When watch collectors get together, Image: FratelloWatches
Rolex Daytona Cosmograph Ref. 116520 – Offer from Capetown Diamond Corporation: € 10.249
Besides the fun of owning a number or wristwatches, either contemporary pieces or vintage ones , there is more to collecting watches than its ownership. It all starts with the hunt for a certain timepiece. Whether it is window-shopping at the big dealers in the city or hours of browsing websites like Chrono24 (remember to use alt-tab when appropriate), the hunt for a timepiece has a very large share in the process of collecting.
Once you've set your mind to a specific brand and model, it is time to
put all your energy into finding the perfect piece for the perfect price
at the perfect seller. Yours truly once travelled from Amsterdam to New York just to pick-up a watch and returned the next day. Oh and to make it even worse, this was just after his wife gave labour to a beautiful daughter. You can imagine the discussions this type of addictive behaviour caused. But in the end, it got the watch I wanted, and I've also decided to hand it down to my daughter when the time is there.
Finding the right watch might take weeks, months, or even years, in some cases. The definition of the 'right watch' is the trick though; this might vary from person to person. If you are unwilling to make compromises regarding condition, price, or location, for example, it might take a while. Once you have found the right watch, it might take the heat out of your obsessive behaviour. For a while that is, because after every Holy Grail there seems to be a new one. The positive side, though, is that watch collecting is a never-ending story.
Watch Collecting, Image: FratelloWatches
Where car-enthusiasts gather on a Sunday to show off their vehicles and
discuss cubic inches, comic book collectors meet at Comic Con, and jazz
record collectors visit smelly bars, watch collectors share their
passion with other enthusiasts (without having to put silly clothes on)
in bars, watch trade shows , or even at the manufacturers of watches. That's right;
watch brands are happy with watch collectors (of course) and gladly
invite you over to Switzerland, Germany, Japan, and so on, to come and
see their manufacture and to proudly show you how it's done.
If you are not able to travel and see these watch manufactures and
their museums for yourself, there are plenty of watch collectors who
already did so and put extensive photo reports online for you to enjoy.
A. Lange & Söhne – Lange 1 Ref. 101021
However, one of the best aspects of watch collecting didn't get a single mention in this article till now. Meeting like-minded watch collectors in the last 16 years resulted in some very valuable friendships. I am not talking about the friendships where you are able to unload a watch on your 'best friends' for the highest price, but true friendships that go beyond watch collecting. I have yet to meet a woman that became friends with another lady because of the nice Louboutins she was wearing. There was probably only envy and jealousy.
Of course, some statements in this article regarding women should be taken with a grain of salt, or two.