My Biggest Watch Collecting Mistakes

Beautiful and high horology watches for a true connoisseur. Not the hype of Rolex, Omega, etc.

My biggest mistake was buying an omega seamaster professional without trying it on first!! Rookie error learned a big lesson, to always try on the watch before buying. If you don’t and it works out well you just got lucky.

Great video. I learn a ton from fellow collectors and hope I’m able to help others along the way.

Ive been a victim of caring what others think of a certain watch. I like the 5kx and yet, i'm put off by the constant hate the watch itself gets.

Watched this while I packaged watches for shipping. Really enjoyed the points and visuals.

Gronefeld makes some masterpieces

I believe you must making mistakes, because you must find your own way to watches. my main recommendation is avoiding watches beyond 1000$ for a while until you will find out what is your real test.

Financing a watch is a terrible idea

Biggest mistake, definitely buying too much.

My greatest mistake in watch collecting is depending to much on logic, trend, others opinion rather than my own heart. I should hold the watch & literally listen to my own heart beat before buying any.

Most of my "mistakes" did not cost much at all. No more than $150. A few of them I just gifted to family during holidays which gives a level of return because you probably would have spent $50 bucks on buying a different gift. All my watches from $300 up, I love.

I definitely caught my self wanting to buy watches immediately. So happy I waited and still looking for watches that I love to wear.

- - it’s all about the next watch

One of the biggest mistakes anyone can make is to assume that other watches can be a substitute for Rolex. 😄

Grönefeld for the win!

Great advice indeed.

Try to avoid hyped watches

Stunning cinematography young man

Good points. Re the first point about wearing a watch to suit your lifestyle: it’s a shame that you mainly see dress watches worn by ‘non-enthusiasts’ these days. Judging from the watches featured on most watch channels, it seems that 90% of enthusiasts never wear a suit or cuffed shirt and many are very keen swimmers and divers! I feel a little sad that dress watches receive so little love in the watch community when they have so much heritage.

When ever I think I need another watch I just wear the ones I have. I fall back in love with them and my desire to buy another goes away. This is my way of dealing with the watch lust.

The biggest mistake was getting into watch collecting and not sticking with digital Casios.

Gronefield over Lange every time

IMO, the first point is one of the most common. Many people think that an everyday watch means 100M of water resistance and tough as a brick while being able to be dressed up. While I think of an everyday watch as one that fits your daily lifestyle. So if you can't swim, then your watch only needs to be splashproof. If you're always in formal attire then a delicate dress watch maybe the perfect everyday watch for you etc.

Great advice! You are right on! Thank you!👍🏼

AB,
Quick question- I’m considering getting the new Seiko 5 SRPD51 as my reliable and go-to “beater” watch, however, my concern is the considerable plus/minus daily seconds discrepancy of their 4R36 caliber that I’ve seen in many reviews.

Do I have to be constantly worrying about the time precision of that caliber? Or worrying about having to constantly hooking it up and check it with a time-graph because the time is always out of wack? Feel that if I’m going to go through all that bs, that price point is just NOT worth it. I’m would be better off looking at something bit more $$.

Avoiding spending money you don’t have to buy a Rolex hot model. Worst financial decisions ever!

Great advice!! And great vid AB!

One of mine was getting a watch that was way, way too big without actually seeing it and trying it on in person. And now gonna have to sell that puppy just because it’s just looks way to ridiculously big!

Second, was getting a quartz watch as one of my very first real watch without actually knowing anything about the brand, without knowing more about the watch world in general, and just doing my homework before hand. Although I still have that same quartz watch, I should have waited bit more till I was a ‘bit more familiar about other potential purchase alternatives, the pros and cons, etc.

Biggest mistakes are following the crowd and getting a watch just because other people have it, and not seeing what else is out there while enjoying your current collection.

I do actually think 80/20 rule applies here but in a weird way. I would say for 20% of what you own pay 80% of your budget and make sure you have retention value in mind and play with the other 20% of budget and buy whatever you like; so let's say you have 20k to spend, what I would do is spending about 16k on watches that hold their value well and 4k on watches that I enjoy; now that 16k is probably a Rolex Sub that holds value and the other 4k could be a GS or ....

My strategy is buy lots of watches that I like the look of, preferably Quartz and don’t pay more than $150 each. Is that anything like your strategy 🤔

Very good video and advice. Sometimes we get so excited with this hobby that we forgot that the reason for it is to enjoying it and learn from it. Quantity is not what this hobby is about is the love we got for it and the learning we acquire through it.

Great vid😍

I want to buy that gronefeld!

Restraint is important; then you show the Gronefeld. That's how it happens.

Classic first year mistake. Just got into watches and learning about them. Saw a watch with all the bells and whistles and bought it purely because of it’s complications and uniqueness. It was an Orient Star SDK05004K0. I just saw the open heart, sapphire crystal, AR coating, display back, power reserve, brown dial, rose gold indices. All these points I thought made it cool, like it was fulfilling an exhaustive tick box exercise. Received it and I’ve kept it in it’s box ever since! I think it’s incredibly ugly. I’ve never worn it and now need to enter the new frontier of watch selling!

I have been into watches since the late 1980s and my conclusion is its more satisfying to have a small collection of high quality pieces that all get worn rather than a large collection of lower quality box tickers (pun intended) that just tick away in the watch box & rarely get any wrist time.. But buy what you love and love what you buy. 👍🏻

Don't think a 12000 watch will bring more enjoyment then a 500 one

I bought too many watches too soon. I'd say that was my biggest mistake collecting. The F.P. Journe looks perfect on your wrist!

Good advice. IMHO buy what you will use and enjoy, don't fill up a watch box simply to allow them to collect dust. Life's too short. 👍⌚

I wished I had practiced restraint in my first year. I think I gave into the high of the hunt that I didnt have enough time to enjoy them. However, going through so much so fast did help somewhat in identifying what I liked and what I didn't like. Thankfully, I had set a reasonable annual budget so I didn't go overboard.

Great vid again. Love the quality of your videos

It's not clear if you made any of those mistakes and what they were?

My thing was to buy too quickly. Got a speedy at retail... didn't connect with it. And when I tried to sell, I lost 25%... that really hurt and nearly put me off the whole thing. It's very true what you said.... taking my time next time

Wise words, AB. Thanks!

Spot on advice buddy.. 👍

None so far !!!