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Defending your obsession: 3 common questions I get from non-watch lovers Defending your obsession: 3 common questions I get from non-watch lovers

Defending your obsession: 3 common questions I get from non-watch lovers

Ricardo Sime

I remember the first time my wife was introduced to my love for watches. We were only dating then but on this occasion, our matinee movie included a stroll through Roosevelt Field Mall in New York. It just so happens, (with no strategic planning on my part. I promise) that on our way to the movie theatre we passed an authorised dealer. And before she could ask me “where are you going”, I was already sipping a bottle of expensive water and trying on a watch.

At that time in our relationship, this behaviour was so foreign to her. In fact. it’s probably foreign to anyone who hasn’t caught the watch bug. From random interruptions during a movie to talk about the watch on an actor’s wrist to hour-long conversations at a boutique shooting the breeze with the employees. For the uninitiated, this love may come off as an obsession, which if I’m being truthful, it probably is.

Yet, as you grow as a person and start adding people to your life, you often find yourself trying to explain this obsession to them. Whether it’s because you want them to share in the joy it brings you or just want to stop the “you’re crazy” looks that come your way, conveying your love for watches in a non-watch world becomes a definite thing.

However, before I can get to the romantic aspects of watches (an heirloom for the next generation or the intricacies of the mechanics) there tend to be three questions I have to get past. (Like the sub bosses on an arcade game.) In fact, I’ve been asked these questions so often in my near decade of collecting, that I’ve developed these three answers that will get you past them pretty quick.

1. Why not just buy an apple watch?

Defending your obsession

This is numero uno when it comes to questions. Which didn’t surprise me since almost everyone in my life has an Apple Watch. So when they ask me why I don’t own one, I’m usually locked and loaded.

Though I love the long list of features and benefits of wearing an Apple Watch, I have the mentality of treating my wrist like a hot piece of real estate. And since I find more enjoyment from a mechanical watch resting there than an Apple Watch, the proper watch tends to win out. To make sure I can still get the benefits of fitness tracking, I opt instead for a slim, inconspicuous option on my other wrist that focuses purely on that.

Furthermore, many people who love watches also own an Apple Watch so it’s not an either/or choice.

2. Why spend so much on a watch?

Defending your obsession

This tends to be the follow-up question after a quick parry of the Apple Watch.

It’s a question I used to find strange because, as a society, many of us can relate to that feeling we got as a child when we were gifted our first watch. It’s an object we knew the adults had so of course we wanted to get in on the fun. Fast-forward that feeling to adulthood and many of us wouldn’t see anything wrong in spending what the average person I know spends on a watch.

Yet, a close look at our current society shows that things have changed. The children of today are much more likely to be given a piece of electronics than a timepiece.

With that in mind, when explaining myself, I find it easier to compare the cost of a good watch to all the money we spend on cell phones, computers and all the electronics in our lives. Even with all the value these items bring, a watch is but a drop in the overall bucket. Especially when a good watch can be had for a few hundred bucks.

3. When are you going to buy a Rolex?

Defending your obsession
Rolex Air King 126900

When someone doesn’t ask me this question, I’m actually shocked.

The universal popularity and brand recognition of Rolex is something that still surprises me to this day. The brand is so well known that even those who have absolutely no interest in watches know exactly what it is. Which honestly becomes a bit annoying because in their minds, it’s the be all /end all watch brand. That leads to weird conversations where people think you haven’t made it because you don’t own one.

But the beautiful thing about this question is that if you have a love for watches, answering it presents a chance to shine. Sitting there, introducing someone to the plethora of watch brands on the market as well as the history behind them tends to move you out of the weird column to the passionate one.

It also, more times than not, turns you into their watch consigliere which is a role I’m more than happy to fill.