Why watches

I started collecting watches in 2021. This does not mean that I never owned watches before 2021—I did, I had several, in fact. But, looking back, only two of them were worth being part of a collection. 

[Okay, let me just pause a bit there. That was a pretty loaded sentence, as if suggesting that watch collecting is a snob’s world. It is, it can be. But it shouldn’t have to be. In any case, it’s a discussion we can have in one of the issues of this newsletter. For now, back to why I started collecting watches.]

Before 2021, the only two watches I owned that are still in my collection today were a Quartz Swatch x Damien Hirst Mickey Mouse piece from 2018 and a digital Casio A168WGG-1A. Back then, I didn’t even know that these were worth collecting. Back then, I also didn’t even know the different watch movements. Until I decided to buy my first mechanical watch. 

Because this was in the middle of the pandemic, I went looking for a mechanical watch—an automatic one—online, through one of these online retail apps. I decided to go for a more or less familiar brand, one that I’ve seen on my grandpa’s wrist growing up, which was Seiko. I didn’t want to spend so much on this first purchase so I went by how the watch looked. After considering several options, because Seiko has its Seiko 5 line of affordable mechanical watches, I settled for a Seiko 5 SNKK with a blue dial, or also known as the Seiko Speed Racer.

I loved it. It had everything that makes for a good entry-level mechanical watch, with its in-house automatic Seiko 7s26 movement (which, at that time, I really did not know much about), it was a good buy. The open caseback that comes with every Seiko 5 timepiece was something I enjoyed looking at, and the blue dial mixed with yellow and gray squares between the 12 o’clock and 4 o’clock markers made for an interesting design. 

At that time, I didn’t plan on getting another watch soon after that. But I did, thanks to a friend who has been into watches longer than I have and who saw that I purchased an automatic timepiece. This friend introduced me to the world of vintage watches. And I fell in love with it instantly. 

The next purchase was a 1962 Omega sub-seconds, with a manual movement and 18-k gold case. It was this that got me really intrigued by the world of watches, from understanding the different kinds of movements to the designs and brand heritage, to knowing what grail watches are and the hype that’s inherent in the world of watch collecting and in the watchmaking industry, in general. I was, in the words of another friend, “going down a rabbit hole.” In a certain sense, I did go down the proverbial hole a bit too fast, following up my purchase of that 1961 Omega with two more Seikos (which I sold to a couple of friends), a 1961 Omega Constellation, a 1959 Seiko Laurel, and a Hamilton x L.L. Bean field watch—with the last three timepieces all bought on the same day. Yup, I was impulsive. Then I learned to take things slow. Watch collecting, as they say, is a marathon not a sprint. 

So, why watches? 

TLDR: Because they are fun to collect. While there is the investment side to it, which is a very valid outlook in collecting, there is something about owning a watch that has a story and heritage (hence, my preference for vintage timepieces), and about understanding the beauty and complexity of the mechanical movement that powers such pieces (hence, my fascination for the different types of movements). 

Watches are made to tell time, sure. But the amount of work put in these small machines, to be able to do such a mundane function—although there are complications that enable them to do much more, and how these are powered mechanically is even more fascinating!—is beautifully baffling. To me, it speaks of the creativity of the human mind, the expertise of skill, and the endurance of the human spirit. 

So if you are fascinated with watches the same way as I am, whether as a longtime collector or as someone who is interested in starting on this journey, I hope you subscribe to this newsletter and enjoy the world of watches together with me. 

I invite you to a second life.