At A Cross Roads

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
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Russ-Shettle
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Russ-Shettle »

I can't believe you guys. You spend all that money on watches. One of these day you will run into an expensive watch that just knock's your socks off but you can't afford and wished you had saved all that money. I can only buy one special watch at a time and then I'll ware if for a while. Even now, when I think of what I spent over the years on just a handful and then I see my Omega Seamaster is still way out of my reach. Grrrrrrrrrrrr I think to myself and wished I had saved. I guess that makes me just as insane but not to say I'm unhappy with what I got. They are just not the topper of all watches.
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Pete, I know exactly what you're going through! My thoughts about my collection change on an almost daily basis. :-k
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by f1colin »

A candidate for thread of the year 2012 already. I empathise with so many of the points here and all goes to prove how compelling this watch business is and the fact is we all appreciate a "good watch" even if we have diverse opinions and tastes about what that constitutes.

The addition of "xtripleitis" into the CW forum vocabulary is one that sums this up for me. Any form of obsession can be rewarding and damaging in equal measure. My CW count has reduced by one this week as I realised my colleague would get more enjoyment from my C600 Blue than I was (his first CW) now I tracked down and acquired a yellow. More will flip over time as things evolve and I have been though several crossroads on this marvellous journey. The fact that this forum exists and allows its members to share that experience is part of that very journey...
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Heuer Monaco, Monza, Daytona, Silverstone, Autavia, Carrera, Calculator, Camaro, Montreal, Audi, Verona, 844, AMI, 1000
Seiko Pogue
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by ianblyth »

Having mushroomed in 2010 when I really got into watches I have changed. But buying all those watches made me realise what I like and what I dislike and also what suits me. I like Steinhart Ocean 1s but the lug to lug length does not suit right on my wrist. And it was fun.

In 2011 I reduced the number of watches I owned while still buying a few. This year I am determined to reduce it further but here is where I have a problem. I like a lot of them and so it is hard to pick which ones to sell. For instance I picked up a C2 in the sale as it was ridiculously cheap but when I go to wear it I chose the C20 FLE in preference. Yet I think for that price why not have it in the box. I doubt that I could get a new Swiss quartz watch for that price in future. Collector or flipper. A bit of both at the moment. :problem:
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by village »

Cash is also a factor.

When i had more free cash available to be sidetracked into watches,i had more watches. These days i am a bit more limited for one reason & another,and so i tend to have less 'core' watches and i flip more.
This is not neccessarily a bad thing - if you have a fund of £XX available,its quite interesting & fun to try loads of relatively inexpensive watches...if you buy from the sc's you tend not to lose money (or if you do its very small) and you can experiment. Of course,the danger here is that every now and then you find that you reall,really like one of these 'experiments' and so it gets added to the collection.Maybe for a long time.Maybe for a short time.
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

f1colin wrote:A candidate for thread of the year 2012 already...
Heading that way, for sure, though early days.
My story really began with two old Omegas and some nondescript quartz, until last summer: since then I've had auto, manual, chrono, flieger, "dress" and diver watches (current total 13).
I'm really not a fan of autos - for that reason my C8 and even C5 (beautiful as it is, though a bit tall) might eventually be flippers. The exception is the Seiko OM and possibly another cheapish diver for holidays, mainly.
A couple of my vintage buys are a bit too small, if I'm honest, but they're not valuable and I'll probably hang on.
I had a serious spell when I rebelled about big watches, but I'm more comfortable now, even though I wouldn't buy any more 42mm+ watches.
For me the "Goldilocks" size is 35-38mm, slim, simple 3-hand manual timepieces without even a date...so no surprise that the gold Omega and Nomos are my favourites - perfect watches!
Grail watches...vintage Jaeger-Lecoultre - can't go there at the moment, but it's in my mind.
CW - one day the autos might go...I'll keep my DBR1, for sure. I don't see myself buying any of the current range, but if a smallish, slim manual pops up this year I'm in.
That's where I'm at...I think! :shock:
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Gogs »

Very interesting discussion.

I am just starting off on my watch journey - or should I say I am just starting to admit that I am actually on a journey. I have looked at watches from afar for many years. I bought my "grail" watch about 10 years ago (Tag Monaco), justifying it by saying I will never need another watch. Now when I look back I have 3 wearable watches (another Tag and a C60) along with a number of "homage" pieces (or fake :oops: ) from Hong Kong and a Chairman Mao shaky hand watch (with a broken Seiko kinetic sports 200).

Now I just need to convince my wife that collecting watches is a worthwhile hobby (or maybe I'll try and get them without telling her!!).
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by downer »

Indeed a thought-provoking post Peteo. I have also settled on 12 being the sweet-spot in terms of collection size. Currently, I have 20 and I significantly reduced my collection during 2011 and earlier this year. So far, I have not regretted selling any of those that have gone, and I have been able to get a couple of nice pieces with the proceeds.

The reality is; I enjoy the hunt almost as much as the acquisition, so trying to stretch the time between purchases has been good for me. As I work towards the magic number, I try to make each one a more discerning decision than the last.... Right now I am debating between another Sinn or waiting longer and stretching for a Bremont...

The good news... Over the past few years, I have sold 24 watches. Comparing the purchase prices and selling prices of those 24 watches, this hobby has cost me the princely sum of about £120. Can't be bad. :)
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Mr Rick »

xtriple wrote:I initially wanted one watch for every day of the week. Then it was one a day for a fortnight. Then it was to fill the new watch box - 24 in the bottom row and 8 in the top. Then it was to fill my new, pretty watch box I bought from here another twenty spaces...

That was in the space of four months - I realised I had a problem :silent:

So I gave away a few, sold a couple and set a new rule : only buy what I will wear regularly. Still got quite a few in the watch box that have more chance of being worn by the Pope than they do by me, but I'm getting there.

I had a grail watch to fund (Speedy Pro), got it and love it. Now I have a new grail, a Sea Dweller. When I get that (and I will) there'll be another grail, and another...

Think, once it's in your blood, you're fekked and you turn into a flipper or a collector. Think I'm a collector.
When I bought my first Heuer, my 'Heuer friend' asked me if i had a goal. At that time I laughingly said I'd like to have a different Heuer for each day of the week. I reached that goal a few months ago.

While waiting for the next Heuer to come along I added other watches, including six CWLs to the collection. My collection is rapidly approaching the point where, in rotation, I will only be wearing each watch once per month.

I currently have four watches on pre-order. After that, I hope to begin to curtail the quantity of watch purchases by increasing the cost per watch ratio.

If I wasn't collecting watches I'd be collecting something else. I admit to being a serial collector. :oops:
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Peteo »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:Pete, I know exactly what you're going through! My thoughts about my collection change on an almost daily basis. :-k
It would only take a cursory look at my post history on this forum to find evidence that my thoughts on my collection change with startling frequency as well :oops:

I think if my Trident FLE Red were to somehow end up being my last ever watch purchase, I'd be largely okay with that. I'm tremendously happy with 5 of the 8 watches that I have right now, and given that I bought each of them essentially sight unseen, I consider that a pretty good success rate.

I hope that now that I have an almost full watch box, it'll be easier to resist temptation and I can concentrate on hunting for pieces that will really knock my socks off. There are a lot of watches that at one time or another were relatively high on my WTB list, but now, I can't really be bothered with them. Oris TT1, Stowa Airman Ikarus, C700 G. Rapide, C90 Becketts White... On some level, I hope that this list continues to grow. I'm happy with the idea of admiring them from afar and taking things a bit more slowly.

There's also the issue of CW FLEs. I think that unless something dramatically changes with the company, the FLE will continue to be at the very least a serious candidate to add to my collection each year.
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Ash »

I can't wait until I'm in that position where I actually have the 'dilemma' of deciding which watch to wear each day!!!

Or maybe I should savour this pre-first CW purchase phase?!?
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Dancematt »

Im standing besides you at those cross roads Peteo but i think i've got a clearer view of the road ahead although i believe your in a good place to be too as the good thing is you have a concrete foundation as to how many you want and what you want your collection to look like. I limited myself to 15 watches (vintage is a different collection entirely as they are so cheap) with a budget of £1500 (broken once) and have now filled up my box - i went over by some margin (about 22) and did not look forward to selling them due to price loss etc but now that i am it feels like the monkey has been taken off my back.

There are still a couple of awkward decisions ahead about which ones to keep and which to sell (got my c20 on today and now not in the mood to let it go) but i am certainly happy with whats in the box and can really only see two or three watches i want to replace the least worn. This is a good place to be, i've looked at every model i can think of and always think, aren't i just buying the same thing over and again? Im almost 30, i can't keep buying these things forever :lol:, the end is nigh and i will stick to that statement.

I've always liked the idea of being a one watch guy (breitling colt quartz or nomos club maybe) but i cant go all that way back now so i'll stick with what i've got and enjoy them.

Either way i think you've got the right ideas Peteo :thumbup:
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Peteo »

Mr Rick wrote:
When I bought my first Heuer, my 'Heuer friend' asked me if i had a goal. At that time I laughingly said I'd like to have a different Heuer for each day of the week. I reached that goal a few months ago.

While waiting for the next Heuer to come along I added other watches, including six CWLs to the collection. My collection is rapidly approaching the point where, in rotation, I will only be wearing each watch once per month.

I currently have four watches on pre-order. After that, I hope to begin to curtail the quantity of watch purchases by increasing the cost per watch ratio.

If I wasn't collecting watches I'd be collecting something else. I admit to being a serial collector. :oops:
Your collection of Heuers is very impressive, and I'll certainly applaud your CWL additions. And 4 watches on pre-order! This man means business!
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4x Christopher Ward, 2x Sinn, 2x Omega, 1x A. Lange & Sohne, 1x H. Moser & Cie, 1x Tudor, 1x Towson Watch Company, 1x Baltimore Watch Company. Always looking for watches from Maryland. What's Next?
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Peteo »

downer wrote:Indeed a thought-provoking post Peteo. I have also settled on 12 being the sweet-spot in terms of collection size. Currently, I have 20 and I significantly reduced my collection during 2011 and earlier this year. So far, I have not regretted selling any of those that have gone, and I have been able to get a couple of nice pieces with the proceeds.
I remember you saying in another thread that you had settled on 12. I think it's a good number for me too. I'll see what I can manage with proceeds from flipping. I'm not really one to sell things, watches or anything else really, so part of this is going to be about getting over that mental hurdle.
The good news... Over the past few years, I have sold 24 watches. Comparing the purchase prices and selling prices of those 24 watches, this hobby has cost me the princely sum of about £120. Can't be bad. :)
This number amazes me. I hope I can engineer this kind of feat although I'm guessing that I won't quite manage it.
Peteo
4x Christopher Ward, 2x Sinn, 2x Omega, 1x A. Lange & Sohne, 1x H. Moser & Cie, 1x Tudor, 1x Towson Watch Company, 1x Baltimore Watch Company. Always looking for watches from Maryland. What's Next?
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Re: At A Cross Roads

Post by Peteo »

Ash wrote:I can't wait until I'm in that position where I actually have the 'dilemma' of deciding which watch to wear each day!!!

Or maybe I should savour this pre-first CW purchase phase?!?
Savour it! Save yourself from the sickness!!! :lol:
Peteo
4x Christopher Ward, 2x Sinn, 2x Omega, 1x A. Lange & Sohne, 1x H. Moser & Cie, 1x Tudor, 1x Towson Watch Company, 1x Baltimore Watch Company. Always looking for watches from Maryland. What's Next?