Those of you who have followed my stories more closely this year might have noticed that I’ve been posting about thoughts, polls and questions about watches more often than before, and that I actually added 2 new watches to my collection and sold one watch from my collection. Because I’ve been thinking quite a bit about watches lately I thought it would be fitting to write a short post on how I have gone about when considering how to build my watch collection. I am by no means an expert in the subject and I have approached watches more from a style perspective than anything else. And I certainly have not approached watches from a perspective that I want to identify and buy watches that will rise in value and be “investments”. It would be an added bonus, but it is not a criteria I base my watch acquisitions on.

Starting the watch journey

I started my watch journey around 2014 if I remember correctly. I bought my first automatic watch back then, a Tag Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 day-date (ref. WAR201D.FC6291). I remember searching for different options that would fit my budget. I wanted something more dressy and classic looking and quite quickly stumbled on the Tag Heuer. I thought it looked really nice, the price was right and I knew someone who worked at a dealership that sold Tag’s so I could get a small discount too.

I made a few mistakes now thinking back, I didn’t even go try on the watch before buying. The watch didn’t get too much wear later on because it was a bit too bulky for my wrist and my tastes, I think the biggest problem was the thickness. The watch was 41mm but wears a lot bigger than e.g. my Speedmaster which is 42mm. So lesson learnt here, case diameter is not everything, you should also consider thickness and lug-to-lug measurements. To make it easy on yourself, do go try on any watch you’re considering buying if you have the chance. The most important aspect of a watch, just like with clothing, is fit. If it fits poorly and feels uncomfortable, it’s not gonna get a lot of wrist time.

Fit is key in watches as well as in clothes

Here you can see that the lug to lug width of the Tag Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 is as wide as my wrist, also the watch was pretty thick which made it feel even larger on the wrist.
I still think it’s a beautiful watch, but way too big for my small wrist.
Back when I got it I did want a more substantial watch, but later on I have become more interested in smaller watches because I think they are more proportionate and feel more comfortable on my wrist.

At some point in 2019 I expanded my watch collection with a Seiko Presage Coctail Time Mojito (ref. SRPE45J1). This was more of an on the whim acquisition than a carefully planned addition to the watch collection. In the end it was a great addition to the collection, because the Seiko has gotten a lot of wrist time, and you’ve probably seen it quite a few times on my wrist.

The Seiko Coctail Time fits my wrist a lot better than the Tag Heuer did, it has a case diameter of 38.5mm, and it’s also a lot thinner than the Tag Heuer. The dial is not as classic and formal though, but it does have character and the deep green color of the dial is captivating.

As the Seiko is quite attainably priced, I’m also quite carefree when wearing it and bring it with me basically anywhere which I think is a good thing. After all, watches are made for wearing.

What kind of watch collection do i want?

Later in 2019 when I was in the beginning of my journey to transition my style towards the more classic menswear space, I also started studying watches more. Watches are a big part of classic menswear, and a high quality watch will last for a lifetime if cared for and maintained.

My watch inspiration came mainly from the same people I got my style inspiration from. In the beginning I was mainly focused on the aesthetics of the watches, later on I also got interested in the history of the models that caught my interest.

Should I get just one watch and maybe flip it every now and then to get some variation? Would 2 watches be enough? Maybe 5? How much should I spend on watches? After some thinking I decided that a watch collection of 3 watches would be quite optimal for me. I would need a dress watch, a sportier watch and a beater/diver.

For the dress watch I knew early on that i wanted to get a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso. The rectangular shape and the minimalism of the dial as well as the small size had me captivated.

For the sports watch however I had to do more research. Eventually I thought that I wanted to get an Omega Speedmaster, initially however I was planning on getting the Reduced model, because of the smaller size. But when I ended up trying the normal 42mm Speedmaster it wore much smaller on the wrist than what I thought, so I decided I would go for the normal one. After researching the different variations of the Omega Speedmaster I learned that there were some models that had an open case back which allows you to see the movement. That was the moment I knew which watch I was going to get for my Sports watch category.

Finally we have the beater/diver. The idea here is to get a watch that is highly resistant to wear and tear. So it makes sense that it’s a diver because they are generally quite durable. Also as it’s a beater, it means that the price needs to be low enough that I’m not too careful of the watch, and don’t get upset if it gets scratched. Here I’m still uncertain of which watch to add to the collection. At the moment I’m researching different Tudor Black Bay models, and starting to lean towards the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Four. But we’ll see, opinions and preferences might change as I haven’t been able to try it on the wrist yet.

Tudor Black Bay 54. Source: hodinkee.com

Starting to expand the collection

When I knew at least a few of the watches I wanted, then I knew more or less how much the watches cost, and how much I needed to save up. I set watch guards on Chrono24, joined a bunch of watch groups on Facebook and started keeping an eye out for suitable pieces that could pop up for sale. It would last 3 years after I’ve made the plan for my future watch collection before I actually bought a new watch. I did have a plan, but I didn’t have a timeline so there was no stress.

Before I bought a new watch I actually got 2 watches as Christmas gifts from my father. An Omega DeVille Quartz watch from 1988 (same year that I was born). I’m not sure what the reference number of this watch is (If anyone knows, do reach out to me and let me know!). The other watch is also a Quartz, and I don’t know the reference of this watch but it’s a rectangular Seiko Dolce. I’ve only worn it a few times, the watch band is quite worn out, I should replace it but haven’t gotten around to get it done yet.

As both watches are over 30 years old and they’re quartz watches they’re quite small in size and extremely thin. I believe the Omega DeVille is 34mm, and the Seiko is probably around 39mm in height. This makes them very good dress watches. They’re small, they’re subtle, they’re comfortable and they hide nicely under the cuff of your shirt.

Even though these watches were unplanned, I’m very happy to have received them in my collection. And as they’re my father’s old watches, one of which he bought the year I was born, they have a lot of sentimental value.

The Speedmaster

Enter 2023, there were emerging several good Omega Speedmasters on my radar. I decided to put my Tag Heuer up for sale, and deicded that once I get it sold I would buy a Speedmaster. I wanted to get a model with the open case back, and I wanted a vintage one as well with the hesalite glass. One from 1988 would be my preference as it would be the same as my birth year, which would be a great year for a watch that I start my serious collection with.

I managed to sell the Tag Heuer quite quickly, and not long after I stumbled upon a Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo XI (ref. 3592.50.00) from 1991. Unfortunately I had never during the 3 year period I had been looking come across one from 1988 fulfilling my specs, so I decided that 1991 is as good a year as any. Now I had a thick in the box for my sports watch.

One of the decisive factors that mede me settle on the Speedmaster Moonwatch was that it’s extremely versatile in terms of straps. It looks good on almost any strap. Changing the strap changes the whole look and feel of the watch, so it’s a good strategy to have a few different straps if you have a smaller watch collection but still want some variation. Below you see the Omega on it’s original bracelet and also on a cognac leather strap.

The Reverso

In Finland we have this saying “Nälkä kasvaa syödessä.”. A rough translation would be “You get hungrier as you eat.”. I know, it doesn’t make any sense, you get full when you eat, and you’re no longer hungry. Well I did get hungrier for watches when I got to taste the Speedy. I thought it would be a year or a few years before I pull the trigger on my next watch. It didn’t quite go like that.

around 4 months after getting the Speedy, the Chronograph reset button stopped working, it wouldn’t reset the seconds, minute and hour hands to their starting positions. Fortunately the watch was serviced at an official Omega service center less than 2 years ago, so it was still under warranty. I sent the watch in for service but immediately felt the urge to have something outside my existing collection on the wrist.

Some extensive Googling, going to try on a few watches on the wrist and some struggling which watch I would like the best took place within the span of 3 days. I did settle on the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classique Medium Thin (ref. Q2548440). It was the Reverso model that I originally had leaned towards the most due to it’s small size, and also from a budget perspective it was more attainable for me than some of the other Reverso models.

This time I wanted to get a watch which would have the original box and papers, as well as the JLC clasp rather than a buckle, so I ended up going for a rather new watch instead of an older vintage one. Put in the purchase on Chrono24, and voilà, 2 days later the watch arrived at my door (after chasing after an UPS driver who had no intention of stopping by my door to drop of the package on a Friday morning).

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classique Medium Thin

This classic timepiece has originally been designed for Polo players, they can flip the watch case around so that the glass is protected against cracking during the Polo match. So originally this was classified as a sports watch.

The beater / diver

As mentioned earlier, I’m not sure yet which watch I’ll end up getting as a beater / diver. None of the watches I currently have are very water resistant, 5 ATM at the most I think. This is why a diver will be the perfect addition to the collection. A diver is also much more casual, and will look great in the summer with shorts and short sleeved shirts, at the beach and so forth.

Currently I’m contemplating about getting the Tudor Black Bay 54, which was released earlier this year during Watches & Wonders I believe. If I do settle on this one then it means that it will be a newer watch again entering the collection rather than a vintage one. But we’ll have to see. Now I’ll take a small break to save up a little money for the watch as well as do some more research on which one to get.

Final thoughts

When starting to build your watch collection, as with clothes too, think about what are the occasions you’ll be wearing the watch in, what kind of clothes will you mostly be wearing, what fits your wrist well and feels good, what do you think looks good style wise and what is your budget. These are a few of the things I would suggest to consider when venturing into the world of watches. Now I’m no expert by any means so there are probably a lot of other things to consider, I have no doubt about that. But at least these are a few to get you started.

This post ended up being way longer than I intended, if you’ve made it all the way here, thank you for reading and until the next time!

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classique Medium Thin on the wrist.

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