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Why I broke my New Year’s resolution to purchase this watch

Why I broke my New Year’s resolution to purchase this watch

Borna Bošnjak

Before I delve deeper into the why, I’d like to bring you up to speed on my collecting habits. In a perfect world, I’d buy what I like and when I like, which many can relate to, I’m sure. However, as a full-time student and part-time Time+Tide writer who’s enthusiastic about watches, sick fits and photography, I have to pick and choose where to invest carefully. That’s why I tend to promise myself that I’ll put money aside, work towards a grail and avoid potential unplanned buys. Impeded by my impulsive nature, I’ve usually fucked that up.

This brings us to the end of 2021. A year marked by many Swatches, a Seiko x Rowing Blazers, a Nomos Club Campus, topped off by the big one – a Black Bay 58. Certainly a strong year for a student, though I had planned for (most of) those far ahead. Knowing I’d (hopefully) be graduating come the end of next year, I knew I wanted to mark it with something rather special. I’ve long wanted to add some form of complication to my collection, and a mechanical chronograph seemed like the perfect start. With plenty of fantastic, even iconic, options, I had it narrowed down to three. The Omega Speedmaster Professional, Zenith Chronomaster Original or Habring Chrono-Felix were the choices, giving myself ample time to do my research and experience them on-wrist before purchasing. To make that happen, however, I’d need to be extremely diligent, with no surprise swipes at my wallet throughout the year.

So, I failed. Because of course I did

kurono toki resolution

It’s January 1, 2022. A mere 18 hours and 3 minutes into the new year, and I had already broken my vow. The watch in question – a Kurono Toki. Launched on May 21, 2021, it side-stepped the usual first-come-first-served sales tactics in favour of a much improved 10-minute window approach. While this would certainly mean lower resale value and discourage flippers, it was a welcome sight to any true Kurono fan – Zach Blass, T+T’s resident Kurono-custodian agrees as well.

Where this proposition fell short for me was the long waiting time. A couple of thousand dollars out of pocket, and without a watch to show for it was not something I was comfortable with at the time, as I’d rather have put the money towards a BB58, which is what I did. I thought the FOMO would disappear after a couple of weeks, but even after I purchased the Black Bay, I couldn’t escape the Toki-coloured thoughts.

Thankfully for me, as I was scrolling through Instagram after New Year’s celebrations, I noticed the post that had the Toki for sale. It was a reliable source, and someone not looking to flip it for a profit, selling the watch for the same price they paid when ordering from Kurono. With butterflies in my stomach, I knew that this was a sign, and in that moment, I couldn’t care less for my resolution.

The why

kurono toki resolution

I’m of the opinion that you don’t need an excuse past “I just wanted to buy it” to add something to the collection. In this case, however, there is something else. A week prior to this purchase, I had accepted the offer to come and work for Time+Tide, and this watch marked the beginning of what has (so far) turned out to be an awesome gig.

kurono toki resolution

So, how about the watch then?

The 37mm diameter, insignificant thickness and such a pretty face made it all I was hoping for. While I still question the decision to pay over A$3,000 for a Miyota 9000-powered watch, it helped me understand that not everything needs to be an amazing value proposition to make it worth purchasing.

kurono toki resolution

While the purchase of any of the aforementioned trio of chronographs is unlikely at this point, I must admit I’ve fallen out of love with all of them. A 4:30 window here and excess chunkiness there, the search continues, which is arguably the most exciting part of it all. This wasn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last impulse purchase I’ve made, and if the next one is half as good as the Toki, I’ll be just as happy.