Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by Viognier »

Steve, three is the magic number for watches....I agree. Outstanding choices for yours with the Speedy, Tank and Meistersinger.

It's got me thinking if I could get to three. I'm trying to move down to four just need a want to buy to come through and in no hurry. Reality is getting to three would be a deeper and hurtful cut.

Thinking my generic categories to get to my three are:

GMT Dive Watch (travel, timing on the barbecue and usage in water)
Dress Watch style (elegant simple version)
Chronograph (they are just damn cool)

Great post!
Small collection of timepieces that I enjoy
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by watchaholic »

Lovely set Steve, and certainly, a trio that any afficinado would be proud of. :clap: The thing that comes to my mind is the the fact that you have set the title of your post in the form of a question. :lol: Only time will tell.
Time and money? I’ve spent most of mine on booze and women. The rest I just wasted…
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

blowfish89 wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 1:17 pm Elegant.

Does the Tank still get a lot of wrist time, now that it’s been a while?
That’s a good question, Om. It has been worn a bit less than normal of late because it tends to be the watch I reach for if I’m going out to restaurants, theatre or just out for a drink with folk. However it still gets worn quite a bit and it is incredibly reliable.

Some great responses here – thanks to everyone. I’m pleased that this thread on what I thought was a tired old subject has got people talking about their own collections again. I sense quite a bit of consolidation, reappraisal, reduction and so on.
Steve
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by kiter65 »

Three amazing watches, Steve, not to my taste but we can’t all have the same taste :D
I’ve got mine down to six and I can’t see any leaving or any additions for the foreseeable, unless the price drops on a 14060 :thumbup:

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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

kiter65 wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 6:05 pm Three amazing watches, Steve, not to my taste but we can’t all have the same taste :D
You are so right, Richard. If we all had the same three (or six) watches then the exchange on the forum would be dull indeed.
Now yours is a fantastic collection, absolutely no doubt. Not for me though. Although I have learnt to live with them, diver style watches are definitely not my favourites and I wouldn’t spend Rolex or Omega money on one. In fact, the Meistersinger with its WR cuts out the need for one entirely. Secondly, the Explorer and the NF would be fighting for the same slot in my box, and I think I know which one would win. I am trying to avoid any duplication of style and function. :D
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by H0rati0 »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 5:51 am I am trying to avoid any duplication of style and function. :D
That I too believe is the ideal, but it means you need the "perfect" watch to fit each slot and that probably evolves over time. ATM I allow myself two watches per category - permitting purely capricious wearing. It's the categories I should work on..... :)
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Now, deciding on the categories is an art in itself. For me it was:
1. Something functional and utterly dependable for every day wear.
2. A beautiful, elegant watch that would dress up or down.
3. Something slightly left-field and submersible for summer, casual, holidays &c.

I realised I had the first two anyway, and the third was a case of serendipity – being in the right place at the right time!
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by jkbarnes »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 6:07 pm Now, deciding on the categories is an art in itself. For me it was:
1. Something functional and utterly dependable for every day wear.
2. A beautiful, elegant watch that would dress up or down.
3. Something slightly left-field and submersible for summer, casual, holidays &c.
I think the beauty of your trio is a reflection of the genius of your categories - defined by use (dialed in to your life!) as opposed to specific watch styles. Those categories allow for far more flexibility in how one creates a collection and ensure something far more personal in nature, I think. Someone could build their a collection based on the same three categories and come up with something categorically (pun intended) different from your collection.

This has me thinking on what my three would be if I chose to expand my 1-watch collection.
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

jkbarnes wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 6:42 pmI think the beauty of your trio is a reflection of the genius of your categories - defined by use (dialed in to your life!) as opposed to specific watch styles. Those categories allow for far more flexibility in how one creates a collection and ensure something far more personal in nature, I think.
Thank you, Andrew. Like many people I went for a long time thinking that categories were things such as chronograph, diver, dress watch &c. I also developed fanciful and somewhat deluded ideas about why I needed them, such as having a GMT diver to track time at home while jumping in a pool somewhere else! It wasn’t until I stopped thinking along those lines and started considering what I actually wanted to use the things FOR, that things really fell into place. A chronograph really isn’t necessary to time the flight from Stansted to Lanzarote, I will leave that to the pilot. But it’s jolly useful if you want to time something a little more mundane in the real world. A single hander is fine when you don’t really need to know the time down to the second. The fact that it’s beautiful, a little funky, quite dressy in a way and doesn’t mind getting wet fills the third category perfectly.
Steve
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by H0rati0 »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 6:07 pm Now, deciding on the categories is an art in itself. For me it was:
1. Something functional and utterly dependable for every day wear.
2. A beautiful, elegant watch that would dress up or down.
3. Something slightly left-field and submersible for summer, casual, holidays &c.

I realised I had the first two anyway, and the third was a case of serendipity – being in the right place at the right time!
That is being pretty stingy on categories Steve. I currently have:

diving (and I do mean submersion)
formal/dress
office
sporty/casual
field
sailing
full calendar
beater

Of course, watches cross categories and hence confusion/wiggle room to own too many...however in recompense these days I can delete office nor do I have any vintage wrist watches :D Maybe I'll thin a little, maybe not.
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Oh now, that depends entirely upon your lifestyle.
H0rati0 wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 7:44 pm That is being pretty stingy on categories Steve. I currently have:

diving (and I do mean submersion) Don’t do! Nearest I get is jumping in the pool
formal/dress Can also be used for work
office See above
sporty/casual Sorted with category 3
field Why?
sailing Don’t do.
full calendar What on earth for? An occasional reminder of the date is useful but I do tend to know what day, month and year it is.
beater Mako
Just my slightly tongue in cheek take on it, obviously. :D
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by H0rati0 »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 7:56 pm Oh now, that depends entirely upon your lifestyle.
H0rati0 wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 7:44 pm That is being pretty stingy on categories Steve. I currently have:

diving (and I do mean submersion) Don’t do! Nearest I get is jumping in the pool
formal/dress Can also be used for work
office See above
sporty/casual Sorted with category 3
field Why?
sailing Don’t do.
full calendar What on earth for? An occasional reminder of the date is useful but I do tend to know what day, month and year it is.
beater Mako
Just my slightly tongue in cheek take on it, obviously. :D
Very true, lifestyle is all.

Just realised I left out travelling. Not so much at the moment but my work took me all over the world with serious timezone zig-zags, so I have a serious GMT for that and it was useful though not indispensable.

Why Field?: I have two German Shepherds and they want their mountain walks! This can get more than a little rough so cheapo legible watches required - not Explorers!

Why Full Calendar?: I think of them as the "one" watch. I don't have a mechanical wrist watch for this and likely never will, but it sits there as most admired complication, sheer indulgence if you will. (Moonphases fit into sailing/diving for tides).

I do agree that categories can be compressed/amalgamated and watches cross categories as well. In the "rough" categories no way do I want to wear nice/expensive watches so these are no financial drain but do increase the number.

Of course, each to his own and more's the fun that we are all different.
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by missF »

Bravo! :clap:
I think you have cracked the perfect trio for you. And that’s the point- no point building a trio that other people want to wear. But this is no small task and I guess it takes a long time to get there. I thought at the time that the speedy moonwatch was a bit left field for you, until you explained why it’s a perfect watch. It’s all perfect.

Some sculptor said (I have no idea where this anecdote comes from- someone will inform me!) - if you want to carve a horse from a block of marble simply look at the block and take away anything that isn’t a horse....
That’s what you’ve done- just taken away everything that isn’t an AVO watch. And that’s why what you’re left with is a perfect trio :thumbup:
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

missF wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 9:16 pm Some sculptor said (I have no idea where this anecdote comes from- someone will inform me!) - if you want to carve a horse from a block of marble simply look at the block and take away anything that isn’t a horse....
That’s a fantastic analogy, Lindsey, and one I must remember!

A bit like one of my favourites on the perils of judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree.
Steve
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Re: Have I “Finally” Cracked the Perfect Trio?

Post by nbg »

I have often thought that very specific watches are required for different activities such as playing polo, mountain walking, caving, diving, flying, motor racing, gardening/DIY.

However I have realised that the polo watch is more suited to posh dining out with wife and family. Something cheap and cheerful for gardening/DIY and it turns out all the rest of the categories are totally interchangeable and completely suitable for anything else I do in my life, whether on holiday or not on holiday. Simples! :)

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