tuning the operation of your chronograph wants you to keep it sealed in its package?
· It brings joy to your watch buddies, particularly if you swap from time to time and have the chance both to experience a piece you love but don’t own and see your pal loving the piece you had the obvious good taste to buy.
GaryG’s secondary market A. Lange & Söhne Double Split before refurbishment
· Watches are surprisingly hard to break and – more importantly – can be fixed. A few years ago, I bought a piece at an auction online, only to find when it arrived that it looked (at least to my very particular eye) as if it had been put through a garbage disposal. Gouged lug, dinged bezel, anti-reflective coating polished off part of the crystal, you name it. But after a surprisingly affordable trip to the “spa” – in this case, A. Lange & Söhne’s laser metal deposition capability – I defy anyone to distinguish this timepiece from new one.
GaryG’s A. Lange & Söhne Double Split after refurbishment
· The difference in resale price of a “mint” vs. “near-mint” piece isn’t actually that large. Were the extra thousand bucks you made back at the end of the day on a $20,000 watch really worth all of the fretting and missed enjoyment?
· If it becomes clear that collectors insist on wearing their watches, perhaps manufacturers will place a higher premium on wearability. I’m not suggesting a return to the days of ultra-high complications in 35 mm cases, but perhaps “packaging” (otherwise known as habillage or a decent-sized case) would take on higher priority in a world of vocal frequent wearers, particularly at the high end of the market.
· A watch is a functional item, and, ultimately, it’s wasteful to fail to take advantage of all that it has to offer.
Of course, at the end of the day if you really have spent a lot more on watches or a watch than you can afford, none of the above is likely to release you from the grip of fear. I’ll talk about some gambits for increasing the affordability of your collection in a future post, but in the meantime, wear and enjoy your watches as much as you can!
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
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[…] One word of caution, though, when such a watch descends from a price previously unaffordable to you: you still need to ensure that you can afford its maintenance and care. For more on that, see Why You Can’t Afford To Buy Your Watch If You Can’t Afford To Break It. […]
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[…] loving care back at the A. Lange & Söhne manufacture (which I reviewed in some detail in Why You Can’t Afford To Buy Your Watch If You Can’t Afford To Break It) found myself with a like-new Double Split that has been one of my very favorite pieces ever […]
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[…] *This article was first published on Quill & Pad on February 24, 2014 at Why You Can’t Afford To Buy Your Watch If You Can’t Afford To Break It. […]
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[…] *This article was first published on Quill & Pad on February 24, 2014 at Why You Can’t Afford To Buy Your Watch If You Can’t Afford To Break It. […]
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[…] as a fun watch, patronage purchase, investment piece, or carefully-considered combination. See Why You Can’t Afford to Buy Your Watch If You Can’t Afford to Break It for more on this […]
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[…] loving care back at the A. Lange & Söhne manufacture (which I reviewed in some detail in Why You Can’t Afford To Buy Your Watch If You Can’t Afford To Break It) found myself with a like-new Double Split that has been one of my very favorite pieces ever […]
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I can’t agree enough with this, and it’s a lovely surprise to see you join Q&P! Looking forward to your posts.
A number of years ago I saw someone wearing a watch with its bezel protector still on…yes, out and about. Why??
Many, many thanks for the kind words, Ms. C! To put it mildly I was very pleased that Elizabeth and Ian were amenable to adding me to their merry band.
Will hope to see you at many more events and fairs in the future, and of course if ever you are in our neck of the woods…
I had a similar experience to yours — Panerai with that big rubbery thing on it… ouch.
@GaryG – if you’re worried about the bezel of your PAM to that extent…why bother?
Exactly! Better to buy a less expensive piece (Nomos, pre-owned older Omega Speedy, e.g.) and wear the living daylights out of it than to live in fear!
Thank you for commenting! We are thrilled to have Gary here and are very sure that his input will be both valuable and entertaining. As to why someone would do that….your guess is as good as mine. Just incredible, isn’t it?!
He was afraid of dinging it…most of his watches are safe queens.
Spot on Gary! Agree agree and agree
Many thanks, Peter! Very gracious of you to comment here — I will continue to follow your fine work with interest.
But the ‘lazy Susan helicopter manoeuvre’ is taking your view to the extreme, Peter!
😉
Cheers,
pplater.
For our gentle readers who may not be familiar with the technical term used by pplater immediately above, I would only like to make clear that despite my fervent argument in the article, it does put a bit of a catch in one’s throat to see one’s most treasured watches, along with those of friends, spinning wildly on a rotating tabletop turntable and being propelled toward the edge! Again, if you can’t afford a ding or two, you’re buying the wrong pieces…
Very well written Gary! Kudos to Quill & Pad for having the smarts to include an passionate watch collector to write from the consumer viewpoint.
Salient points and important ones that should be shared.
Thank you, Tim, we are very glad to have Gary!
Very kind of you, Tim! Passion is contagious, and you have it in heaps.
What a well-written article! And, I completely agree. If collecting is a hobby, as it is for me, then it should be enjoyed – and a big part of that enjoyment should be looking at your wrist and admiring the timepiece on it! If you are purchasing high-end watches as an investment (and, they don’t always appreciate as much as one would think), then they are probably destined for your safe. How unfortunate.
Thanks for your points and for the praise, John. In this article I didn’t even get to the big issue of “watches as (perceived) investment,” which to me takes folks out of the enthusiast collector category. Stay tuned, as I am sure that we will mine that rich vein of ore sometime soon!
Great to see you writing here, Gary. Indeed, it’s great to see you writing (and snapping) anywhere, but especially with people who have been such strong supporters of our Indie friends. It was surprising, though, to see you lauding laser metal deposition and not talking up the restorative power of peanut shells when applied generously to precious metal cases. A topic for another column, perhaps?
Power to your elbow, old son: best of luck to the good ship Q&P and all who sail in her.
Cheers,
pplater.
Delightful to see you visiting our little corner of the horological world, pplater! Current plans are for me to make a formal appearance in these precincts once monthly, which I hope will be within my creative powers.
And suffice it to say that occurrences during “travels with watch buddies,” including the application of unconventional nostrums for case polishing in a tropical nightspot while sending birthday greetings to an independent watchmaker, could well provide the grist for many months’ columns!
I forgot to add that ‘respect for the maker’ is one of my refrains with which I have bored too many people over the years. It frustrates me that this isn’t something that many safe queen addicts think about.
Just read this article. And yes, the words you use are absolutely perfectly chosen! It is all about the big word PASSION and about what the philosophy behind the watch/brand/watchmaker is. And it is a shame when those handcrafted timepieces are just in the safe and not on the wrist. I had tears in my eyes from laughing when I read your sentence: “Among Ferrari enthusiasts, there’s a well-known saying: not driving your Ferrari so it will be more attractive to its next owner is like refusing to sleep with your lover so that he or she will be more appealing to the partner after you.”
Cheers,
Christian