The thing about changing jobs and having a growing family is that the demands on your time reduce the time available for your hobbies. But although I haven’t had time to compose reflections on my watch collecting journey over the past three years, it doesn’t mean that it hasn’t continued. Finally, a chance to catch up here on the ebbs and flows of my watch collection.
Despite my prediction for 2022, in reality it turned out to be a very active buying year, thanks to the availability of some additional unanticipated resources. The watches added included two Loriers, a Massena LAB Dato-Racer, a Stowa Partitio, a Citizen silver leaf lacquer, an Oris bronze BCPD, a Hamilton Intra-Matic 38, a Grand Seiko 9F, a Tudor Glamour Date, and a Rado Golden Horse. But of all these watches added in 2022, only the Rado currently remains in my collection.
That’s because, after adding a few additional watches in early 2023, including the Longines 190th Anniversary, a Seiko x Rowing Blazers white dial, and a Rado Over-Pole, I took a look at my bursting watchbox and realized this wasn’t the collection I wanted. Some watches would go over a month without a wear, and although I enjoy trying new watches, it’s difficult for me to look at watches in the box that I just don’t feel like putting on my wrist that often. So in the second half of 2023, I decided it was time to sell off many of these watches and consolidate into a few pieces that would see more regular wear. Thus, I sold off 11 watches in 2023 and 5 more in 2024, and in the last year and a half have bought only 4 watches.
My first target was an Omega Seamaster Pro 300 “No Time to Die” in Fall 2023. James Bond was main reason I started collecting watches, so what better watch to consolidate into? Then in early 2024 I found a great deal on a Speedy Pro and later a Panerai Luminor “Blu Mare.” And at the very end of this past year, I finally added a Rolex to the collection when Topper’s drop included a very well-priced Cellini. My hope had been to add a gold dress watch to the collection, and I had been eyeing some 1990s Blancpains and newer Mont Blancs that fit the bill. But I also had been following Cellini Danaos’s in WatchRecon for quite a while, and when this one popped up at a comparable price, I pulled the trigger. A precious metal almost-vintage Rolex dress watch falls in line with my collecting approach while avoiding my personal hesitancy to add a stainless Rolex sports model. (The other Rolex that’s been in the running is a vintage two-tone DateJust, but I couldn’t find one at the right price before the Cellini became available. Maybe someday…)
So again we reach a point where I expect my collection to be static (or nearly static) for the foreseeable future. I feel like my consolidation efforts are complete, with the possible exception of selling one or two more watches from my collection that don’t see much wear. Time to focus more on photographing and writing about the watches that I’ve settled on for my collection, and hopefully share some information that helps others as they work on their own collections. Happy collecting to all as we begin 2025!
