The Breitling Watch Source Forums

It's hard to say what people here consider expensive, as I've seen watches that are all over the place price-wise. For me, Breitling is at the top end of what I would normally spend or could afford and I normally buy mine on sale or on the secondary market, meaning that "expensive" for me is anything above $3,000 or so. Anyway, I've been thinking of selling most of my collection to buy one watch that I consider very expensive, a Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Titanium Diver or Black Ocean, both of which retail in the mid-$8,000 range. I never considered this watch until I saw a "for sale" post with beautiful, close ups of the Titanium Diver and I got hooked.

I'm worried that, if I sell off 4 watches to buy just one Ulysse Nardin, I would be hesitant to wear the UN because it is so expensive (to me) and I would be concerned about damaging something so precious. Also, I wonder if I would miss the freedom to wear a different watch every day when I pare down my collection, a freedom that I currently enjoy with 5 "good" watches in my rotation.

What are your experiences with selling off a chunk of your collection to buy one watch? Have you been happy or did you end up regretting the decision?

_________________
NRA Life Member
NJKCA Honorary Member
-----------------------
Chrono Avenger, Grey Dial, Pro II
Steelfish, Black Dial, Ocean Racer
Super Avenger, White Dial, Pro II
Casio GWG-1000-1A3 Mudmaster
Sinn UX

I sold a couple to buy the new Navitimer Caliber 01 and now seriously regret it due to the issues I had with it, on the flip side though, I now own a very nice Olympus!

So I don't think it's a bad think to sell off a few to buy another, just make sure the ones you do move on are not ones you'll regret later!

Stef

_________________

I try to keep under three or four watches at a time and I sold a Omega 2255.80 and a Breitling Superocean to buy a Navitimer 806 from my birthyear, I regreted it as soon as I had done it and ended up selling the navi and going back to the ones I had sold, My advice far better to have a choice than one expensive one.

_________________

Ultimately the decision rests with you as that is such a personal question however I've just recently sold four watches, purchased another (pics to come) and am looking to purchase one more in the short term. For me it was the perfect decision. I had already originally planned to sell two of them and then an opportunity came forward for the others. I thought long and hard and eventually went for it and which ended up being the perfect decision in the end for me. Now I'm really happy with the number, range/variety and quality of the timepieces I have.

A couple more things that may help is that I worked out that I had too many timepieces at one stage and from there it was always going to end up in a reduction. If you can work out how many you really want then you're more than half way there. The other is that I wouldn't buy a watch that I was too 'scared' to wear. If the cost is too high I would think twice. Most watches are tough i.e. they can take a bit of a beating. If you're going to overly worry about knocking or scratching it, don't bother for me!

Good luck and keep it fun.

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

This is a tough question but a good one since I think a lot of us here have struggled with this very issue.
Quantity or High Quality (expensive) ?

The first thing that comes to my mind is that if your afraid to wear your expensive 'grail' then why buy it.
This is why I've tended to stay away from high end (price wise) pieces. I wouldn't be comfortable wearing them and would always be afraid of damaging it.

There are tons of choices out there so I personally have tried to purchase pieces that not only are functional for what I want to wear but also spark a unique interest of mine (such as aviation design, the space program, etc.) or have sentimental value. I have three of these pieces thus far and two that are just so-so. I am hunting down another 'valued' piece at this time and will sell one or two of the less important ones, trying not to accumulate more than 5-6 at one time. It has become a learning experience throughout this process to see what I really value in a watch.

In a nutshell, I like a few good (less expensive), meaningful pieces rather than one 'grail' piece.

Good luck with your decision!

_________________
Chrono Jetstream
Montbrilliant 1903
Aerospace E79362

I think determining the group size first is very important and can really save a lot of time constantly adding and selling to find the perfect mix.

When looking at the direction I want to take I looked at the final product and worked backwards. I am about half way there now, but I at least I know where the finish line is. Otherwise, you could chase down the perfect mix forever.

Secondly, I see from your signature that you have a if you replaced 4 with 1 you would still have a stable of three, which is still a pretty functional rotation. Just my opinion, but adding a grail piece could be a lot of fun while still having a set of your favorite three.

Good luck with the decision

how much do you like this new watch vs what your currently own? is this new piece on your mind 24/7? do you think that you would get more use out of it than what you currently own?

at the end of the day you can only wear one of these things at a time. i say if you really like this new piece that much than yes it warrants selling what you have to get what you want. to be honest looking back, i wish that i owned an AP ROO panda vs all the watches i currently own.

Sorry but I can't help you here, having no ex perience in such matters.

_________________
SHARKMAN

_________________
Breanach78

A Few Breitlings.

Oh the irony.

It has to be what your heart tells you. I recently sold a Navi World and a Chronomat Evo to fund my Panerai 312 purchase. I really never wore the World so that wasn't too hard to part with, but when I was boxing up the Evo (my first luxury watch purchase) I thought I might be making a mistake. I didn't wear it a bunch, but it is just such a great watch. Fast forwad to taking possesion of my PAM 312 and I know this was the right decision for me. I haven't loved a watch this much since I fist bought the Evo and that was short lived.

Regarding the hesitation of wearing a more expensive watch... When I first started getting serious about saving for a luxury watch, I didn't know squat about expensive time pieces and thought that Rolex was the only one. I had made up my mind that $1800 was the top money I could justify and was continuously looking at pre-owned DateJusts. Then I accidentally stumbled on Breitling... and this site. Bad mistake. It took me a bit longer to save up, but my very first purchases (same day) were a Steelfish (on my wrist almost everyday) and the Evo (worn little because of the expensive and blingy aspect).

As time went on I found myself more and more drawn to more expensive models/brands but only the slightly more expensive than the current watches. I buy quite a bit of pre-loved watches to save the money from new, so thats where I look. Now my collection is evolving to a smaller number but higher quality (more expensive) and it suits me fine.

I am now trying to figure out how to save (sell something else) and make more money to pay for a Panerai Bronzo IF my AD can locate one for me. That would be the most expensive watch I own, but knowing me... wont be the most expensive watch I WILL own. I will be wearing ALL of my watches and NONE will be safe queens. I bought em, I'm wearing em. I just keep mindfull of the activities of the day and wear the appropriate timepiece.

dang that was a mouthfull.....

_________________
Breitling Steelfish(black)
Breitling Steelfish(silver)
Panerai PAM 312
Bell & Ross BR03-92 Phantom
Steinhart BreitlingSource LE #5/15

_________________
Breanach78

A Few Breitlings.

+1

_________________


- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

I've been thinking of doing the same thing. I have a quartz tag chrono and a breitling SOP that I keep thinking about selling and just getting a steelfish. I'm trying to pare down my collection a bit, but it's still a hard decision. The tag was the first "real" watch that I ever bought. I saw it in a magazine ad and fell in love. When I graduated from college, I bought it for myself as a gift. It has some sentimental value to it, but should I really be attached to a "thing"? Oooo, such hard decisions. lol.

if it has special meaning to you then i suggest keeping it.