andrewG
155
The one watch question...
....if you had to take all the knowledge you have gained from your time in this hobby and distill it down to one watch that suited your life style which watch would it be and why?
I think I'm at a point in this hobby where my returns are not justifying my inputs- a point where the collecting and accumulating is more of the hobby than the enjoyment of owning. Maybe its too many watches or to much invested money but at times I think if I'd spent as much effort as I did collecting watches on other past-times maybe I'd be a better person (fitter, richer, smarter 
). So I'm stepping back and thinking, if I had to choose one watch what would it be. I've realised that it will never be perfect or suit all occassions but it needs to make me feel like I did when I first started this hobby and be a point of closure. I want to look at it and think "yup, I used to collect watches and I enjoyed my time, but I've moved on from that and look at tthis wonderful watch I have ended up with".....
if you had to do that what watch would you choose.
I've realised my needs are;
- somewhat formal, I'm not a fan of clutered dials (yet I have many in my current collection). Time only is perfect
- I prefer straps but bracelets go with everything (everything I currently own is on a strap- most bracelets are in the watch boxes)
- has to be 38mm, anything bigger is to big and anything smaller to small for everyday wear (I current have 36mm and 44mm watches!!)
-In-house movement, because I want something special with all that history and DNA. That IS important. But public prestige is not i.e. little known brands
When I start lining up my options I realise that this will be the most difficult choice I have faced in collecting watches (and has somewhat given enjoyment back to the hobby). Having a collection means you can make mistakes, because you know next year that you will sell or buy more. Now I'm sticking with one and I see all major brands with options that suit my needs- GP, Rolex, VC, JLC to name a few.
I'd be interested in how others would face this question or if they have already.
The one watch question...
....if you had to take all the knowledge you have gained from your time in this hobby and distill it down to one watch that suited your life style which watch would it be and why? I think I'm at a point in this hobby where my returns are not justifying my...
Complex question
Andrew, It's a complex question but here are my options: a) Rolex Explorer I, the "classic version". In house and very sturdy movement. I wear mine on a black strap. b) IWC Mark XII (my current grail). JLC movement, I believe. Cheers, Nilo
I might have a mark XII going on the...
....chopping block soon if I pursue ending my collection ;-) And another 3 different IWCs with JLC movements!!!! Truely a lovely watch. Perfect- no, but certainly a pleasure to own. I have looked at the explorer and it is one of many watches that are on t...
I have pondered this before...
If I were to have to drop down to a single watch, what would it be? I think some additional requirements would be: 1. good bracelet, summer is just too humid to wear a leather strap all the time 2. NOT a Rolex or anything too "obvious" -- not a failing on...
The end game. Intriguing question, Andrew . . .
. . . as I've recognized being personally on the descent for a little while now. This would be my choice: There's something special about golden ratio rectangular forms. The second generation Karrees aren't quite as compelling off the wrist as the first g...
Now, that is the holy quest, Andrew...
Adding, or better said, building a collection, is a fascinating thing. Reducing a collection to the essential is as fascinating, IMO, than building a collection. It obliges you to re think it all, to go to the Essential. In this case, taking one among all...
In my case...
...and due to my life stile, here I have some requirements I would consider for my one an only watch. 1-.I also prefer simple dials. 2-.Mainly time only. 3-.GMT function is useful to me as Im travelling a lot. 4-.I would go with something that could be fo...
Old model Vacheron Overseas with a better movement and bracelet.
I bought that Overseas to be my "one" watch, and it was perfect: sporty but suit-appropriate, heavily water-resistant, very high quality but stealthy, good legibility and luminosity . . . and then I sold it. Reasons: (1) it was constantly getting out of a...
I have pondered upon this and ended up with an item...
don't laugh... it has all of the grand grand complications: 1. GMT 2. Power Reserve 3. Monopulsante 4. Double Chrono 5. Flyback 6. Tourbillon 7. Minute Repeater and it's called BINGO, the iPHONE... that's the one I would end up with at the end of my grail...
my specification
I like a daily beater of a watch that is clean and classic. I like a sturdy bracelet, but that's not a main criteria. I like the date function, which is in my opinion, is the most useful function a watch can have. I like icons. So, the answer is something...
My needs are simple : )
When I'm not in the office, my life is quite active and robust. Dress watches won't cut it, but I don't mind a little bling. The watch has to be tough and have a bracelet. Like my cars, it has to be reliable without needing frequent trips to the dealer. F...
Your requirements are completely filled with the ....
Patek Aquanaut 5165, the smaller 38 mm version. This is - afaik - the most comfortable watch you can buy. You don't feel it ! And it fits in with any type of weather. Waterproof 120 m. Nobody notices that you wear an expensive watch with the same movement...
Two...but no lower
I have taken up this challenge and been found wanting.... I've thought about this same issue and have repeatedly concluded that I could go to as low as two watches but no lower. That said, I would approach it this way. Watch #1: Daily Wearer A solid, stur...
I like the reasoning of duality...
but how clean do we make the cut. Maybe we make it deep and concentrate on the daily wearer first. Then after a period of time and reflection go for that grail. The longer I have been in this hobby the more my tastes have changed and the more my collectio...
a really difficult question Andrew.
instinctively i would say the MIH is my best all round watch as it does pretty much everything you need out of a watch. best Graham
When 1 = 4 or 5
Hi - I have recently sold watches which, for all intensive purposes were my loves, my favorite objects and are pieces which have brought me such joy....but, the eye wanders and when the opportunity to obtain one's "Grail" or what watch someone thinks is t...
Keep it "Simple" if you know what I mean, thats my vote
Just think you will be happy with that forever, for sure, end of story.
Collecting watch in Ogygia
But we should go back Ithaca with family and friends to be a better person... Odyssey.... For the question...I will go for Rolex Explorer 2 white dial(new orange hand?) or a Grand Seiko with spring drive if I gonna wear it everyday...
I would have considered answering this question...
if it was to come down to a 3 watch or hard as it may, a two watch collection but one....NO way! It's just like having one pair of shoes etc. If it ever came to that it may as well be a swatch or whatever as I would have entirely lost interest in watches ...
Many valid points .....
I find you post both interesting and intriguing because it brings up many points that I can relate to, but not easily answer. While I try to keep my number of watches to a manageable number, there are times when I wonder if I can simplify and get it to 2 ...
For me, the "exit" watch question was quickly answered ...
... since it boiled down to the imagination of myself in twenty, thirty, forty years: Is there a watch that I could imagine really enjoying in the future? That matches best me, my personality, my lifetime experience? Over the years, only a single watch wa...
Yes, that one really does it for me
Let's get together so that I can show you my Antiqua. Trade it I will not. The 1000 year old man (Thx, Mel Brooks) amerix
Andrew, one watch fits your description:
it is the 37 mm Simplicity from Philippe Dufour. Or, if you are willing to forget the "in-house" must, it can be the 38 mm Observatoire from Kari Voutilainen. That would be my options, too. Best, Radu
If I had to choose one....
Very difficult, as it would have to be a bracelet watch so I can use it in the water and during the summer hot months.... Thus, it would be the PP Nautilus 5711, simple elegant, understated..... However, if I would choose two, then.... It would be a rolex...
An early 70's silver face AirKing
It's simple, elegant, purpousful, reliable and that rolex stainless steel has a scheen you just don't get with other watches. No one watch is perfect for every occasion but if the choice was put to me that would be it.
vintage IWC 866
The vintage Ingenieur models first drew me into watch collecting, and I would choose a ref. 866 if I could only keep one. They are, to my eye, classically beautiful, and exceptionally well designed. The cal. 854x movements are among the best automatic mov...
if I were sane
I would probably keep the JLC Master Hometime (old version). Like the style, good bracelet, the GMT and date complication I often need, rugged and reliable, enough WR for my kind of sports and looks OK with everything but high formal. But since I am not, ...
Hello Andrew
The only time I have been with just a single watch was for probably about 13 years. The watch was (and still is) a Seiko sports 100 chronograph. I've had it now for about 25 years and still find it beguiling when I put it on each time. It cost £166 n...
Rolex Explorer II
Smaller, slimmer, and lighter than submariner, and daytona. Classy, nice and under the radar.
Inspirational post!
Andrew this is perhaps the first post that has really made me stop and think, to really question what I have been doing! Thank you. I have after much thought come to the conclusion that my favorite watch is one that was given to me, a simple Rolex date ju...
I've asked myself this question several times
A single watch that meets all my needs should be simultaneously: - sturdy and practical enough. As far as I know, the best shock absorber system is the one of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Extreme. Of course, it must have a bracelet and luminuos ...
Daytona
with leather strap option for dresswatch occasion and ss bracelet for regular day to day can NEVER live with just one personally, but, if one really must, then above
It can never happen to me...
.... I will never be able to give up all but one single watch. The reason is not that I don't have a holy grail watch. I would say my holy grail watch would be a KV, but that I cannot give up everything else for it. If I have to choose between a grail wat...
