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So why is it I cant wear what I like?


PeteM

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Many a time I have looked at some great pics of some fantastic watches on here and other forums... or in all walks of life.. TV, Mags, in person etc

 

 

I also see some great combos... of cases dials with straps etc and I like them so I want to get them.... so I do get them or very similar...

 

 

But as soon as it arrives or its built and I put it on my wrist or hold it in my hand...and I suddenly realise i dont like it...

 

For example I love PVD especially a light pencil grey.... I especially like looking at PreV and PreA PAMs in PVD...so I build them..I spend months getting parts together and spend much  money....

 

Yet once it is in my hand..I hate it...

 

Yet I keep doing it... !!

 

Its the same with say a vintage case or dial..beit a PAM or maybe a Ling or an Omega etc... I love them in the pics or on someone elses wrist... but as soon as I have it I dont like it and I wont wear it...

 

Its also the same with straps...god knows how much I have spent on them or watches ... I see lovely combos ...but once i have it on my wrist I hate it..

 

I know its not an accuracy thing as most stuff I wear is frankened or modded or gen...

 

And once I have shifted the watch or put it away... I see the same or similar watch or combo etc and I want it... I think maybe I was wrong maybe I didnt give it a chance... so on some occasions..I go and do it all again.. !! and still the same result !!

 

Is it just me.... is it because of my view when its on my wrist compared to seeing it on someone elses...is my taste different when I wear it to when i look at it..

 

I dont get it!!

 

Why would I like something I have seen and yet once it is on my wrist I cannot like it.... :(

 

Is it just me?

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This is exactly the reason we recommend you go to an AD & try on (& research) the gen before buying/building a copy.

 

I've always wondered how that works? Honest question, I have only once visited an AD. You just walk in an AD and you can try anything you like? I read about this on so many boards. But I'm pondering about purchasing a quite expensive gen (for me anyways) and I don't think I could agree if I bought it at an AD and the watch had been on dozens of people's wrists before mine. It would just feel like second hand. Or do AD's carry demo's of everything and you receive an unboxed one when you purchase it?

 

And to OP's question: sometimes but not often. If I see a watch I like, it's pretty much guaranteed that I will love it even more when I own it. But I recognize your story as I have the same thing with smartphones and other electronic gadgets.

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This is exactly the reason we recommend you go to an AD & try on (& research) the gen before buying/building a copy.

 

 

Yes mate but in the case of what I talked about above thats not possible and generally not always possible anyway given location etc .... as for research I do plenty of that but again that is exactly my point...

 

but thank you for the thoughtful response and it is great advice when relevant...

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I know what you mean Pete and kinda feel the same way, but for a different reason:

Not because I don't like something on me, but it's more the thrill of the chase/hunt....

Sourcing parts/straps for a watch, getting it built, etc. Then it's done, you have it, and it's time for a new PROJECT.

 

In essense, not about the completed product but the process to get there.

 

Likewise - modding cars. Performance upgrades, exhaust, wheels, etc - get the car how you like it, nothing else left to do, SELL it for something new lol.

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Pete, I've found this to be true in many things: guitars, watches, hockey skates, you name it. I finally figured out that for me personally I can be happy admiring something that someone else owns, but I don't need to own it. That was a real key revelation... I can like it but not need it.

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I feel the same way but I can say that sometimes the opposite may also happen. I saw a lot of pics of the nautilus before and this watch really let me cold until I tried the Gran's one a couple of weeks ago. I immediately felt in love and bought one from Angus ... It's unexpected but I really love it !!!!

Xel

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Pete,  I can certainly appreciate where you are coming from. While I have never had one that I really hated, I have had a multitude of watches that I was very excited about when looking at them, but when they arrived, I almost knew immediately that they were not going to stay around.

I'm sure their are many, many more who are suffering from this malady to some degree or other. If it were not pretty prevalent  among watch lovers, there would not be a sale section attached to every watch forum in the world!! Look at WUS, TZ and other gen sites as well as the sales sites on this and other rep forums. They are filled with watches that are either brand new or worn only a few times. We are never really satisfied, I believe that this is just something inherent to the modern human, especially those of us who have the means to keep seeking the elusive "Perfect" whatever.

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I've found my tastes changing a lot since the beginning of this year.

 

I started off loving chronos, PVD and watches that young people wear (new Tags, snazzy rollers, etc).

 

Then I got to a point where things that looked great on the screen just didn't cut it in real life.

 

So I started trying a cheapie of something that I looked at the pics and thought "meh, what's all the fuss?" - Pans being the main one.

 

Now I've got rid of almost all my chronos I originally got (nothing wrong with any of them, just didn't feel any love for them), most of the PVDs I had, and am now happily into a couple of TCs, a few Pans, a few white/cream/ivory face dress watches that are classical looking, and a handful of Seikos.

 

I seem to have found a good test to see if I like a watch or "love it-must have-or will die without". If I find something I like I'll store the watch in the back of my mind and forget about it for a couple of days.

 

Then when I see another one, or the same one, if I still think "that's nice", then that's all it is, I think it's nice but I dont' want one. If I feel "wow, that's very nice" and like it more than the last time, I'll squirrel the mental image away again until next time.

 

By the third or fourth time I know if I truly want it or not.

 

Even watches I didn't like the first time I saw them I've grown to really like them, and then get one.

 

If you're talking about mega rare or fantasy one offs then you've just made life a whole lot more difficult as it may be years before you see another one!

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Well said, Fraggle. I loved the orange Planet Ocean from the first time I saw it, and HAD to have one. So I bought one, didn't love it, and sold it. But then the bug bit again and I had to have one. So I repeated the process. I've now had 3 and sold them or gave them all away. And guess what bug bit me again a week ago?

Maybe the chrono this time. :g:

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kind of hard when you're 25-35 and try a 20k watch....

Not really bro. I know people personally, and have heard stories of many more, of multi million dollar fortunes amassed by countless members of the under 30 crowd.

Hell, go to any big city (Scottsdale, Miami especially) out to the clubs and see what cars the tech guys, ball players, music biz people, and real estate investors are driving. Fcars, Lambos, Maserati, tons of Bentley, Fisker Karmas, etc.

Age is not representative. Like others have said, how you dress and carry yourself....

Lol to ad infinitum above!

Edited by jpohl402
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Yessir,

Currently own 22 watches.  At one time owned 30(+).???

 

I wear perhaps 4 or 5 of them on a regular basis.  On the other hand most of the 22 I own, I would not, or could not sell.

HAD to have a few of them, but once owned, rarely worn.

 

Trying on a watch you admire at an AD is a good idea.

Looking at them on your own wrist can help a great deal.

 

Doesn't make any difference if you can afford the gen, or whether it's appropriate for you to wear a 25,000.00 watch.

It is more about what makes you feel good.  For the most part no one cares, or is even aware of what's on your wrist.

Edited by jeff g
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I can see how distance could prohibit your ability to visit an AD, but age & income level do not. Like any other retail establishment, there are no age/income stipulations or requirements that you purchase what you try on. That is the downside to retail sales - there will always be 'tire-kickers', who sample without purchasing. Certainly, I would not take advantage of this by wasting the AD's time & personnel, demanding that you be given a tour of everything in the store. But, after you have done your online work to narrow things down to no more than a handful of models, there is no reason you cannot ask to see a few watches. For those who are geographically challenged, reps are a way to risk buying something you may not like without spending thousands on a single watch.

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I truly can understand your dilemma Pete...I had been at the same point and from my experience I have to say there is no other way than try, try, try...

 

I started with my search for "the watches I can wear" in 2007 and after I tried hundreds of watches over the years it seems like I finally found "my style"...at least...I can say that the style hasn't changed in the past month and since some weeks I hadn't any change in colour.

This could likely mean I reached the end of my "hunt" (I really hope I did!!!).

 

The best advice I can give is...don't stick with the same design too early...try something different and try watches you think you don't like...as you already know...the "look" changes once it's on the wrist ;)

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One of the reasons I love vintage rolex a lot is because the watches have so much personality and character. The superdomes esp give you something cool to look at every time you check your wrist because they distort what you're looking at depending on the angle. I can't wear modern watches anymore for my own reasons but when I did I found myself trading/selling them way too often, I never formed a bond or connection to any of them. I was like you, I saw one on someone else and thought it was awesome, ran out and got one and then.. Meh.. Lol. As for the vintage watches, they ooze character and it's been really hard to part with even one of them. Doesn't even have to be Rolex!

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The superdomes esp give you something cool to look at every time you check your wrist because they distort what you're looking at depending on the angle.

 

How many times have you checked your watch, then a minute later realized you don't know what time it is?  There's just something about a big lurid domed plexi crystal.  :wub:

 

post-32-0-58984000-1386000789_thumb.jpg

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