One watch does not make a collection. Two or more watches are necessary to be a collection in my mind. You can be an enthusiast with just one watch. I know people who love their one and done watch. They wear it every day, because they have no other options. Nothing wrong with that.
If you want to be a collector and have more than one watch, the next logical question is how many watches should you have? In my mind, that comes down to what you want and how deep your pockets are. What you want is actually more important than how much money you have. You can always earn more or you can save longer, so it makes more sense to focus on what you really want.
A friend of mine said he has "Rolex tastes but a Timex budget!" That made me laugh because I think that describes a lot of us. The good part about that, is he knows what he likes! Working within the financial constraints that he has, he now needs to decide if he wants to scrimp and save for a hundred years, or get something that meets his wants and needs, while still being in his price range. He needs to look closer and perhaps a bit deeper, to determine why he has Rolex taste? Is it because of the looks, or the features? Or is it the cost? Is is the quality of the materials and the finishing? Or is it the logo? Is it because it represents something in his mind? Or is it because he imagines other people will see a Rolex and then see him in a certain way because it is a Rolex?
Truth be told, no one who is not a watch enthusiast, really cares much about watches. So if you are looking for external validation, you are truly unlikely to find it. So don't spend your money trying to chase that. Instead focus on what it is about a watch, that brings you joy. Is it the look of the dial? Is it the features or complications? Is it the durability of construction? Is it the design? Is it the heritage and story behind it? Is it the mechanical marvel? Is it the technological prowess? Is it just the way it catches your eye?
The better you understand yourself in this regard, the easier it is to find something that checks off your requirements and makes you happy. Some of that understanding is what turned me into a collector. You see, I like digital and I like analog, but I don't love them combined. So that meant, I needed more than one watch. I also like dress watches, diver watches, field watches, calculator watches and more. So that also increased the number of watches, I wanted in my collection. I liked having a nice mechanical/automatic watch that I considered expensive for me. But it gave me too much stress and anxiety, to just wear it all the time. I needed a watch that was tougher, cheaper, and less stressful to wear. So that also meant I needed more watches in my collection. Then I discovered that I like to collect multiple variations of the same watch. So I am both an enthusiast and a collector. Variety is the spice of life, as they say.
So what is the right number of watches you should have? That number is different for everyone, and the only way to truly determine the right amount for you, is to look inwards. For me, it was a lot more than I originally thought. My pockets are only so deep. So I have to balance and decide what is really important to me. Personally, I would rather have a collection of lower priced watches that I love, than a single expensive piece that I love. I enjoy the reduced stress and the variety, which for me, outweighs the difference in quality and the stress that I associate with having everything tied up in one watch. Don't ever go into debt to buy a watch! Don't get a watch you are not willing to wear! Both will make you regret the purchase.
For me, part of the thrill, comes from finding a high value/high quality watch at a low price in the category I am looking for, while still having a design aesthetic that makes me drawn to it. I believe you can get a great watch for under $500. I even believe you can get a great watch collection that you will be very happy with, for under $500. It is easy to spend thousands or even tens or hundreds of thousands on a watch collection. If you can afford that, I believe it will bring you joy! Feel free to share your collection with me and let me know what you love about it. If you have a collection under $500, I will be even more interested in the choices you made to keep it there. I will want to know what trade-offs you considered and what was important to you.
One of the first choices you will need to make is mechanical or quartz? This choice will guide the rest and will play a significant factor in the size of your collection. My first grown up watch was a somewhat dressy automatic mechanical watch, a Seiko Presage SRPB41J1 Cocktail Time Blue Moon. I got it on sale in 2019 and paid around $325 for it. I will say, it was worth every cent of it. It also taught me a lot about watches. I love owning a mechanical watch. I love that it is automatic. I love the dial. I also learned that I don't want a collection of mechanical watches. I am perfectly happy with quartz. As a kid, quartz was the future and the quartz revolution was here. Quartz gives you grab an go capability without having to reset the time and date. So between mechanical and quartz, I prefer quartz. That won't stop me from getting a mechanical, but I will likely get ten quartz watches or more for every mechanical I get.
I also learned that I wanted my next watch to be tougher. So I started exploring divers. I came across a Casio MDV106B-2AV Duro on sale for $40. I bought it. That watch taught me a very important lesson. A $40 watch can make me just as happy as a $325 watch. Having a quartz movement means it is grab and go ready all the time. Being a diver means, I don't have to work about it when washing my hands. I like the click of the seconds hand as it marks a second. A mechanical watch has a smooth sweeping seconds hand that is fun to watch, but the click of the seconds hand on a quartz reminds me of a school clock, tick, tick, tick. For me, the quartz movement marks the time and a mechanical movement passes the time. I am fully capable of changing a watch battery and I actually enjoy doing it. I keep spare batteries around, just in case.
Getting a Casio reminded me of my old digital watches. So my next watch was a Casio F-91W for $15. It brought me joy. I discovered that my wrist has grown a lot since I was a kid and a F-91W is to small for me, but my kids love them. That brings me even more joy. I still had a hankering for digital and next got a Casio AE1200WHD-1A World Time aka the Casio Royale for $30 on sale. The Casio Royale satisfied my cravings for a classic digital, a GMT or World Time, a James Bond style, and retro watch all in one. Very happy with it!
Then I started hearing about field watches and that sent me down a whole new rabbit hole. Lots of history there. In my mind, the ones I had seen in Vietnam War movies and TV shows like China Beach and MacGyver that we so simple and seemingly ubiquitous was what I wanted. Cheap, plain and very military. I found what I wanted in the Timex MK1 Aluminum 40 mm Reflective Strap Watch TW2R81000 and I got it for $70. I love that watch because it is a quintessential field watch. A 20mm strap monster. The reflective watch strap reminds me of the PT belts we wore in the military over our camouflage to make sure we are seen. It makes you invincible, or so I have been told. Put it on a black or OD green perlon and suddenly it is a tactical field watch. Push in the crown and the Indiglo lights up the dial with a pleasant electroluminescent glow.
So let's look at that simple 5 watch sub-$500 collection again.
Style | Watch | Price |
Dress | Seiko SRPB41J1 Cocktail Time | $325 |
Diver | Casio MDV106B-2AV Duro | $40 |
Digital | Casio F-91W | $15 |
Digital/GMT/Retro/James Bond | Casio AE1200WHD-1A World Time | $30 |
Field Watch | Timex Mk1 Aluminum TW2R81000 | $70 |
| TOTAL | $480 |
All of those watches are legendary and stylish in their own category. All are a great value for money. Each has a few features that makes them amazing. All have a background story. I love each and every one of them and I am very happy with that collection. So if your budget is the limiting factor, that is fine. It can be done. It is OK to have "Rolex tastes but a Timex budget!" The real answer to "How many watches should you have in your collection?" is, at least two and up to as many as you want, as long as you love them, and you can afford them.
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