The answer will be different for everyone. For those with our affliction that frequent a forum like this, it'll undoubtedly be more than 1.

The answer will also be different at different times in your life and watch collecting/obsessing career.

I have about 16 total, but only 11 are really in my core rotation. I feel like I don't give enough attention/wear to each watch. I want to get that core number down to about 5. Five of my watches are going up for sale this year, including 3 that are in the core rotation, bringing the core down to 8. I'll see how I feel at that point.

I just recently turned that corner after inflating the collection over the last 3 years. For the 10 years before that, I was a one-watch guy. Probably because I didn't frequent this forum

I have a mixture of cheap and more expensive watches depending on what I am doing or where I am. I certainly wouldn't want to wear my CW's while working on the car! I started off with intention of having just 1 good watch, but now have 4 CW's and a vintage Smiths a404. I will probably get another 2 good watches (Brellum and Zero west are pulling at my wallet at the moment) and that will be it, otherwise I suspect divorce papers will be in the post to me. To answer your question there is no right or wrong, just as long as you are happy and enjoying wearing your watch.

Htownsend wrote:I have a mixture of cheap and more expensive watches depending on what I am doing or where I am. I certainly wouldn't want to wear my CW's while working on the car! I started off with intention of having just 1 good watch, but now have 4 CW's and a vintage Smiths a404. I will probably get another 2 good watches (Brellum and Zero west are pulling at my wallet at the moment) and that will be it, otherwise I suspect divorce papers will be in the post to me. To answer your question there is no right or wrong, just as long as you are happy and enjoying wearing your watch.

Brellum is a fantastic proposition....
Sébastien is a true gent and everything that is good in this hobby

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The Rake’s Horological Progress (with apologies to Wm. Hogarth and James Joyce)

I don’t need another watch I mean I have a perfectly good one plus the cheap one in the drawer just in case and the nice little vintage I bought last year but those Christopher Ward watches do look good and oh I say they’ve got a sale on and they’re not that expensive really well I’m very pleased with this one and I do like one of those new ones on the site but I’m not going to go for it because it’s just too extravagant and that came rather quickly and I’ve joined their forum and goodness me some of the collections those guys have got and there’s one watch by another brand that I really like but I looked at the price and I’m not going to pay that much for a watch EVER even if it is available on 0% and I’m really glad I bought it but I’m not going to buy any more and that’s absolutely it now but I really like that Cartier and it would be a real step upmarket but I couldn’t possibly afford it and it was really sad about uncle George but I’m pleased that he remembered me in his will and I’m quite surprised about how much he left me and it certainly would be good to get something to remember the old boy and that Cartier really is very nice and it’s in stock at my local AD…

No autobiographical elements whatsoever, of course.

If one really loves a watch and is willing to wear it every day, then 1 watch will work. However, 1 watch plus a G-Shock may be a better solution.

For me the perfect number should be 4.
1 GADA + 1 Diver + 1 dress + 1 Gshock or similar.
Even reducing It to the minimal: 1 GADA with different straps.. I would need the Casio for gym and other sports.

Just wanted to share my view on this topic, it’s not a common one in the watch enthusiast realm, but may strike a cord with some.

This can be a very personal decision, it certainly is for me.

My psyche will not allow me to own more than one “main” watch. I have a C65 vintage mk2 that I adore and wear 95% of the time. I have had up to 6-7 watches but find the act of choosing a watch difficult (in truth I find it incredibly stressful), which means I end up wearing the same watch most of time time and I cannot justify the ownership of the rest of the collection.

I also have a health watch (withings), which I now only wear for workouts and sometimes sleeping.

This is not to say I don’t like different watches, I do, I read, I watch and I listen to a lot of watch content but I’m finally comfortable with my one watch plus health/smart watch combo.

I have also owned many, many watches and have finally settled on my C65.

johncolescarr wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 8:48 am My psyche will not allow me to own more than one “main” watch.

I had a bit of an epiphany about this just recently. After years of banging on about my search for my one watch, I realised in a bit of a flash of light that I love watches - many of them

I’ve realised that the one watch thing is a thing of the psyche - a stretching for an ideal or an idea; while on the other hand I also love watches as material objects. Different types of them.

So - I can do both now that I understand this - without contradiction. Enjoy owning and wearing these little mechanical/design marvels. And still do this holding on to the idea of what my one watch would look like - and more importantly what it would mean to me.

Thanks John- you helped me find the words for all that

I had a similar, but opposite light bulb moment a couple of years ago MissF, after trying to amass a collection, realising I could still be a watch enthusiast without owning more than one. As silly and narcissistic as it sounds, I felt I could not voice my opinion in watch forums etc with any legitimacy as if I wasn’t committed enough…

I’m always a bit reluctant to share my view on this as I worry it will come across as boastful that I’ve achieved the elusive “one watch collection”, or worse still the “exit watch”; finding contentment with my one watch and never a backward glance!

This couldn’t be further from the truth, I have been through years of frantic buying and selling about 100 watches, before exhaustion has forced me to settle on my one watch.

I love my C65 and it does bring me a lot of joy, but it may well be replaced at some point, I just currently can’t think of a watch I’d like better.

Not silly, narcissistic or boastful at all. That you have found your one watch is unusual and interesting to many on watch forums I’m sure. You’ve been through all the stages and will have valid opinions on all of it. I’m interested in the one watch journey where many probably aren’t, but that doesn’t mean there’s no space for your voice on a watch forum. The fact that the topic has been raised again for discussion is proof of that! We all love waffling on and on about our collection from all our different viewpoints

For me personally, i know i have too many watches. I don't regret obtaining them one bit, but i no longer have the love nor desire for timepieces like i used to have. Don't get me wrong, i still like and appreciate a nice watch, but they have become a functioning tool to tell me the time rather than an object to admire, share and discuss, like they used to be.

I have decided after much deliberation that my magic number will be 7 and i will be thinning the collection down to that number in due course. Just need to decide what stays and what goes.

Current collection stands at 12 but I have 15 cushions in my drawer & feel that they all need to be filled to my target is that. Not sure I’d be able to stick to just 1.