Don't you love first world problems. How many watches can I maintain in my collection without going crazy? How can I choose which one to wear? How can I deal with the anxieties?
I have a theory: Everyone has a different limit. And the limit is defined as thus: There's a point where you can't experience the splendor of your most favorite watches because they've been diluted by others in your collection. Get rid of some of your watches and, voila, your grails, once dull under the weight of too many watches, now shine with the luster and resplendence they deserve.
Jeff writes "There's a point where you can't experience the splendor of your most favorite watches because they've been diluted by others in your collection."
I experience it slightly differently, even the inverse. I get to that same point, but I lose the splendor of my complementary watches which are out-shown by my favorites. I could own a hundred watches and my Omegas and Breitling wouldn't be lost, but everything would be (and sometimes is).
So for me its like there's a set number of "slots" I have in my consciousness for watch enjoyment; I don't know what it actually is, but let's say it is five. If the three Omegas and one Breitling take up four slots, the fifth slot is fought over by everything else - so those watches feel diluted. Maybe some of this is OK, but if it is seven or eight watches fighting over one slot then there's major dilution. But if it is only two or three, there's some variation there and it is OK.
Posted by: jonnybardo | March 22, 2015 at 12:45 PM
Are the other four the Benarus Megalodon, Benarus Moray, Orient Saturation Diver and the Citizen Ecozilla? Are these your lesser watches compared to the five that are pictured?
Posted by: Gary | March 22, 2015 at 01:14 PM
I have no lesser watches though I'd say my two favorite are my black Promaster Sky and Seiko Tuna on the Super Engineer. Man, my life would be a lot easier if I just had those 2 watches. If I were to keep a third, I'd go with the silver Promaster Sky. Three watches would feel clean. Jonny is right. Having 4 gems like he has diminishes the rest of his collection.
Posted by: herculodge | March 22, 2015 at 01:23 PM
Jeff, you like the Tuna more than the SRP637?
Posted by: jonnybardo | March 22, 2015 at 06:43 PM
Yes, I do. Here's the hierarchy:
1. Black Promatser Sky.
2. Silver Promaster Sky
3. Seiko Tuna
4. OSD
5. Seiko SRP637
The rest are negligible.
Posted by: herculodge | March 22, 2015 at 07:13 PM
I can carry a large roster and be content. I know who my stars are. I know who the second string is. But I'm not happy with a 25 man roster and the limits that places on me. I'm more like a large college football program playing a home game. I'm dressing a lot of watches for the game----the bench is going to be ridiculously deep. That's my comfort zone. An NBA roster of 12 players isn't going to get it done in this league. I want choices. And I also want the ability to act on a great deal if one comes along---to add to the collection. In that regard, I'm like a huge college football program with unlimited scholarships to give out, but constraints placed on me by the boosters---the scholarships are unlimited, but the funds aren't. But if something great comes along for the right price, I'm buying, regardless of how big the team currently is.
Posted by: Angelo | March 23, 2015 at 04:58 AM
I guess I'm more like a music ensemble and know I don't want to be an orchestra, but can't figure out whether I want to be a trio, quartet, quintet, octet, etc.
Posted by: jonnybardo | March 23, 2015 at 09:57 AM