johnswatch1
275
My story...
I have only ever agonised over one purchase as that requred the sale of one of my most persoanlly "significant" pieces.
I had a Patek 5296r with sector dial tht I never truly bonded with. To be honest I think I wore it more for the apparent admiration it garnered amongst watch lovers than it's own merits. A particularly tortuous experience with the service division left a very poor impression and I was dreading the fast approaching day it would need a service.
It was a watch I owned for all the wrong reasons yet I loved spending hours examining the movement under a loupe and marvelling at the craftmanship it exhibited. The problem was that I simply didn't wear it very much.
I had my eye on a by comparison very pedestrian Rolex 116718 which couldn't be more different in every way from the refied air of the Patek. I spent a lot of time agonising over whether to trade and I worried that my collection as a whole would suffer for it's exclusion.
I finally did the deal and I couldn't be happier. The Rolex is certainly not a watch for every occasion and not for everyone but it is on my wrist practically every day and this is the point in my opinion.
I have belatedly come to the conclusion that if it's not true love after a few months of wearing thwn it's time to move the piece on to someone who would appreciate it more. It's something I've not once regretted but it took over a year of internal debate before I could commit.
Should I or shouldn't I?
Should I or shouldn't I? I would like to hear your stories about the watch you agonized over the longest before you purchased. Are you more likely to make the correct purchase decision if you take your time? Do you think it adds to the pleasure now? Does ...
It is all relative…..to one s wallet most of all..
For some buying a 1/2 K watch requires a lot of thinking and planning,therefore making sure his purchase will mean a lot to him as it will be unlikely to make another one anytime soon,for somebody else,buying a baguette diamond tourbillon on a spending sp...
I 'never' buy on impulse ...
... well mostly never. I understand where you are coming form on the bigger financial decisions but personally I find I still agonies over the smaller purchases. There are still exactly the same questions of quality, provenance, originality and intrinsic ...
There's a distinction between an impulsive purchase . . .
. . . and a watch which is impulsively compelling that takes time to acquire. My G O Karrees were all impulsively compelling, but there was a lag between first sight and actual acquisition for all of them. (Financially induced, I might add; they would've ...
My gut feeling is that you are right, however ...
... just like a piece of complex music or a novel that I initially cannot comprehend, once I work at it and think about it and get inside it (first on an intellectual level and later on an emotional level) then the effort seems to support the long term lo...
The best illustration of this I can think of . . .
. . . off the top of my head is Blue Velvet , which affected me deeply the first viewing shortly after it was released. My senses were overwhelmed, but there was so much I couldn't comprehend. A few years ago, when it was running several times per week on...
That represents something with so many layers
And I guess there needs to be at least something that attracts us initially, otherwise we wouldn't go back to look again, to contemplate, to unwrap the layers. The best art, literature, films, watches have many layers to keep our interest and in fact to i...
Nah, no spur of the moment for me
Last purchase took a 1.5 years of agony, with numerous trips to ADs taking photos, ultimately built a PowerPoint presentation of the top candidates; my wife thinks I am crazy but for me it is a big part of the fun. If you could buy them all it won’t be fu...
The journey is as important as the destination
Very true, Stan. All your comments resonate with me. And of course you can share those 'agonizing Journeys' with is on PuristS and how they changed your views. The journey is part of the experience of the watch. Your comments in this thread are appreciate...
The closest I ever came to Impulse...
was on a Habring2. I had contemplated their watches for a couple of years, but never had them on my wish list. Then, I went to visit Richard and Maria in person at the local AD. Between the dealers inventory and everything they brought with them, I became...
I like your two year impulse buy
Great stories, Joe. Habring were obviously on your radar, at least peripherally, and you were ready to pounce when the opportunity presented. The same with the Polaris. Andrew
I take much time
That's exactly the way I choose my watches. From the past, I noticed that 90% of watches I got really excited about, finally vanished more or less from my mind. I can't remember how often I fell in love for a watch that I didn't bother about only a few we...
I certainly have to control my ...
... initial reactions to watches. In fact it was the watch fair period we are in at the moment, with 4 weeks to Basel that prompted me to think about this. 95% of the initially exciting watches fade from memory pretty quickly. I think we approach things i...
The answer lies in racehorses...
at least, in my case. After having gambled on Thoroughbred racehorses for many years, I had an epiphany which had positive repercussions that are still being felt several decades later: my results were far superior when I allowed both my intellect and int...
Intuition
Interesting discussion, Tony. To me that intuition comes from your accumulated knowledge. It's a more rapid way of accessing your experiences rather than by formal reasoning. Both approaches have their place. I imagine if you are going into an area where ...
Many layers to this question...
It's not just about money. It's about how we choose to look at life and how "mature" we are to enjoy the subtleties of a purchase depending on the current context we find ourselves in. While we are buying something concrete for our money, something that w...
So many layers to you answer, Echi
Beautifully considered response. I have found myself thinking about your comments over the last day. And it makes these watches even more important to represent who we are as people and collectors, what our priorities are, whether we want a quick 'high' o...
Great question AD
having a long term collection plan often helps agaist these pesky " on the spot " decisions. I can be swayed very easily but in th past have bought stuff that I then traded out of as I was not wedded to my new watch. Now I am much more measured in the acq...
And a great response
A clear plan for the collection sounds sensible and avoids expensive mistakes. But I'm pleased you keep room for spontaneity! Your comments about collecting strategies would make a good topic for the New Members Forum. I think there are many who worry abo...
A friend...
...claims to have the perfect marriage. He says that he and his wife have never argued, in more than thirty years of marriage! When asked how this could be possible, he replied that he and his wife made a pact upon marrying. As he put it, "We agreed that ...
My story...
I have only ever agonised over one purchase as that requred the sale of one of my most persoanlly "significant" pieces. I had a Patek 5296r with sector dial tht I never truly bonded with. To be honest I think I wore it more for the apparent admiration it ...
What constitutes an
impulse buy? Is it an instant purchase, or over a period of hours? I've occasion to buy within a very short time frame of hours after being exposed to the unexpexted item,but it depends on the circumstances---and it was not without due agonising over the ...
