**** Watch owner or just a caretaker ****

[iyonk]

I'm a caretaker and also enjoyer at some degree..
non of my watches are luxury nor expensive, but some of them are quite rare or hard to get that make me extra careful when wearing them to make sure they wont get damaged..
and that's why my more cheaper watches and quartz get most of my wrist time since they are more worry free plus i life in high crime area..

one of the reason so far i dont have any vintages or expensive watches since i cant afford the unavoidable service costs.. (quartz are convenient since battery changes are peanuts..)

[is that my watch]

non of my watches are luxury nor expensive, but some of them are quite rare or hard to get that make me extra careful when wearing them to make sure they wont get damaged..
and that's why my more cheaper watches and quartz get most of my wrist time since they are more worry free plus i life in high crime area..

one of the reason so far i dont have any vintages or expensive watches since i cant afford the unavoidable service costs.. (

yes mate none of mine are really expensive most are bought second some times third hand you know how that goes some one beats you to a sale then they end up selling it on later so I like the dink and dents means I can forget about the worry and just enjoy them for them ....

yes that the thing for servicing some buy watches and then services them suppose it's a good way to go but add cost which some times is not cost effective .. I tend to wear them till they need a service on some then sell them needing a service might lose a bit on the sale price but still it's better then the cost to service a watch (always remember a time with a chronograph £90 was spent on service and all I could get for it was £40 you do the maths ) so
yeah I try to buy in good working order and enjoy or with quarts might buy cheap and fix myself , ok there would be exceptions to the rule there a few that need service that are just mementos so thats good in a way got a pin and barrel elsinore that like old belong to my dads, dad, dad needs a complete over haul always wanted to learn how to service pw

[I-B]

i OWN a few G-shock's, for the rest of my watches, i am just the caretaker

[tribe125]

is there any watches that you feel own's you and not the other way round ?

Oh yes, I've experienced that and it's bloody annoying. Especially when they came for no good reason and now won't budge. It's part of the reason for me being on guard against sentiment. We often impose sentiment, I think, rather than it being a natural thing.

I don't like having more watches than I can immediately remember, and sometimes it has been these stubborn watches that have taken me over that comfort level. I've had to be brutal more than once.

[is that my watch]

Oh yes, I've experienced that and it's bloody annoying. Especially when they came for no good reason and now won't budge. It's part of the reason for me being on guard against sentiment. We often impose sentiment, I think, rather than it being a natural thing.

I don't like having more watches than I can immediately remember, and sometimes it has been these stubborn watches that have taken me over that comfort level. I've had to be brutal more than once.

yes thats what I am doing / have done chop a few that I did not want to wear yet did not want to part with (and I could not think of a reason why ) so yes been very fair in my culling to be honest it seems like rounds they might get away this time but next time round maybe not till I got to my core keepers I think

[hayday]

Oh yes, I've experienced that and it's bloody annoying. Especially when they came for no good reason and now won't budge. It's part of the reason for me being on guard against sentiment. We often impose sentiment, I think, rather than it being a natural thing.

I don't like having more watches than I can immediately remember, and sometimes it has been these stubborn watches that have taken me over that comfort level. I've had to be brutal more than once.

I have some sentimental attachment to all of my watches which is why I've never sold any of them, save for one I acquired and hated so wanted to get rid of it. I remember my first Russian watch, my first mechanical chrono, my first "nice" watch, the first watch I bought off the advice of "the other" forum, the one my wife bought for me during a vacation. All of these have some degree of sentimentality, which is why they remain in the boxes. Additionally, they are watches, and therefore meant to be worn, although I'm a little more careful with some than others. At the end of the day, however, they're just watches and I wouldn't lose sleep over something catastrophic happening, like losing them in a fire. I'd be pissed, but I'd get over it. They're all replaceable, but the birth year Mickey Mouse would certainly be the most difficult so I probably have the most sentimental attachment to that one. That one and the Orient Mako which continues to be my most favoritist watch, although the Armida is giving it a run for the money.

I should also point out that nearly all of my watches fall into the "affordable" category so the care and upkeep is greatly reduced. The Mako would be missed but the replacement cost would even out with the repair costs so I don't overly worry about what happens to it.

I found all of the "which watches would you save if..." threads interesting because it got me thinking about which watches were really important to me, but, ultimately, they are watches and physical possessions. I'd also hate to lose all my bootleg Grateful Dead tapes, and I currently lack the means of playing cassette tapes. I'm much more concerned with the well being of my kids and dogs.

Interesting thread, ismy.

-hayday

[is that my watch]

think depends... to me watches is my escapism some thing I can easy enjoy and alot of my watches are ones I bought, as fam and the like gave up years ago as I was too hard to pick for... and with me I never tended to go for the run of the mill watches thou some I did but what I liked was the unusually ones that you would not see that often , and there was loads of Russians but as I get on in life just hate clutter.. so all those unused watch are starting to set my ocd off , plus I have a concern of them developing faults over time with lack of use special with vintage oils ,

[mlcor]

I am a caretaker only for my father's Hamilton--I don't wear it often, and I am very careful with it since I had to have one of the lugs repaired a couple of years ago. It's the only watch I'd really be heartbroken over losing, and the only one I would keep even if it stopped working and wasn't repairable. Don't get me wrong, I love my other watches, but I feel like I own them, not the other way 'round.

[skywatch]

Pondering how to interpret this topic personally. There are a few watches that I am definitely caretaker for, that belonged to my father or grandfather and I plan to hand them down to niece or nephew. (My niece already got a 1938 Hamilton I was keeping from my grandfather.) I don't think of myself as owner of those. Then, on the other hand, there are watches I have owned for years, and I consider them mine. They aren't precious, I'm not that emotional about them, I wear them in rotation. Most of those are affordables - Seiko, Orient, my old Bucherer from the '70s, etc. Then, there are watches that I have tried to sell but don't have the patience or willingness to accept lowballs. Those just hover at the edge of the collection, and although I don't have any attachment to them I try not to scratch them because I want them to stay sellable. So, ironically, the watches that own me the most are the ones I love the least. I think it's the result of a slightly warped "collector's brain."

Thinking about Ismy's tendency to buy old watch lots and fix them up, that more closely describes watches that give me the most joy, some semi-affordable treasure like the Stowa Ikarus or Sinn 656a that I got cheaply with a lot of scratches and gunk on the cases, and was able to clean up really well. Those have a special place because I feel like I have permission to be a bit rough with them, they can actually be the tool watch they were meant to be. I guess it's a workaround for mild OCD. Likewise a few others rescued from estate sales and such, even having spent some money to clean up, I feel closer to those.

[is that my watch]

Most of those are affordables - Seiko, Orient, my old Bucherer from the '70s, etc. Then, there are watches that I have tried to sell but don't have the patience or willingness to accept lowballs. Those just hover at the edge of the collection, and although I don't have any attachment to them I try not to scratch them because I want them to stay sellable. So, ironically, the watches that own me the most are the ones I love the least. I think it's the result of a slightly warped "collector's brain."

Thinking about Ismy's tendency to buy old watch lots and fix them up, that more closely describes watches that give me the most joy, some semi-affordable treasure like the Stowa Ikarus or Sinn 656a that I got cheaply with a lot of scratches and gunk on the cases, and was able to clean up really well. Those have a special place because I feel like I have permission to be a bit rough with them, they can actually be the tool watch they were meant to be. I guess it's a workaround for mild OCD. Likewise a few others rescued from estate sales and such, even having spent some money to clean up, I feel closer to those.

yes I have the same problem as the first paragraph I have got some like that did try to sell some and did but the prices could break your heart for what I got for them not good my theory was if I hold on to them the prices might go down more plus unused for long lengths of time could cause them to have issues and I did not fancy having to constantly wind them to get them charge and so working and less like for the oils to cease up . so am biting the bullet closing my eyes and pushing the sell button hopeful might be able to get one nice mid range piece and will be a pleasure to keep an eye on weekly or so ..

and secondly yes think tat lots have given me a good few watches that get used the most about time for some pics so some of the watches I restored and to be honest a couple I would not have bought new as the cost was too high some of which did get sold but take the diver still got that one