Collector’s Crossroads: How sentimental value can become the nemesis of an evolving collector

Ricardo Sime

The first expensive Swiss watch I ever purchased was an Ernest Borel Athletic. It’s a beautiful chronograph with a black dial that features a ton of depth. I bought it in 2016, while on my honeymoon in Toronto. It’s a watch that is forever associated with that time in my life and one I always felt could never go. Years later, though I wind it occasionally, between all the scratched polished areas and scratched AR, I never wear it. The only reason I still own it is because of it’s sentimental value.

But should that be the case?

Sentimental value is a term often tossed around in this hobby. We are indeed a very passionate bunch and the idea of romanticising our relationship with certain pieces is not surprising. Yet somewhere between the watches handed down to us by loved ones or gifted to us for milestone events, this term has become a catchall for any piece that tagged along for an event. “I happen to be wearing this during my child’s birth.” Sentimental Value. ” The first day I met my wife I was wearing this”. Sentimental Value.

I know some people are reading this and are ready to defend their choices. However, I just want to clarify, the issue I see here isn’t the idea of sentimental value. Because I do believe there are watches deserving of this category. For example, my Tudor Black Bay Steel, which I love, has a ton of sentimental value. I wear it often and it’s the watch I knew would go to my first born. My worry is that many of us have become very lax about what watches are worthy of this treatment, when instead, we should be more discerning.

This may all seem harmless but when you start to do the math, it can become economically dangerous. Because if every time we experience an important life event, we decide the watch on our wrist becomes untouchable, it may then become a money pit. Especially when you consider that naturally, as collectors, our likes and dislikes change over time. Which means in only a matter of years, you may be left with a watch box with multiple pieces you no longer like but that you only keep for sentimental value.

This questioning of sentimental value came from my recent realisation that I own too many watches. I’ve come to realise that the Ernest Borel, though the oldest piece in my collection, just no longer has a place in it. Which then begs the question: what to do with it? Some have told me to gift it to someone else so they can have memories with it. Others say just sell it. One thing that has come to mind, which goes back to the idea of how we like to romanticise things, is to give it to someone fresh in this hobby. Someone who will appreciate it for all its mechanical glory.

But that’s enough from me. Do you agree about the potential pitfalls of sentimental value? Or do you think I’m plain crazy and just a flipper in disguise? Email me at [email protected] to let me know. So far, I’ve enjoyed the emails I received from my other articles, so keep them coming.