letvio
1
First Time Poster/Longtime Reader
Jun 09, 2014,00:32 AM
This is an great prompt by the OP (pingtsai), and I'm sure something that many watch enthusiasts spend WAY too much time pondering...
With limited funds and time for research set against a limitless pool of potential (current and vintage) purchases- some "heuristics" are necessary. Or shall I say, "hororistics."
In order to begin to answer pingtsai's question I first begin with what I DON'T like.
Step (1)
Initial Filter
It is totally arbitrary. But it is helpful, and serves as the first chapter in the "collecting philosophy" that I think many enthusiasts pine for. And, I'm not sure if others agree, but for me there is some notion of being motivated to reject what I don't like.
For me:
I don't like:
Roman Numerals
Yellow Gold
Anything >42mm
Equation of Time
Skeletonization
If something can survive that list, I can move on... (Sadly, the Richard Lange fails)
Step (2)
Mental Justification
Again, let's face it: this hobby has nothing to do with need. However, there is no fun in impulse buying. Sure, who wouldn't like to have a fourth "black tie" watch. But since I only go to a handful of black tie functions per year, I need to give myself some plausible reason why? If "I went to person X's wedding in March, and then his sister's wedding in November... and the mother of groom saw me with a black face watch in March," well, I bloody might NEED a white face black tie watch for November- JUST IN CASE!
Needless to say, sometimes we NEED a specific watch for a Cuban sportfishing vaction- somewhere in-between a Breguet Marine Chrono and the Aquanaut.
Again, it is all arbitrary- but to analytical men engaging in an expensive postmodern hobby, these mental justifications MATTER!
Step (3)
Aesthetic Justification
A great deal of the fun of the horological hobby derives from the aesthetic pleasure one derives. And I think that to experience that more fully, one must have an aesthetic philosophy. It is not good enough to stick with one brand, or one movement- but to build, over time, some coherent belief system about why a particular "collection" of watches is "you." So, for example, having some take on why you like Breguet hands, or not- or what it is about Gerald Genta design, or Grand Seikos, or Greubel Forsey, or Vianney Halter, or whoever- is you. The fact there are no right answers is what makes this fun!
I like overlapping subdials. I think they look great, and for the amount of information loss a designer gives up- he/she gains unique, attractive ways of composing the dial.
There may be a couple "one watch guys" lurking around- but if there was any aesthetic judgment we could place upon anyone else's watches, it would be on the 2, or 10, or 100 watches we have combined together as a whole that matters. To me a big motivation is trying to refine an idea of collecting, and finding material things in typical and unexpected places alike to challenge my hypothesis.
Step (4)
Should I?
Mycroft's earlier suggestion is spot on:
"- one significant high value purchase is always better than multiple small purchases of watches that may be cosmetically attractive but not horologically significant. Sometimes, however, while waiting for your dream watch to come along, you may have difficulty abstaining from a "fun" purchase. Try and resist this."
I totally agree
In other words, this step is a budgetary check, coupled with a disciplinary check. "Can I afford it?" is not enough. Even if I can afford it, I'm gonna ask: "should I purchase this?"
Yup, so those are my 4 motivators!
Jason