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1 year agoAfter collecting for 2 years, these are my non negotiables.
- How thin is it? Generally prefer under 13.5 if possible. I wear longer sleeves and cuffs so I prefer a thin watch, but also would prefer to not have a block on my wrist.
- How many HZ? As snobby as it sounds, if a watch is beating below 4hz/28,800bph - I don’t want it. Just looks too slow in comparison. I have no regard too for longer PR. I think brands like Omega and Hamilton reducing their beat rates in order to achieve tighter accuracies or longer PR is the wrong move.
- Does it have a complication? I think time only watches, no matter how beautiful are just pieces of metal. It’s not that I can’t appreciate a watch - I really can. But as someone who prefers to track time instead of looking at time, my collection is made up of exclusively chronos and divers. Your phone (no matter how old) likely far outperforms time only watches in terms of timekeeping. (With the exception of Grand Seiko Springdrives - that’s an engineering marvel.
My criterias may come off as snobby but I believe that it’s allowed for me to build a beautiful collection so far.
I think depending on whether you want to collect in the long run, and explore the hobby, then you should focus on quality. This allows you to try out and test different watches, slowly realizing your taste; finding out what you like and may not like about watches. As long as they are popular models and are of a good price, they should be easy to sell if need be. This will then fund your next purchases.