Looking at the dates of my posts, my watch tastes were still raging XXXL over the summer, as I was buying $200-300 cheap fasion pieces. Lume problems made me discontented with them a bit and then I can see it was around September my de-conversion from Invicta began to take place, pushing me along the ranks of Seiko for the most part.
So it's only been five months, yet I feel like I've been a Seiko fanboy for several years.
Looking back over my blog, my conversion started around early September - and I think it was inspired by your new focus on Seiko. At the time I didn't have the same "lume beef" you had with Invicta, but was warring with my ongoing dislike of the XL sizes of most of my Invictas.
My conversion ramped up into high gear in late September when I purchased a SNAD05, which began to re-calibrate my watch sensibilities. I purchased a couple Ocean Reefs (which I just put up on Ebay) in early October, but my focus moved more and more away from Invicta that month.
The final straw was when I purchased a Seiko SSC015 for my birthday in early November. At that point my conversion was complete. I did buy one more Invicta in December, the F0010, but that was because it was a long-time White Whale and I'm actually probably going to sell it as I've never worn it, not even once.
The only way I would buy another Invicta at this point would be if they made a smaller version of the SAS in the style of the 6903 or 0507. I'd find that pretty hard to resist.
Posted by: jonnybardo | February 20, 2013 at 10:07 PM
It's interesting. I've been fascinated by watches since before I could tell time. I remember as a kid, seeing my Grandfather wearing his watch and wanting one----and when I was around 7 or 8, my parents got me a Bradley watch (I think it was the "Time Teacher" or something like that---and I still have it somewhere in the house, though it no longer works.). As a teen, I asked for and received an Endura Sports Timer watch that I also still have----it's an inexpensive chrono that sometimes runs, mostly doesn't. In college, I got a few digital watches, long since gone and an "Innovative Time" quartz dress watch that I still have, that still works. I began collecting watches in my early 20s. Years ago, I sold off some of the more desirable ones on E-Bay to fund my radio collecting addiction. I had largely stopped wearing watches because I was carrying a cell phone or Blackberry with the time always available. What really got me back into watch collecting were the XXL watches shown on Herculodge. I came here for radios and found watches too----got very interested in the oversized watch cases and bought a few. Now, here's the irony: Even though it was the XXLs that got me back into the hobby----they have now moved into the background, or at least off center stage. I still love my largest diameter watch, a Tauchmeister----but I like it as much for its styling and submariner theme as I do for it's big size. My last few purchases have been for intermediate sized watches. And I even went for a small diameter watch recently----a dress Belair. I got one for myself in stainless/gold----and I also bought one in gunmetal for my friend, who starts a new job next week. He is a successful guy who 12 years ago, left his job to start up and grow a local office for a large engineering firm----very successfully. Now, another firm hired him away so he could do the same thing for them. I knew he'd like a new "meeting" watch, and the Belair fits the bill. Small, thin, elegant, stylish. He loves it. I think perhaps the crest of the wave of huge timepieces has passed us by. I didn't go "all in" and the ones I have----I don't intend to sell. I still wear them and like the look. But for those of you who collected dozens of them----the immediate sell-off is probably a very good idea if you don't see yourself wearing them enough to justify keeping them. I see this bubble about to burst----right now, there's still a fairly strong market for these pieces. There are still buyers. But I do believe as the inventories of new ones are depleted, even companies like Invicta are going to retool to go smaller----and as such, will promote the trimmed down diameters as what is "in" now. At that point, the flock of younger enthusiasts will not be willing to pay as much for the larger ones. If you wait too long----the resale value in your very large watches might dry up quickly.
Posted by: Angelo | February 21, 2013 at 04:53 AM