The evolution of a watch collector.

[jfreeman420]

I was looking over my collection recently and I started getting a bit nostaligic over the watches I still own and have owned in the past. When I first started collecting it was all about Rolex. I don't think I am different from many collectors in this respect. I bought a day date, another day date, a few two tone subs, a gold yachtmaster, a crappy daytona, some iced out day dates, not to mention the day date masterpieces and I can remember a couple Omegas for good measure. Then I bought a couple Pateks, VC and any other gold watch I could get my hands on. If it came iced I had it in my collection.

My gen collection also grew. Gen Cartiers, Vintage Rolexes, a few more gen day dates for good measure, even a solid gold Universal Geneve which I still regret selling.

More recently I bought every Rolex daytona available in SS, Two Tone and Gold. I have tried many brands of watches over the years and nothing compared to the Rolex reps........................

Until recently. I now find myself more inclined to purchase the higher quality replicas which fortunately are no longer Rolex. The Breitlings are my current favorite and I have a VC on order. Once this Hublot extreme price fiasco gets under control I will add a couple of those to the regular rotation. I still remain the King of Bling and still sport a few iced out Rollies and prefer the gold or two tone models of any brand, but I do see myself moving my collection towards a more quality selection that doesn't include any more Rolex models. I do plan to buy the ceramic bezel GMT when it comes out and maybe another daytona once they revamp it again. Other than that I feel I don't have any use for a president or sub any longer. My masterpieces remain in the box most of the time and are worn on special occasions and when I feel a bit more dressy.

This change of events has been brought on not only by the higher quality of non rolex models, but also the larger size of Breitling etc. I wonder if genuine watch collectors have had the same turn of events in recent years. Although I am not at all a fan of Panerai I see them gaining more of a market share with their obscenely large faces. I see more and more people sporting Bentley's as well, gen and rep. I also notice the rep makers making little or no effort to improve the Rolex models. You are hard pressed to even find a Roelx for sale on Canal ST nowadays.

I have accepted the fact that my collection will never be complete and it will constantly evolve but there is one thing that I can't quite understand. I have never been one to follow trends. My style of dress has been the same for years. I still wear only Tommy Bahama and Nat Nast shirts, and I have a shoe colection that will rival some people's watch collections, but I do find myself following the trends in watches. Something newer bigger and better comes out and I have to have it. I thought I would always be a devout Rolex loyalist but that is no longer the case.

I look forward to adding more quality pieces to my collection. I have become spoiled with this new generation of super reps. That is my new goal in this hobby, to only buy the best quality from the factories that pay attention to detail. I hope the dealers and makers take note of this.

Anyway, thanks for hearing my dribble and any comments will be welcome.

[Corgi]

When I first started collecting it was all about Rolex. I don't think I am different from many collectors in this respect. I bought a day date, [...]

Same here. I remember the process too, it was an easier time back then. I was happy to get a watch, regardless of some debris on the dial and I didn't care that it wasn't perfectly 1:1 to the original. I wore the watch proudly, not thinking for an instant about the dangers of being "called out" or having the gold fade off. I didn't care what kind of movement was inside, or if it swept as smoothly as the original. I was truly happy.

Then my collection grew. But, I began to notice a few changes. I was exploring more, and I was expecting more. I purchased a Panerai, and was thoroughly disappointed when it arrived with poor lume and dust under the crystal. Still, I wore it anyway, and didn't give it a second thought.

Fast forward a year later, and I'm going bananas over the mis-placed "swiss made" on my Cartier Santos and I'm considering modding some of my other watches to bring them closer to authenticity. I'm also starting to choose models which are more realistic to wear, like those in the $4,000-$8,000 range as daily beaters. I still love my "extreme millionaire" watches but I prefer to wear my SMP chrono because it's just so "real".

It's been a little over a year since that day-date arrived, and since then I have diversified my collection with suggestions and tips from this very community. I am proud of the watches I own, even though many are what you would label as "noob watches" (Gold Rolex, Submariner, President, Datejust). I have a few dream watches left, like a reliable Daytona or accurate Patek Philippe calendar... but all in all the journey has been one of education, and evolution.

[Fidestro]

For some reason I was never into Rolex replicas. I have one Sub, a Noobmariner, and that is it. I started out with Tag Heuer and Omega reps, I then bought the gens, and now find myself going back to the reps.

[DET11]

To me, interestingly enough, I started with the super reps......Omega SMP, Breitling SOSF, and the like........and then purchased a TT Sub.......now I know I really shouldn't have, it just didn't satisfy me......oh well....live and learn.