So Where Does My Watch Hobby Go from Here?

Good question. Maybe nowhere.  I received my Seiko SNDA59 today and I completely love it. Now there's nothing I'm in the hunt for that I can afford. My watch lusts have moved on to the Seiko Tuna, which is $1,200 and the Panerai Luminor, which is $8,000.

Yeah, and I'd like a BMW M3 as well and a 2013 Toyota Avalon Limited while we're at it. 

We all want nice stuff, but once our desires outstrip our capacity to feed them, what happens to our hobby? 

Having been a collector of radios and watches over the last seven years, I can tell you watch pricing, as you learn more about the build quality, gets a lot more ridiculous. 

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Comments

[Frank P]

Now you can get serious. Currently wear a Pam 372 ( great watch ) have owned so many including Rolex Deepsea etc... You have many possibilities. Good luck and enjoy. Now you can begin your voyage to become a real W.I.S

[herculodge]

A Pam 372 sounds great. I'd love to see photos of that.

[Angelo]

Jeff: Can I assume it won't be leading back here? I actually like the looks of some of these. But I notice that even one they list for a retail of almost $5000.00 and are selling for $1000.00 (a joke in and of itself, but that's for another discussion) has a "flame fusion" crystal. To a certain extent, does this symbolize why you've moved to Seiko?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=wa_mens_BB_03_jasontaylorcoll/?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A377110011%2Cp_76%3A1249182011&field-brandtextbin=Invicta&field-title=Jason Taylor&page=1&bbn=377110011&sort=-launch-date&pf_rd_p=1465516302&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=404124011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=C2DA3936443A4217ACDB

[herculodge]

I never liked the new Jason Taylor line and find the price to be ridiculous. For me as I said before Invicta appealed to me and then I awoke in a dream and saw I was dressed like the dude in Saturday Night Fever. Disco wear is so embarrassing to me now. Invicta is the puka shells of watches.

[jonnybardo]

I started to reply to this and then it got out of hand, so I posted it here:

http://discipleofchronos.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/changing-tastes-and-to-what-degree-we-choose-our-tastes/

[Frank P]

I only discovered this blog one year ago. Afterwards I bought at least 40 vintage radios. Still have the Sony icf5900 but the others have gone off to the bay. I am not sure if it is bad to refer to another site but I have been posting on Timezone for over 10 years. If you are really into watches it is a great place...it was better years ago however. Also for Panerai Paneristi is great. If your watch collecting turns to higher end wacthes with manufacture movements the possiblities are endless. I love IWC, Rolex, JLC, Panerai etc. All have watches you would like.

[Angelo]

Jonny: That was a good read. I've mentioned before----I still have watches that I really like, that are small diameter and very thin-----smaller than some large ladies styles for sure. They are what mens watches were at the turn of the century. I still have these watches, still like them and still wear them. One is a basic Movado Museum----black and gold---their workhorse model back in 2002. Since then, watch cases have grown like Jack's beanstalk.
I have a Tauchmeister that is about 52 MM----and plenty thick. I love that watch too. I have no problem going back and forth between large and small, though it's at the point now where the smaller/thinner watches feel weird on my wrist when I first put them on, since I've been favoring the big guns the last few years. One thing that seems clear to me is that when I wear the smaller, thinner watches, no one seems to notice. When I wear the largest ones, I get looks---sometimes sarcastic looks. The point is that when you guys discuss being "embarrassed" by the "disco" large watches----that absolutely rings true. Honestly, aside from something like an LED digital watch from the 70s or maybe an 80s Swatch---I can't recall wristwatches ever having gone "out of style" before. There was a time when you could wear anything from a 1950s Omega to a Timex Expedition----a Rolex or a contemporary Fossil ----and no one would accuse you of looking "dated." And to back up----L.E.D. only went out of style due to the technology of L.C.D., which was cheaper and more reliable. And as for "Swatch," I think they were purchased to be "trendy" and the buyer knew full well what they were getting----a fun, colorful, overtly plastic watch that was like costume jewelry and in fact----some of those early Swatches are collectible. That brings us to Invicta and some other massive watches from the last few years. This might be the first time in my memory that watches costing in the hundreds of dollars have become fashion pariahs like the sky blue and mint green 100% polyester leisure suits in Jeff's disco nightmares. Did Invicta really sell 54MM watches as thick as a filet mignon for a few hundred dollars---and seriously position them as "classic" investor grade heirlooms? We bought that hook, line and sinker, didn't we? This wave has crested folks----and the surfboard is riding down fast. Unless you really love those watches and intend to stubbornly wear them "for yourself" it might be time for a fire sale. This trend might be getting ready to hit the beach very hard----at which point, you'll have a hard time giving them away----they'll be in a dresser drawer--- a curiosity your kids will find after you're dead and they're going through your stuff. Invicta has been relevant for at least 10 years now. It'll be very interesting to see how they retool in the next couple years. And make no mistake about it----they need a new direction---or at least they WILL need one, soon.

[Angelo]

Oh, and on the Jason Taylors----I find that the ones I like in that series are the least expensive ones. That said----one I like----a polyurethane Jason Taylor for $250.00---is practically the same in my world as one of their Sea Spiders that is easy to find for between $100.00-150.00. In other words----why in the world to you pay another $125.00 to move up to the Jason Taylor? It's still an Invicta. They seem to be outsmarting themselves here.