Horological Meandering

So I just sold a watch I have never worn and which has sat in the lockbox for more than three years. (Note, it was not posted for sale here or anywhere else). It’s a high(ish) volume watch from a mass production brand. It was however an aspirational watch... 

when I sold my Moritz Grossmann piece unique after having won it at an auction with the help of a fellow purist who had decided not to outbid me! I did not wear the watch throughout my ownership period of four and a half years (apart from to take this one...  

I had seen it at the preview. While the watch I refer to in my post was nowhere near as special as your MG the feelings were the same. I didn’t wear this specific watch more as a result of the environment changing. And then after perhaps a year of not wea... 

that we are actually fortunate that we cannot afford to buy all the watches that we want. I truly think that we would appreciate each purchase more if we had made sacrifices to secure the timepiece.

the reluctance to wear a special/precious piece even though the initial motivation was the chance to wear it. This actually may be where my “issue” is specific to me, since I am starting to understand that some collectors pursue certain pieces for ownersh... 

The ownership of certain pieces to me is possibly more important than wearing the watch. The only other watch I have not worn although it has only been 18 months of ownership is my Murakumo by Kikuchi Nakagawa. I rate this watch terribly highly and althou...  

I can completely understand your position on this one.

I love the level of attention to aesthetic detail that many Japanese watchmakers bring to their art. this is a great example.

The high end Japanese watches are really a work of art which is quite understandable if one understands the Japanese culture.

from the website, could this be bad translation? Delivery time: From 132 to 144 months

I was fortunate as my watch arrived after 13 months upon order before the craze began. The brand produces eight watches a year only hence the long waiting list. I have spoken to Mr Yusuke Kikuchi of Kikuchi Nakagawa who expressed that this wait list was n... 

I had to sell a few that had some limited sentimental value but even those, I do not regret As you say, unless the piece is really out of this world, you can always find another one at some point

And for sure the other side of the coin for me is the energy wasted in debating to sell it or hold it over the last few years. Ultimately the catalyst was (as it often is) a desire for something else and therefore the prudent decision to fund that somethi... 

I did trade one, looking back I should have kept it and just bought outright what I traded it for. It is the one transaction I regret to this day. I should downsize and keep only what I wear, but a severe case of seller's remorse would quicly set in. They... 

What tends to happen with me are larger macro shifts in collecting and so rather than continuous buying and selling my selling activity happens in chunks. For example, in the 2000s I owned a lot of Panerai and towards the end of that decade my tastes were... 

Like the rest of us

Every watch that I traded or sold I wish I still had. I try to keep my cost basis in the same neighborhood. Every time I see something I like I struggle with how do I make it "fit" in that scenario. The plus side is that when I do part with something, is ... 

That is, as years go by and I buy and sell, the number of EXCELLENT watches that I did own but no longer do gets longer and longer... so the opportunities for thinking, "Damn, I should never have sold that, what a mistake, maybe I ought to reacquire?" jus... 

Regretted selling my first Breguet Tradition and my Oris Pro Pilot X. I ended up buying a Tradition GMT and Retrograde seconds to make up for it, then sold the GMT and kept the retrograde seconds. The pro pilot X is just...an AWESOME daily. It's a lot of ... 

First thing I do when I get something new is strap it on my wrist 😁 But yes … watches I did sell … well some of them I regret

I wasn’t going anywhere, not to the office, not out to eat. Because of that it sat unworn for probably a year before somewhat normal life crept back. If the timing had of been different the watch would have been worn.

One example: The Rolex Yacht Master.

There’s a chance I move on and forget too, we’ll see. The curious aspect is that I didn’t wear it for three years and yet have this potential regret.

-- Joni Mitchell

Psychology, sure, because sometimes even logic fails....

That's why I try to use what I have, be it cars, watches, guns or knives. Those that are not used are usually sold as I am not emotionally attached to it. If it get's used then it's harder to sell as I have grown an attachment to it. Might as well put tha... 

There are a few more transactions required to get to that desired end point, this was merely the highest hurdle.

Otherwise, I “lose” out on a watch for some cash… and I can’t wear the cash. But to your point, if we want liquidity to make a quick decision or already have an incoming notice and selling a piece that hasn’t been worn seems prudent, especially if you fee... 

In this case however most likely a different direction. However, with further horological commitments in 24/25 I think I have a few more thinning moves to make in the months to come.

Way back in the '90s I bought a Breitling. I was a pilot at the time and spent a lot of time working in a military aviation environment. I spent a year slavering over a Breitling catalogue, when I got the watch I set all the electric functions to work, wa...