There are two schools of thought when it comes to collecting watches. One involves searching for the one watch that is your grail watch. The watch that ends the hunt. The other is buying what you like, and what can afford right now. Neither approach is wrong and they both have their merits. Both sides think they are right. Delayed gratification, higher quality, family heirloom are reasons to go with a one watch collection. Instant gratification, value for money, specialization and diversity are reasons that support a large watch collection. Not putting all your eggs in one basket is another reason in my mind. People will negotiate between the extremes when deciding on size. If the constraints of a one watch collection is too much, maybe the will reason that a three watch collection or a five watch collection will be best. Then they put rules, categories, and specifications that they want to meet. A dress watch, a tool watch, a chronograph, a field watch, an aviator, a digital, a diver, a retro, a vintage and more. These reasons or justifications are similar to the triple constraints of project management; budget/cost, time and scope. You can increase time, delay gratification while you save up a budget, to get the perfect watch that meets all the specifications of your scope. Or you can adjust the scope and get something good enough for now. A minimum viable product that accomplishes the task at hand which shortens the time and reduces the budget. This leaves budget to get something else if a different task is identified. If you go this route, you likely will never get to the ultimate grail because you don't have the total budget and every time you buy something you delay and add time to save up for the grail. Like most things in life, it is all about tradeoffs.
I fall in the buy what you can afford and like category for a few reasons. The first is that when I was new to watch collecting, I didn't really know what I liked. I bought watches that I thought I loved but then discovered that there are some aspects I didn't love about them. I don't regret it because the aspects I do love about them are still there, and they were affordable enough that I can look past a little thing here or there. If had paid significantly more money, it would be a case of more money, more problems. When you pay more, you expect more and in watches there can quickly be diminishing returns. Expectations can become the seeds of disappointment. Some of the very cheapest quartz watches tell the time with a level of accuracy that puts many watches to shame. So the initial $25 meets the majority of the technical scope for a watch. It also takes care of time and budget issues. So then what is left? Why go any further than a Casio F91W? This is where, the devil is in the details.
Let's be honest, with the advent of smart phones that are ubiquitous, watches are completely unnecessary. The ability to tell time is not limited to watches. There are clocks on walls, on computers, on phones and more. So watches are no longer a necessity. Yet there is something about them that draws in so many of us. A certain "je ne sais quoi" that is hard to explain and is different for each person. I think that is because watches are jewelry and art. They are a form of expression. They are intimate to you. You wear them on you. You look at them often. They also tell the time. Wonderful art can be cheap and terrible art can be expensive. While you do tend to get what you pay for, the law of diminishing returns is real. So value for money is a reason I love affordable watches. That and the fact that I am drawn to more than one style, color, use, feature. For me, I would rather go to a museum with lots of art than a single piece of art, no matter how awesome that single piece of art is. More is sometimes more.
Another reason I prefer an affordable collection is my mood and tastes change over time. Some of what I liked a few years ago, is not what I am interested in now. Nothing changed about the watch. It was me that changed. I have gone through phases with watches. I have liked subtle and classy. I have liked bold and tough. I have liked tactical and military inspired. I have liked dressy and refined. I have liked digital and retro. I have liked minimalist and clean. I have liked complications and functions. There is no single watch that has everything I like, because I like more than one thing. You can't have it all in one.
The next reason is I thought I was going to like something until I experienced it. Some things seem awesome in theory, but in practicality are not as awesome as I hoped. I have fond memories of watches as a kid. I have tried some of those same watches on now, and they are just too small for my now much larger wrists. Luckily I have small wristed kids who are always happy to get another watch. The same thing happened with mechanical watches for me. On paper and online they sound amazing. Full of soul and oh so interesting to look at. When I got one, it was all true. I felt like a real watch enthusiast. I loved the smooth sweep of the seconds hand. I loved the feel of the automatic weight winding the spring as I moved. I loved looking at the mechanical aspects working through the display case back. It felt like it had soul! I interacted with it often, winding it up, resetting the time, and the date. Eventually all of that got a bit old. The smooth movement of time did not mark time, and instead it just felt like it was flowing. I also wanted something I could just grab and go. So what seemed good at first later turned out to not be my favorite. I still love it, but if it was my only watch, I would be left disappointed.
The next reason I prefer a collection of affordable watches over a single grail watch is because I enjoy variety. I no longer wear a uniform. I am not stuck wearing the same thing every day. Even in the military we had some variety in uniforms. We had dress blues and utility or field uniforms. We even had fancy mess dress, and regular dress uniforms. Which was like black tie vs a business suit. So even in the military we enjoyed a little variety. I love having a dress watch, a dive watch, a field watch and a retro digital watch. I love having a variety of styles and colors to match what I am doing and wearing that day.
The next reason I prefer a collection is quantity vs quality. While I can appreciate volumetric efficiency in a car motor, it is true what they say, there is no replacement for displacement. The same hold true for watches. I can appreciate the level of effort that goes into one watch. I can also appreciate the effort that goes into many watches. I can appreciate it many times. I can compare and contrast. So for me, the more the merrier.
If you have ever had a new car, you know the stress it can bring. You worry about all kinds of things. Is it a lemon? What level of gas should I use? Where should I park so it won't get dinged? No eating in the car! Is it time for a service? Is it going to rain? And so on. When I got a mechanical watch, I had that same anxiety about it. Don't bump it too hard, hold it carefully, don't drop it, stay away from magnetism, don't scratch it. It stressed me out a bit. Luckily it brought me enough joy that I still wore it. I can't imagine what I would have done it was ten times the price. Would I really get 10 times the joy? Or would I just get 10 times the stress and anxiety? On this, I have a pretty good idea of the answer. I would not get 10 times the joy. I know this because I have watches that cost one tenth the price and bring me similar a similar amount of joy and I get that with next to no stress or anxiety. So I know the joy of watches is not tied to price.
Price is another way people determine the size of their collection. They pick a fixed number. $100.00 or $500.00 or $1000.00 or $5000.00 or $10,000.00 or more. Then once they have that number, that is it. So then they try to maximize it by going to the extremes based on the budget. Either, what is the best watch I can get for this price or what is the most watches I can get for this price. I gave my son a $200.00 budget to buy what ever watch or watches he wanted. He got seven watches and had money left over. Lots of people could easily spend that all on a single watch. Neither choice would be wrong. Like my son, I would choose value for money, and I would have gone the quantity/variety route, as long as they met my minimum quality standards. Which his did. I don't believe money is as fixed as other factors. Time is a much more limiting factor and I want to enjoy the time I have.
Another way people limit themselves is with quantity. Some pick an arbitrary number such as 3 or 5 and then adopt a "one in, one out" rule. This limits them from going all in for "all the watches" but it often leads to regret from selling too soon or selling at all. Like fashion styles and trends that come back around, I have found that my excitement for a watch ebbs and flows. Sometimes all I want is a retro digital, or a desk diver. Other times I want a mechanical dress watch. Then other times I want a field watch or a chronograph. Put something away for a while and coming back to it can rekindle the joy. So can swapping the strap or bracelet on a watch. It can completely change the way you feel about a watch.
I want you to be happy with your watch collection. I believe each person has their own spot that is just right. It is ok that the just right spot is different for everyone. So my advice is, avoid the extreme trying to limit yourself to just one watch and the other extreme of trying to own all of the watches. Weigh the factors and find your happy medium. For me, a large variety of affordable watches in different styles is my happy place.