Can you ever really retire from being a watch collector or enthusiast?
Zach BlassAs I always say, I was a watch enthusiast long before I was a watch journalist. I will always first and foremost be a watch geek. So, I am no stranger to collecting watches, exploring forums, and consuming watch media. During a routine scrolling through my social media feed earlier this month, a post in the “Talking Time with Tim Mosso” Facebook group stopped my swiping in its tracks. Like an athlete, this user made a post announcing they would be retiring as a watch enthusiast. This got me wondering is such a thing really possible? Could they actually retire from being a watch collector and enthusiast? Or will this retirement announcement pan out like NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Brett Favre – both of whom returned to the sport after announcing their retirement.
In a way, the post in question read like an obituary – detailing the journey of their watch collecting and enthusiasm before its end. What stood out to me the most within their caption, though, was the idea of not only retiring from collecting, but also admiring. As if it were too much of a struggle to stay tuned into the watch world in case it proved too tempting to be roped back in after finding closure. Or, unfathomably, to a young watch addict such as myself, they have simply found their horological zen and closure.
From my own personal perspective, I could never see myself “retiring” from admiring watches or being a watch enthusiast. And I certainly am aware of the fact when I declare I will abstain from watch purchases, like a “dry January”, it is primarily fiscally motivated. More often than not, when I say such a thing, I either break my self-set purchase embargo, or I had just drained my watch war-chest and couldn’t purchase another watch at that moment even if I wanted to. That being said, while challenging, after a big catch I am able to satiate the primal watch-hunt feeling inside of me – whether fiscally forced or not. To remove myself entirely from the world of watches, however, is something I simply cannot fathom.
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I will admit that I am at a point in my collection where it would take a lot for me to part with something in order to bring something else in. I also feel that within the scope of my current collection, I do not have any desire to purchase more approachable watches out of FOMO or for the sake of novelty. For example, I have no interest in purchasing a MoonSwatch because I know it will never get wear time. And, even in the realm of higher-tier pieces, I cannot justify an outright purchase if I cannot see myself wearing it over something already in my rotation. There are just too many watches in my collection I would reach for first, and there are also a few pieces I unfortunately rarely wear – which I consider a waste and should probably sell (but can’t seem to get myself to do so). With all of this in mind, I would never dare say my watch-collecting journey has come to an end. Perhaps one day I will fall out of love with some of the pieces I consider now permanent fixtures of my collection (like my limited-edition Cartier Santos Dumont above). Right now though, I get nauseous thinking about leveraging a few of my more valuable pieces for a really heavyweight piece of horology.
Whether this Facebook user is displaying extreme discipline or delusion can only be determined with time. And, who knows, maybe they overstated when they said they would retire from admiring watches (perhaps solely collecting). But wow. Such an idea is such a sombre thought in my eyes. Alas, I am 29 years old. So, I still have plenty of mileage left before I reach their years in the hobby. Who knows if I will hit horological nirvana myself in the next decade or so. For now, the only way I could imagine that happening is if a Philippe Dufour Simplicity, my self-proclaimed “exit watch”, magically appears in my watch box.