Horological Meandering

VinnieD
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Zen or the art of watch collecting

Hello fellow watch collectors and enthusiasts,

I have been contributing to this forum lightly over many years and have thoroughly enjoyed learning about your experiences in this crazy hobby.

Having noticed quite a few posts recently about members who have reached a "satisfied status quo" leveI (the zen level), I thought I would contribute my journey over the last 34 years of interest in watches and my current state of mind.

It all started when I was 6 and saw the jelly Swatch in the window. It was definitely passion at first sight: all these tiny wheels exposed to my ignorant eyes: I had to have it and try to understand it better. And my parents were kind enough to offer it to me on my birthday. I kept it for many years and the lightning hand influenced my purchase of a Milgauss as soon as that one was released more than 10 years ago. Another milestone was the Black Friday swatch chrono which led to several Speedmaster purchases as I valued the very efficient dial layout. As you can see below, the general inspiration has a lot of military elements to it.

Regarding Purists, it is nice to see that it is one of the healthier platforms thanks to some solid contributors. I enjoyed meeting Nicolas 'Amanico' many years ago at a Jaeger masterclass in Paris during which I dismantled a poor Reverso movement.

I made some money and lost some money on watch trading, more or less broke even overall - it does not matter. What I enjoyed most was making my personal taste more precise. As you can see below, many watches came and went but it is now time for me to make a pause and keep only three of them which are dear to my heart for reasons outside of their “horological content”:

- Patek 2573 yellow gold small seconds

- Audemars Jules chrono silver

- Rolex OP 39 black

They are certainly complementary and serve me well in my day-to-day life: a sturdy one, an elegant one and and precious one, and not a single date wheel on dials! Someone mentioned a few months ago the importance to have the "right watches" for your lifestyle. Don't own a Patek skeleton if you are in the army, and do not wear Panerai if you are an orchestra conductor.

Each one represents a decade in my life and this will be my trio for many years to come. I will certainly get back to the hobby via Lange&Söhne at some point but not yet.

Take care everyone and happy collecting!