The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Ah...The two Q's of life. Lately I have noticed that my taste in watches only seems to be getting more and more expensive. When I first started out it was just a basic Corum Admirals Cup. Then I got a motors T and my latest is a gift was a white dial SA with batons. But lately i seem to be picking watches that are getting over that 10k marker. And the thing is that I dont mean to do it. I know nothing about internals or movement or even brand history really. I am a superficial shopper and just go by looks and dial size.

I am curious to find out if other members on here go through the same stuff. Does your taste just get more expensive? and also would you guys liquidate multiple pieces to acquire one piece higher on your list? The reason I ask is that lately (Thanks to seeing pics of Altairs collection...man do i hate you jk ) i am in love with the AP Royal Oak Offshore white chrono. I have been playing with the idea...is it worth it to sell my 3 pieces to acquire this one?? and i know only i can answer that. on one hand i would say YES because this is such a nice watch...but on the other i really like having 3 different watches for variety.

For me it's a no-brainer - quality over quantity without a moments hesitation. You're not alone with your taste moving towards ever more expensive pieces. There was a time when £2K GBP was the absolute maximum I'd EVER consider spending on a watch : nowadays if I found a watch I wanted for 2k I'd be over the moon! A few years back I never thought I'd buy a watch worth £8950 GBP in a million years, but before I knew it a Big Pilot was sitting on my wrist. I guess it just "happens"!

I was looking at Doxas again the other night, just to test my will-power with regards to my "in-house only" stance. I looked at a 5000T Sharkhunter (which is a very nice and superbly priced watch) and asked myself "would I rather have 4 Doxas, or 1 Rolex SDDS?". It took me all of half a second to decide in favour of the one Rolex.

I think it's like any hobby, the more you get into it, the more you appreciate other elements and your concept of the money involved becomes more and more skewed. The other day I was really irritated at having to pay £500 for a service for my car, and I almost said to myself "I haven't got that kind of money lying around!" And then I realised that it's all relative, and that I'd happily drop the above mentioned £2000 in a second if it was for a watch I wanted!

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Driver8

Site Moderator

driver8 thanks for the response. its funny how we each put value on what we will spend and the thresh hold we each have. the other day my wife was talking about taking a vacation and she started looking through the net to find packages, she finally came back with a grand total and right away i thought to myself...i could buy another watch. i didnt come out to say it though didnt want to sleep on the couch lol. I am definately happy with the watches i have as a collection for a base or stable if you will. but my eyes are starting to pick out a few things that have got my mind thinking. as i mentioned that Royal Oak Offshore is one, the IWC Big Inginier Chrono and Zenith chronomaster open grande date....there might even be some room for a PAM. But all these watches (with the exception of the PAM) are more than my most expensive piece. It a hopeless battle I am fighting....I think that I just need to cave and become a glutton for watches hahahahaa

Well I hope Driver8 through an unnecessary 'K' into his post - nothing below 2,000K eh - that's GBP 2,000,000

I agree that quality wins everytime for me. It was a psychological thing for me - having to educate myself that it was 'ok' to spend more money on a watch. Part of it has also been the success of my business - there was a time not too many years ago when I couldn't afford to spend that much on a watch, but as personal circustances change then you start looking and appreciating different price points.

I wouldn't sell multiple pieces to buy one, because as I have said many times I don't sell pieces, but I also wouldn't buy multiple pieces just for the sake of it.

Roff i see what you are saying. I think that if i did sell anything to acquire something else, it pops the question "why didnt i just buy what i wanted to begin with?" There are quite a few pieces out there that are appealing. I personally feel that you can never have enough of a good thing.

But there is something to be said about brands that are more exclusive or higher priced. The story that goes with them or even the self satisfaction of knowing that you can own them.

Oops! I was clearly thinking I had your wallet there Roff! I've edited my post now!

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Id sell all of them for one grail. Im one of those "one watch is enough" people, even though I dont exactly practice what I preach. I just bought the new superocean, and in the process decided to list my navi for sale since I never wear it, sort of as a one for one swap. While in the sales forum I start browsing, and next thing you know im trying to figure out what to buy with the Navi funds

As for getting more expensive, D8 has it about right. When I first started looking at Breitling I would tell myself "they start at $2000...expensive!" Now $2000 seems like chump change to spend on a watch.

Also, when you get into a new purchase, you start browsing more and more and discover things you hadnt known about before. e.g. buying a Tag gets you into that exclusive luxury watch circle...while there you discover some Breitlings that other people own...so you buy a Breitling. While dealing breitlings you discover that AP that everybodys raving about... With each purchase you enter another "society" which will undoubtedly have owners of even more expensive pieces involved....and the beat goes on...

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-RJ

HAHAHA so true when i first started considering a watch years ago i always said that Tag would be my brand. But my very first watch i got came YEARs later and it was a corum. now i am sitting in the breitling range but dont think that ling will curb my hunger forever. my problem is that i cannot settle at just one grail. too many out there that i would love to own. and once i have it my desire just grows for another piece. its almost like trying to feed a bottomless pit. ok that made it sound negative but i think you guys know what i mean

I, at one time, imposed a lifetime ban on owning a watch that would cost greater than 2,000 USD. I felt this was an attainable goal and not too "extreme". I went ahead and traveled just over my budget to get a Cockpit and have stumbled onto an entirely different realm of watch collecting. I've always been into watches and own quite a few interesting ones (not from a horological perspective per se) but I have see the light, and quality is where it's at!

The fit and finish, the buying experience, and all the other million little things that comes with owning a watch of Breitling's caliber has certainly broadened my persepctive and has effectivley doubled my budget for the next watch. I have a feeling I'm on my way to a lifetime of horological hunting with ever increasing budgets (where personal situation/finances allow).

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“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” - Albert Einstein

Quality for me also. I've already decided/realised that I'm going to be more than happy with a few select pieces that both suit a number of occasion and are pieces I truly aspire to own. My discretionary funds also already go towards so many other pursuits that I could never validate just endlessly purchasing watches (not that there's anything wrong with that ) as that would get in the way (discretionary amounts dependent of course).

I too once considered $2,000 a lot of money to spend on a watch, now I generally look at watches that cost a lot more than that Funny how things evolve.

I'd probably sell all my watches (excluding my 1903) for just one grail - i.e. have two watches as a maximum and would be more than happy with those two.

Good thread.

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Happines is Good Health and a Bad Memory.
"Ingrid Bergman"

Not really, but that's probably because I'm saving up for other things right now. Thinking through the watches I would reasonably like to own (as opposed to watches I would like to unreasonably own), they range in price from $500 to $8,000, give or take. That's remained the same for a couple years now.

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[Witty signature here]

As everyone said....Quality and what is perceived as quality changes with time just like tastes.

I have put a lot of thought into this, thankfully at the beginning of my quest, and plan on putting together a small but specific collection.

For my purposes 3-4 watches would be more than enough. With the strap options, I bet you could make an really versatile collection with well picked watches that will never fall out of favor. (I am thinking SOH, Navi, IWC Portuguese)

That being said...I larger collection isn't something I am against...Just cant afford one. If I had a dozen, or in some of your cases 2 dozen watches to choose from....well I would probably never get anywhere on time. You guys got it right....going for quality and quantity.

Quaklity vs Quantity? Both

if I had to choose, I would always go with quality, the joy I get from one nice piece far outweighs the pleasure of multiple pieces, which is why I sell watches frequentely. I have a number limit, which I have exceeded and trying to bring down right now, but I have found that I would much rather sell 2-3 nice watches and get a "grail" instead.

On the other hand, if I was just starting out, I would rather have a Rolex GMT II + Omega PO + an oris for variety over say an IWC BI or BP which are grails. I am firmely NOT a believer in one watch is enough (unfortunately!!!)

One the initial need for variety is taking care of though, its all about quality for me!

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Certified watch nut.

I think you April shopping spree let us all know that.
As for myself, there are 3-4 watches that I want, all are quality timepeices, though not unbelievably expensive from an $800 Hamilton to a $5000 PAM. Right now I'm going for the middle one, a Chronomat. I think that even if you have 1 "Grail" at some point you're going to want to wear something different, just to change things up, so for me just having one watch doesn't make sense, but if I can have a 3 or 4 select watches that I can wear for different occasions then I'll be happy. That being said, I'm sure that once I get those I'll want something else and the cycle will continue.

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"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."