Five Questions

five answers

Another installment of our monthly Q&A! This was a good batch (they’re all good batches but you know what I mean). Rolling right along into your questions:

Favorite non-watch piece of horology?

This, easily. Cartier has one of, if not the most, amazing back catalogues of clocks and timekeeping devices. Pens, keychains, pendants, orbs, urns (yes, urns)…it’s all a little wacky, but that’s why it’s fun. I want a nearly 100 year-old weather device on my desk that also keeps the time. Is that too much to ask?

Best value proposition for a modern watch?

Value is tough because its definition is subjective; what might represent good value for one person may be completely the opposite for another. That being said, for the average person not buying Jacob & Co. watches, I think the best value proposition for a modern watch is…

…nothing at retail.

The secondary market for just about everything represents a better value per watch IMO. I’m thinking specifically of brands where the watch itself represents good value for quality, movement, construction, brand heritage, etc., but the moment you open the box, it’s like driving a new car off the lot 📉

Tudor, Longines, and even Grand Seiko to a degree are three brands whose modern offerings have largely great specs, terrific wearability, a number of interesting options in their current lineups, but lose value rather quickly.

If you want a watch that’s top shelf, but at a discount, look at lightly used/like-new condition Tudor, Longines, and Grand Seiko. If you want to buy them new, that’s great too, and they’re still excellent watches, but the value there is in the wearing experience, not so much the sticker cost. With the exception of some of the very limited GS releases, secondary market prices will be lower, not higher. The watch market bubble has burst.

If you want a more detailed dive into the decline of the watch market, have a look here at this analysis from This Watch, That Watch. Well worth the watch…unlike most new watches (couldn’t resist that pun, my bad). Personally, I’m happy that the hype around watches is fading, along with some of the crazy secondary market prices. Watches are not investments, so don’t believe the dealers who try to get you to buy them as such.

Any new vintage obsessions?

YES. Say hello to the Hamilton Thin-o-Matic.

I’ll be doing a deeper dive into why I think these watches are so interesting, but in short, the Thin-o-Matic is a wonderful micro-rotor movement that was truly ahead of its time. Hamilton used to be based in Lancaster, PA, which is where I went to college, so I’ve always had a soft spot for the brand but was never really attracted to any of their modern pieces. I found this Thin-o-Matic at an estate sale, and beyond the beautiful movement and cool caseback engraving, it’s a solid gold piece with a double-signed dial (peep the gold logo for Standard Oil below the 12). Just awesome.

Thoughts on quartz?

Like many, my watch journey started with quartz watches. I then, admittedly, went through a phase where I felt like everything I owned had to be automatic or handwinding, and to be honest I’m not really sure why. Maybe it was a rash association of quartz with cheaper, lower quality watches (like mall and fashion watches), but more recently I’ve really come around on quartz and even look for some watches to specifically be quartz over automatic. For modern watches, the quartz models I tend to go towards are either digital or analog/digital combo, but I’ve had a lot of fun finding random vintage quartz pieces from Seiko, Pulsar (by Seiko), Citizen, and even some no name brands. Not sure I would drop Grand Seiko money for one of their quartz pieces, though I appreciate them, but now more than ever I appreciate what quartz brings to the watch world. It’s nice to be able to pick up a watch I haven’t worn in months and have it just be ready and set for the day…

If you couldn’t collect watches, what would take their place?

Shoes. Specifically dressier shoes and loafers. If I could have an entire closet just for these types of shoes, I would in a heartbeat, and besides money (shoes can be expensive, same as watches), space is my biggest enemy here. My current favorite is the Adam Derrick Del Amo Mid Brown Driving Loafer from To Boot New York. If watches had to go, more shoes would be in tow.

I’d go with shoes because, like watches, they’re an everyday item that can be taken into way too nerdy of a direction (obsession?). Sure, you can be a one-pair-person, but there are so many types of shoes, and for so many occasions, that I find it nearly impossible to ignore the change to make something fit into my wardrobe. Plus, loafers are so comfy - they have no reason being that comfy - and why have one pair of comfys when you can have five or ten?

---

As always, wherever you are, and wherever you’re going, many thanks for stopping by. And send me questions if you have them!