When It's Time for a Watch Obsessive to Slow Down

 

Comments

[Lee_K]

This is a nice, thoughtful and thought-provoking piece, Jeff. A couple of points, if I may:

1. I think all of us want to get off the hamster wheel of research, price shopping, acquisition, temporary thrill, and onto the next conquest. It's all a bit hollow, isn't it? It has been driving me crazy lately as I find a replacement for my Orange Monster which I dropped, destroying the movement inside.

2. The problem I think we Watch Obsessives experience is that we don't really know what we want and having to try out many different watches is really the only way to refine our tastes and make us yearn for more. It actually might be a little hollow to just go out and buy a Submariner for our fist watch and then declare, "I'm done!" But instead we look at our collections and make harsh judgements on those that we no longer feel the love for. Is there an end? I'm not so sure and am starting to feel that watch collecting is a process that only slows, but never completes.

3. You are clearly an introvert. Becoming fatigued by crowds (and making watch lists in their company) is a pretty classic introvert behavior. I think a lot of us are that way -- I know I am.

4. I see the Citizen Grand Touring is back in your collection. Jeffrey McRebuy strikes again! Honestly, despite the agonizing debate about the MM300 and the convincing yourself that you don't want it, it really is the only thing that will keep your curiosity at bay. You worry about the prospects of servicing but honestly, have you ever kept any watch long enough to need servicing? :)

[herculodge]

The CGT has really grown on me. I love the domed sapphire. I'm confident it has higher build quality than the MM300 overall. My desire for the MM300 has waned over the months.

[Angelo]

Domed crystals are wonderful----I love the magnification and the profile. Can't get enough of them.

[herculodge]

I second that. Domed crystals are one of my favorite features in a watch.

[Ulysses]

It sounds to me as though it might be a good idea to never buy that certain special watch you lust after. Forever flirting with someone/something is fun. It is the unrealised potential that is like crack to us. It's comforting to know that if only we felt like it, we could take "the next step" and it saves us the fear of uncertainty, which is not knowing in which direction to head after we've achieved our current goal. We feel most fulfilled when we have a direction to travel, when we have a journey to embark on. Standing still, at least for me, is a horrific fate. Running along the hamster wheel is a simulation of going somewhere, but it is even worse than standing still because it saps our energy while not taking us anywhere, leaving us too weak to move when we finally decide what we desire and where to go.

[herculodge]

Ulysses, well stated. I'm reminded of Kierkegaard: "Fulfillment is in the wish."

[Angelo]

For me, it's like the Mafia: Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in. I might have a couple months (or close to it) without a purchase----then a flurry of purchases. It's an addiction like other addictions with the same ebbs and flows. Of course, if the obsessive slows down----for a prolonged period----doesn't that take them out of the "obsessed" category?

[herculodge]

Having a watch fetish is a pain in the ass and costly. I'm beginning to wonder if it's a fun hobby. Obsessions get the best of me.

[Angelo]

As Lionel Richie said "Can't slow down."

[herculodge]

I love Lionel Richie. "Zoom" is my favorite. But I hear you. I do indeed need to slow down.

[JMaff]

Jeff, you quoted Kierkegaard when you first started into watches. With big ugly Invictas.

[herculodge]

You have a good memory. I remember that quote. Big ugly watches indeed.

[Angelo]

I like my big, ugly Invictas. Tattoos are generally ugly but society has taken to them like birds to worms.

[herculodge]

While I dislike most Invictas, I love the Force Master 4831 and 4830. They hit a home run with those models.

[Angelo]

Great cases and dials, but surprised you like them considering they are on straps. Also, the 4831 is a light color dial, which you normally don't go for. FYI, the oversized Tauchmeister you bought (and then I bought from you) was probably the wrong one to check out the brand. That one is a big, low priced Tauchmeister. The intent of that one is large, somewhat shock value for a cheap price of admission. The case isn't up to their normal standards and the crystal wasn't domed, etc. Even the case's metal is more porous looking. I already had that model with the cream color face and wanted the black---but for someone like you, used to higher end Seikos, Citizen, etc., that was just not up to par. Other Tauchmeister/Aeromatics are far better, heavier, better movements, etc.