How many watches constitutes a COLLECTOR?

Can you have ONE really nice watch and still be considered a "collector?"

Where do YOU think the number falls?

I dont know............I would have to say a good many...

Ive never liked the term "collector" for myself, because I dont collect watches like I did with other hobbies, as like collecting comic, or collecting baseball cards , action figs......

When i collected those things, i had mass amounts, and bought as many as possible, buying up the rare ones, etc, ......most of the comics i didnt read, and the stuff never left the plastic, and was just stored or on display.......

I wear my watches, I dont buy them just to display them.......
I think , just like anything else, it depends on the watches.......

you could have 10 rare watches , that are highly sought after, and that you dont wear and call them a collection.............

or u could just have a "collection" of 50 pieces of crap.......lol.....

I guess it all depends how one thinks of it..........

I have to many.
sell 3 or 4, buy one is where I'm at

1 is a collection if your a collector

if you say your not a collector but have more than 5, you really are a collector you just don't know it yet

tattoo chef wrote:

I dont know............I would have to say a good many...

Ive never liked the term "collector" for myself, because I dont collect watches like I did with other hobbies, as like collecting comic, or collecting baseball cards , action figs......

When i collected those things, i had mass amounts, and bought as many as possible, buying up the rare ones, etc, ......most of the comics i didnt read, and the stuff never left the plastic, and was just stored or on display.......

I wear my watches, I dont buy them just to display them.......
I think , just like anything else, it depends on the watches.......

you could have 10 rare watches , that are highly sought after, and that you dont wear and call them a collection.............

or u could just have a "collection" of 50 pieces of crap.......lol.....

I guess it all depends how one thinks of it..........

Maybe ENTHUSIAST is a better word?

Dude you should see the bins of comic books in my garage and my office FULL of Star Wars!

LMAO!

why are you not a collector if you have 2 watches??
WHY does it have to be a "really nice watch"?

Being a collector or enjoying this hobby should not have to do with financial means. The person who normally wears a $20 "inexpensive" watch but then gets a really nice new Fossil or Zodiac watch that costs $100 should not be looked down on because their top end is $100 instead of $1000 (or more). That watch just cost them 5 TIMES what they could normally afford to spend on a watch and might be as treasured to them as my $1000 Oris.

That is one thing about this "HOBBY" that drives me nuts. It seems that only if you spend a lot of money are you considered a "real" collector. That is crap IMO. A collector is anyone who enjoys watches and wants to have them. I agree you need to have at least 1 and maybe 2 to be considered a collector and not just a fan, but again, it should not be based on money spent IM Humble Opinion.

I know many people WHO LITERALLY LOVE watches, everything about them,
looking at them, talking about them, and dreaming about them - but only
have 1 or 2 watches.

PS - there is a good chance that in the next 3-6 months I will be back down to 10 or less watches by choice. Would that make me less a collector then I was when I had 30+ watches?

Having a lot of some kind of thing and being a collector do not directly correlate. Just because you have a lot of something, does not make you a collector. Conversely, you can be a collector without having a huge number of the items. Additionally being a collector requires that the individual actively seek to "collect" the items.

Collecting implies some awareness of the value (real or imagined, monetary or emotional) of the items. It also implies having more than one of the items.

Now, let's look at the specifics. I have a garage full of tools. That does not make me a collector of tools even though I might have only purchased the best quality tools. I might also never ever use a tool but my garage is full of tools because I consciously make an effort to collect them.

Now, let's say I am limited in funds and only have two model trains at any one time. I can consider myself a collector because I put effort into the purchasing of the two that I can afford at any one time.

Lastly consider the average American whose home is filled filled with junk. They may have hundreds of children's toys from years of having kids around the house. They are not a collection, but instead a BIG PILE OF JUNK!!!

Well, I don't THINK I put a "price point" on "REALLY NICE" did I?

As you said, if you have a $20 Timex and get a $100 Zodiac, that is probably considered REALLY nice to you...right?

I guess there IS a difference in being a watch COLLECTOR and being an ENTHUSIAST...

I can be ENTHUSIASTIC about Picasso's art but not own one of his paintings...

I can COLLECT many watch brands but only be an ENTHUSIAST when it comes to PATEK watches from the 1800's...

IMO, a COLLECTION of anything does predicate more than one of whatever it is you are accumulating; however you can be an ENTHUSIAST and own nothing...

Enthusiast, collector, lover, weirdo? What's in a name

This reminded me of a conversation I had with a coworker.

He is really, really, really into guns. Really. He collects them, is enthusiastic about them, and yes, loves them. All guns. handguns, machine guns, cannons, black powder muskets. All of them.

But!! He and his buddies (both online and in real life) do not refer to themselves as any of the following:
Gun lovers
Firearm enthusiasts
Weapons collectors

No sir. Not them. Instead that call themselves "Gun Nuts".



How's that for honesty?


So... Why do we think we are so special that we need to refer to
ourselves as (spoken with that nasally east coast blue blood arrogance)
collectors, enthusiasts, etc???????

A - my comments were not directed at you or the way the poll was worded. Just venting.

I have a good friend who loves watches. He is literally on watch sites and forums every day like many of us. He has about 15 watches that cost him in the range of $25 - $100. Last week he was told by one of his snobby coworkers (who has a Rolex that he received as a gift years ago) that he was not a "watch collector" since the bulk of his collection is Fossil watches, Guess Watches, and other similar historically fashion brands. His watches are ALL really nice, all stainless steel watches, many automatic watches, etc. To be honest he has great variety in his watches, different sizes, colors, movements, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - HE IS HAPPY with his watches. He was excited for me when I got my Oris a few weeks ago and he loves it, but he never has the desire to own a watch like that, or any of my Citizen or Seiko watches for that matter. He is happy collecting at his level and variety.

I told him that his friend was an ASSHOLE and that he was as much a collector as I was or anyone else and not to listen to idiots like that.

Sorry if that bubbled over in my post.

Dear TV Dinner,
The person about which you speak IS a collector. The other guy is as you described. A hole from a butt.
Sincerely,
Poli Malaka

Watch Nuts...

...I have no problem with that.

Anomaly wrote:

Can you have ONE really nice watch and still be considered a "collector?"

Where do YOU think the number falls?

If I sold all my watches, and my house, and bought a really nice PP would I no longer be a collector?

PoliMalaka wrote:

Enthusiast, collector, lover, weirdo? What's in a name

This reminded me of a conversation I had with a coworker.

He is really, really, really into guns. Really. He collects them, is enthusiastic about them, and yes, loves them. All guns. handguns, machine guns, cannons, black powder muskets. All of them.

But!! He and his buddies (both online and in real life) do not refer to themselves as any of the following:
Gun lovers
Firearm enthusiasts
Weapons collectors

No sir. Not them. Instead that call themselves "Gun Nuts".



How's that for honesty?


So... Why do we think we are so special that we need to refer to
ourselves as (spoken with that nasally east coast blue blood arrogance)
collectors, enthusiasts, etc???????

Real Watch Enthusiasts self-refer as WIS! Kinda like Gun Nut but more sophisticated.

see, i guess i just see it differently......call it what you will, words dont mean anything........but to Alans point, and the original question.....

to me, you can have a collection of watches........right now , i have 5........that can be a collection........i just dont consider myself to be a collector of watches......

heres what I mean, .....

I used to collect wrestling figures....kept them all in there plastic cases, on the card, and displayed them in display cases, on shelves etc.......i bought them because of the ones i liked, by wrestler, and because of said limitedness or rarity, .......i had well over 125 at one time............that to me , was a colllection.......
thats what i think of when i hear that word, ........so if i hear someone collects watches, or swords, or knives, or whatever, i imagine them being in a display case not being used.........

i dont collect watches, i buy them to wear them.........like i said, i guess its just how i look at it.......everyone has a different perspective............

either way.........call me what you will, I LOVE WATCHES.......AND I ALWAYS WILL.....

Some people I consider watch "buyers", because they put absolutely no thought into what they buy...I have more respect for somebody who buys a $1 watch at a flea market because they can recognize the value of the watch and maybe got an awesome vintage watch that somebody else thought was junk.

This is why I really like this place...

...different views but no one is getting all bent out of shape.

Anomaly wrote:

This is why I really like this place...

...different views but no one is getting all bent out of shape.

no reason to get bent out of shape, especially about a topic like this.............its called we are having a discussion.......about our hobby, our passion..........different views are what make forums fun.........if everyone always agreed with everyone and no one had a different point of view, reading the forums would be boring.....

tattoo chef wrote:

Anomaly wrote:

This is why I really like this place...

...different views but no one is getting all bent out of shape.

no reason to get bent out of shape, especially about a topic like this.............its called we are having a discussion.......about our hobby, our passion..........different views are what make forums fun.........if everyone always agreed with everyone and no one had a different point of view, reading the forums would be boring.....

I disagree Don...

andrema wrote:

tattoo chef wrote:

Anomaly wrote:

This is why I really like this place...

...different views but no one is getting all bent out of shape.

no reason to get bent out of shape, especially about a topic like this.............its called we are having a discussion.......about our hobby, our passion..........different views are what make forums fun.........if everyone always agreed with everyone and no one had a different point of view, reading the forums would be boring.....

I disagree Don...

you want to start an argument......... ..........

tattoo chef wrote:

andrema wrote:

tattoo chef wrote:

Anomaly wrote:

This is why I really like this place...

...different views but no one is getting all bent out of shape.

no reason to get bent out of shape, especially about a topic like this.............its called we are having a discussion.......about our hobby, our passion..........different views are what make forums fun.........if everyone always agreed with everyone and no one had a different point of view, reading the forums would be boring.....

I disagree Don...

you want to start an argument......... ..........

STING rules!

Anomaly wrote:

tattoo chef wrote:

andrema wrote:

tattoo chef wrote:

Anomaly wrote:

This is why I really like this place...

...different views but no one is getting all bent out of shape.

no reason to get bent out of shape, especially about a topic like this.............its called we are having a discussion.......about our hobby, our passion..........different views are what make forums fun.........if everyone always agreed with everyone and no one had a different point of view, reading the forums would be boring.....

I disagree Don...

you want to start an argument......... ..........

STING rules!

He said it ......

NOT THAT STING!

THIS STING!




What was this originally about?

I always liked this Sting..........

Anomaly wrote:

NOT THAT STING!

THIS STING!




What was this originally about?

hahahahahah I knew but thought you might be fantasizing about this Sting...

So...

Do you call yourself a collector or an enthusiast or...?

Anomaly wrote:

So...

Do you call yourself a collector or an enthusiast or...?

I enthusiastically wear watches from my collection............I mean group of watches...............LOL

That James has a pretty handsome avitar...HOT!!

I guess I'd be a combination of these ! A collector because I have some
watches that I like. An enthusiast because I REALLY like these watches,
as well as MOST of the other watches we see every day here, online,
in magazines and every where else too ! Honestly I guess I'm a BIG
fan of watches and the hobby as a whole. Any way you find to enjoy the
hobby is what it's all about imho. From the outside design of a watch to the
terrific inner workings of watches. Finding out about old companies and
new ones. Discovering new aspects about the hobby with forums like this,
people's opinions, thoughts, ideas, and much much more. So, it could be
one watch or one thousand watches, $10 watches to $10,000 + watches.
As long as we enjoy the hobby that's what's important. So I guess I'm
a collectorenthusiastfanthingamobob kind of person !

First of all James' new avatar scared the CRAP OUTTA ME! Now that was cathartic! OK, back on topic. I don't consider myself a collector just because I have 25 or so watches. I consider myself a guy that likes watches. My idea of a collector would be Tom aka pacifichrono. He has vintage watches, newer watches, he knows a lot about each of his watches. So it's people like Tom that I consider collectors.

. . . by my own definition, I'm a collector. I see it this way . . .

-- I actively persue,
-- I decide based on criteria (my own)
-- In doing so I have accumulated a varying number,
-- I will sell and trade to obtain others.

. . . pretty loose definition , but I refer to myself as a collector . . .

wagon wrote:

. . . by my own definition, I'm a collector. I see it this way . . .

-- I actively persue,
-- I decide based on criteria (my own)
-- In doing so I have accumulated a varying number,
-- I will sell and trade to obtain others.

. . . pretty loose definition , but I refer to myself as a collector . . .

Nice summation...

U guys are nutz....firts off Hulk hogan will kick the crap out of sting...second of all I am a watch junky...lol...I get a quick fix and on to the next one...

collector or collection?just because you have a collection of various watches doesn't make you a collector.Being a watch collector is a consious choice.You either are actively persuing watches for your collection or not.I'm a movement collector and a dive watch collector.I have thousands of music books but I don't collect them,I amass them.

Aye yuye yuye...

Always hated telling people "i'm a watch collector" or "i collect watches". makes me sound like a freak, someone you'd see on "HOARDERS". i don't just "collect", like a fat chick's treadmill collects dust, i trade, talk, teach, and sell too.

I like calling myself "a watch enthusiast", but Harley enthusiasts usually only have 1 Harley...doesn't accurately tell how many i bought and how much i've learned.


The term "WATCH COLLECTOR" IMO means anyone who has more than one watch and is actively seeking to add to or change his arsenal.

Enthusiast, collector, wis, geek .....hell, I don't know. I have never really thought about it.
I am just a regular guy who happens to like all things watches. I have a few fairly expensive watches and some medium and lower priced watches. I collect them for all different reasons. Some because they are
skely's, some because of the dial material, some because of the style & some because I think that they
just really look COOL. Mechanical, auto, quartz....yes. You can call me anything you want,
except A66hole, and I'm good with it!