Our Two Decade Journey In Watch Collecting

When it boils down to it, there are three kinds of watch collectors. There is the simple single watch collector, then there is the small but mighty collector and finally we have the watch hoarder.

When I first started collecting watches, I was more in the first camp. My line of thinking was, I’d buy the best watch I could afford. This led to a single collection of first an Omega Seamaster 300 GMT, which I then moved up to an Omega Planet Ocean 600 and finally to an IWC GST Chronograph Automatic.

I would say at that point I was a rather novice collector and hadn’t really fully immersed myself in the hobby. As I started reading more and more magazines and internet forums, my tastes started to expand. The main issue at this time was that I was still in college and hadn’t started in sort of serious money making career.

I think during this period I transitioned into the third type of collector and just started buying as many watches as I could to compliment my one main watch. The centerpiece watch in my collection at the time was the IWC GST Chronograph Automatic in titanium. The watch was a great daily watch, being rugged and sporty. This did leave holes in my collection though.



There are collectors who collect mostly the same style of watch, and then some that try to get a nice balance of styles. At this point in my collecting adventure I was trying to get a more balanced collection. The two most popular styles of watches are divers and dress watches. With the IWC, I really didn’t have either covered.

First hole to fill was the diver. I didn’t have a ton of money and had already owned two Seamasters, so I started looking just about everywhere. Watches such as the Rolex Submariner were far off the list due to money constraints. Having the GST in titanium, I had a new found love of the metal when used in watches. The use of titanium gives the watch a unique look and also drastically reduces its weight. With a budget of less than one thousand dollars, I ended up finding the newly released Seiko Samurai.



I loved the idea of the watch being titanium and also having an orange dial, the name sold me as well. In practice when the watch showed up, I just wasn’t that into it. Around this time I was growing into somewhat of a watch snob and to naive me, Seiko didn't fit the bill. Although the watch fit well and looked great, I ended up just letting my future wife wear it, which was pretty much just on beach vacations.

Having not filled my need for a divers watch, I started looking again. I really liked the current IWC Aquatimers with the inner rotating bezel, but once again too expensive. Now comes the next trend that I feel a lot of watch collectors make. Since I loved the look of the Aquatimer, I was able to find a watch that looked very similar and even had the same inner rotating bezel at a much lower price.

The watch in question was the Hamilton Khaki Diver. The Khaki Diver looked the part of the Aquatimer and rang in multiple times less expensive. The problem was it just wasn’t the real thing. I wore the watch a few times and just put it away to never wear again. You would think after the mistake of buying something similar to what I wanted but wasn't, I wouldn’t do it again… well you’d be wrong.



Around this time IWC released the original Big Pilots watch. Naturally it was leaps and bounds more expensive than what I could afford at the time. The Big Pilot was just stunning. It was a large stainless steel watch with a simple yet effective dial, large onion crown, stunning textured buffalo leather strap and an amazing for the time seven day power reserve. Today there are tons of “tributes” to the Big Pilot and I’m sure some are amazing, but I ended up getting one of the first. The watch was made by German watch company Achimede. The watch looked most the part of the Big Pilot with its onion crown and similar dial, but missed in a lot of other design elements. The watch was 5mm smaller than the Big Pilot, didn’t have the buffalo strap and also had just shy of two days power reserve. Even finding a similar looking buffalo leather strap didn’t help its case. The watch just was not a Big Pilot and after a few times on the wrist it was retired.



One final watch that sticks out during this time was the attempt to fill the missing dress watch in my collection. Back in those times, my future wife and I would go out to nice dinners all the time, which is something we really got bored on as we got older. I didn’t think the IWC GST Chronograph was the best fit for those outings, so I looked for something a little more appropriate.

I ended up deciding to go with the Maurice Lacroix Pontos Day Date. I thought the watch ticked most of the boxes of what I was looking for in a dress watch. It was produced by a Swiss watch brand, had an open display back to see the movement, was 40mm in case diameter while still being slim, had a polished stainless steel case, silvered dial and nice black leather strap. Although the watch was perfectly fine, I realized soon after that I was not a dress watch kind of guy. Once again, the watch ended up with my future wife.



So over those years, I ended up having one watch I really cared about and then maybe ten more watches that I grew tired of quickly. Around this time I started working in the watch industry and really didn’t need a collection anymore. I was able to pretty much wear any pre-owned watch we had in stock, most of the times watches that were extremely out of my price range. Around this time I sold the IWC GST Chrono and just stuffed all my other watches in the safe to not be seen again for ages.

Fast forward many years and we’re sitting here today. About 2 or 3 years ago I got my passion for watches back. I guess it was mostly due to all the YouTube videos that came out showing the daily lives of watch dealers. We had moved to the North East to be with our partners in the watch business in 2007, but when the financial crisis hit in 2008 we moved back to Austin since the business took such a hit.

From the time of 2008 until around 2020 I really had no passion for watches, they were just a job for me. I really didn’t follow trends, wear a watch or really keep up with the industry. After my love for all things watches was rekindled, there were really only two watches that were on my radar. One being the original IWC Big Pilot 5002 and the other being the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Montoya.

Both watches had played big parts in my life, the 5002 was on my wrist when my wife and I got engaged and the Montoya (although Rose Gold) was on my wrist when we got married. When I was younger, both watches were just so far out of my monetary reach that the never seemed like they'd be in my collection. The Big Pilot was going for around twelve thousand, while the Montoya in titanium was in the forty to fifty thousand dollar range.

Around the time I was getting back into watches, a software project was offered to me that upon completion I could pick a Big Pilot within reason as payment. I had also just received an IWC Pilots Chronograph in black ceramic from the watch company I was still working with, but it really didn’t scratch my itch for a Big Pilot… but more on that soon. When it came time to pick a Big Pilot, I actually didn’t go with the 5002, but instead I picked the Big Pilot Heritage IW501004 in titanium. I just loved the thought of a huge Big Pilot in lightweight titanium. When the watch arrived, I truly loved it and thought it would be around forever… but things change.



Just after getting the Big Pilot Heritage I also ended up buying an IWC Aquatimer to scratch that itch. After getting the Aquatimer, I just found it to be heavy and the strap to not be very comfortable. I then decided to trade the Aquatimer and the Pilots Chronograph Top Gun on another Big Pilot. I really wanted the Big Pilot Top Gun in black ceramic, but nobody would trade with me. I ended up being able to get the Big Pilot Miramar in polished ceramic instead. I had been exposed to the Big Pilot Miramar before and loved it, but when I had it next to the Big Pilot Heritage, I just didn’t care for it.



Now I had a hard decision to make. I had two Big Pilots, and loved the Heritage, it was even at the hospital when our twin daughters were born. The Big Pilot range goes from time only models all the way up to perpetual calendars and tourbillions. I had first seen a Big Pilot Perpetual when we met up with John Mayer, before his watch collector all star days, to possibly buy his titanium limited edition Big Pilot perpetual. We didn’t buy the watch (should have), but from that day a Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar was one of my grail watches.

Sitting with two Big Pilots, I knew that I was within reason of trading both for a Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar. The only two watches I was considering were the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar Top Gun and the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar Rodeo Drive. I just wanted these two since they were the only two Big Pilot Perpetual Calendars in matte black ceramic. I contacted just about every dealer that had either Big Pilot perpetual in stock and was rejected over and over for weeks. I was finally able to get within reason on a trade for a Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar Top Gun plus a little bit of cash. Looking back, I was really happy that the Top Gun was the edition I traded for, I don’t think I would have liked the blue dial of the Rodeo Drive and would have just wanted the Top Gun.



A few weeks prior to trading the two Big Pilots on the perpetual calendar, the stars just all aligned and I was able to get an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Montoya in titanium. This has been the watch I had wanted pretty much the entire time I’ve been in the watch business and really thought there was no shot of getting one. Better yet the watch was a full set, including the carbon fiber box, papers and even the limited edition Audemars Piguet booklets. This is a watch that I will never sell.



Now sitting with the IWC Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar Top Gun and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Montoya in my collection, I had my two grail watches. Even more so, these were grail watches that I hadn’t just wanted for a few years, in both cases I had wanted them for well over a decade. Either watch would really make up a great one watch collection, but I am really blessed (hate that work) enough to have both in my collection. In terms of wearing them, I tend to wear the Big Pilot perpetual more often. The watch is much more low key being all black and people don’t really know what it is. If somebody does know what it is, then it is a great conversation starter. The Montoya having a bold white dial and also the iconic and now much hyped Royal Oak shape just gets a lot of attention. Also the titanium of the case just won’t stand up to occasional bumps like the ceramic of the Big Pilot would.

Ok so done right? Two watch collection and out! Well not so fast… when time came to book our first trip after the pandemic and having twins, I realized there was no way on earth that I was going to take either of these watches on vacation. I now needed a vacation watch!

I really wanted a diver, since most of our vacations are to the beach. I didn’t want something too expensive, since that was the whole reason I wouldn’t take either of my watches on vacation. I also didn’t want something too inexpensive either. The watch I ended up picking was the Sinn U2. I had always loved how the Sinn U1 and U2 were made out of German submarine steel and had almost bought one multiple times in the past. I ended up picking a U2 and after a short vacation I realized it wasn’t for me.



After moving on past the Sinn U2, I ended up finding a great deal on an original IWC GST Aquatimer 2000 in titanium. Even better, the watch was a full set and even had all its links and was a one owner watch. I ended up getting a rubber strap for it, since I just don’t like metal bracelets. After a bit of cleaning and putting on the rubber strap, the watch was great. We took it on our cruise and it was excellent. The watch was lightweight and fit well, really meeting everything I wanted for a vacation watch. While on the cruise I did go into the Hublot boutique and really liked some of their newer (post 2008) watches though… uh oh…



Not too longer after we got back from our trip a really interesting Hublot came up for sale. I have never hated on Hublot and really respected and wore a lot of Big Bangs when they first came out. The current Hublot hate sure has made their resale prices very low though. The watch that came up for sale was a Hublot King Power Oceanographic in full carbon fiber limited to 500 pieces. Making the decision even easier is that I knew I could cover the cost of the Oceanographic with what the IWC GST Auqatimer was worth.

When the Hublot came in, I was really blown away with how well the watch was finished. It was pretty much an instant decision to keep the Oceanographic and sell the GST Aquatimer. Now the Oceanographic would be a terrible watch to take on vacation. It’s way too large and loud and the carbon fiber case might not be the best to bang around, also it might get the wrong kind of attention. So what do I do about a vacation watch then? Well we do sell pre-owned watches and I really only buy what we like to sell, so I guess something in inventory will go with me on our next trip.



The King Power Oceanographic does fill an interesting hole in my collection. Since I won’t sell the Montoya or the Top Gun Perpetual Calendar, I really don’t have anything to play with for trades if anything catches my attention. The Oceanographic fits this hole very well since it has a huge retail price and is hard to find. It makes the watch great for future trades, even though right now I’m very happy to have it and have been wearing it the most of my three watches recently.

So for the most part I’m at a three watch collection. My wife on the other hand has a two watch collection. She’s had various watches over the years, but nothing has really stuck. For the most part it’s just me pushing something on to her. Although I’ve never been into Rolex, she has always liked them. We were able to find a really good deal on a full set Yacht-master 16622 during the middle of the Rolex sports model hype though, which we couldn’t pass up. The 16622 is one of the first Yacht-masters and has a stainless steel case with a platinum bezel and dial. The dial really sparkles in the sun and just looks good on her wrist. This will probably be a watch she keep for pretty much ever.



The second and last watch in her collection is a Hublot Big Bang All Black 41mm. Just like the Oceanographic, the All Black carries a super high retail but with all the current Hublot hate was very affordable on the resale market. She loves the watch and actually feels it fits her better than the Rolex design wise, but it could also be a possible great watch to trade up with.



We do have other watches besides the five listed, but most if not all of them have been sold or are going to be sold. These include various Seikos, G-Shocks and such. We’ve got to a point now that we pretty much know instantly if a watch is going to work for us and if it’s something we’re actually going to wear when we have other options we truly love.

With over two decades of collecting, experience and knowledge under my belt I can say the following about the three types of collectors out there.

I feel it is way too hard to have a one watch collection. Having either of my grail watches would still leave me wanting something else. Even having both of the only two watches I would consider as grails, still leaves me wanting something else. Maybe if I never read anything about watches, or watched any videos about watches or saw any news about them, then maybe I could get by with one watch, but that’s not reality for me. I think the perfect one watch collection would be a diver though. They are rugged, can be dressed up or down and there are so many to choose from. Just time only would be fine, everyone has a phone, there really isn’t a need for things like a perpetual calendar. I’d say something like a Rolex Submariner or a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms would be a great one collection watch.



Personally I feel we most fit into the second category of the small but mighty collection. Since we live in Austin and never get dressed up, there really isn’t a need for a dress watch in our collections. My wife has two watches that she wears equally with the Yacht-master being a little more dressy and well known and the Big Bang a little more subtle. My collection is varied enough with a sports chronograph in the Montoya, complication in the Top Gun Perpetual and fun slash diver in the Oceanographic. Somebody could argue they are all oversized watches, but I prefer that.

The one thing I don’t really understand is the watch hoarder. Even if you have an unlimited budget and your collection consists of 40 five and six figure watches, there is just no way that you can get enjoyment out of all of them. The same goes for collections of 25 watches that all just look like a Rolex Submariner, but all cost a few hundred dollars each. Wouldn’t it make more sense to just have the Submariner? More than likely those collections were started many years ago and just built up on, so maybe a Submariner wasn’t an option when the collection was started. I just feel there is a point when a collection gets too large and a lot of watches are just there because they are. Personally I feel these collectors would get more use and enjoyment of their watches if they paired down the collections or used the funds from selling pieces to get into something more substantial.