'People' say that people who collect watches go through predictable stages: they get their first watch, then another and then things gradually pick up steam until eventually the collector realises that they have more watches than they can actually wear. Shortly thereafter they come to the inevitable conclusion that... 'If I sell some of these watches I can buy something more expensive'.
Often times this is portrayed as a warning through the medium of 'YouTube' as 'One Big Mistake New Watch Collectors Make' or similarly titled videos, the basic message being 'Don't buy loads of cheap(er) watches, go straight to Rolex' or whatever the YouTuber's watch brand of choice may be.
On the face of it this is sound advice since most often you will lose money selling a watch (especially if you bought it new), but since I bought most of my watches 'pre-loved' (as they nauseatingly say these days) this has never really concerned me since I have zero intention of ever selling my TAG Heuer collection in order to pursue Rolex, Audemars Piguet, etc.
But then earlier in the year something happened which gave me pause for thought....
Last year I bought my wife a beautiful steel 3000 Series with a grey dial, which she was very happy with. Unfortunately, earlier this year it started to lose time when she wore it but ticked away happily when it was in its box. I sent it to a watch repair guy who came to the conclusion that the circuit was shorting and the watch would need a new movement. This actually wasn't too bad, it cost me £200, but knowing that the watch would probably last me and my wife out I felt okay about it.
But it made me think. Over the last few years I had collected numerous classic F1 watches, not necessarily because I wanted them 'individually' but because I had decided to try and collect the full set. To be honest I was still about five short and already losing interest since the ones I still needed weren't the most exciting or readily available and I began to wonder if my money wouldn't be better spent elsewhere.
Then I started to realise that I had several watches in my collection that were 'okay' but not something I would be happy to spend money on to repair should the need arise, especially since given the relatively low value of the classic F1s a new movement could potentially cost more than the value of the watch on the open market. This doesn't bother me for watches that I know I am going to keep forever because I really like them, but for those that were making up the numbers, or in this case only really bought because they were 'part of the F1 collection', well... I started to look at those through different eyes.
At the same time I had picked up the TAG Heuer Golf and realised how much more fun it was to get something new that was genuinely different and not just basically the same as ten other watches I already own in a different colour. And so I started rethinking my collecting and decided that going forward I would part with some watches I didn't really 'love' in favour of picking up some watches that added something substantially different to my already large collection.
So, over the last few weeks I have parted with four of my classic F1s and also my silver dial 2000 Series Chronograph. To be 100% transparent, there was nothing 'wrong' with any of these watches, they all worked perfectly and I have absolutely no reason to believe they are going to break anytime soon, but at the end of the day all of those watches are at least 30 years old so the potential is there and to be brutally honest any watch that is out of its warranty is a possible expense waiting to happen... that's just the nature of the game.
Of course at some point I may regret the decision to part with these watches, but the only one that might be difficult to find again in good condition would be the red and green Formula 1 and truly that was the one I liked the least. To be honest, from the moment I got it I didn't really like it, just something about that combination of colours looked cheap and, well... Christmassy! I genuinely like the lume dial one, but I have the same watch with a green bezel and strap, and I like that one even more. The other two are just... okay.
As for the silver dial 2000 Chrono, it is a nice looking watch, but I prefer the newer style 2000s (of which I now have three) and the somewhat similar gold 3000 Chrono I already own, so that was another one that needed to find a more appreciative owner.
Right now I am still mulling over whether to sell more watches, I have two classic F1s that are basically the same but with different coloured straps and that could be dropped to one, and there are other watches that could potentially go. But making sales can be very exciting and I don't want to rush into selling things for the sake of it. Watches can wax and wane in appeal and most watches I have bought I really loved when I bought them, so I don't want to sell anything and then regret it.
Hopefully in the coming days or weeks I will be adding something new to the collection (paid for in part by the sale of these watches), I already have my eye on something and look forward to seeing if it pans out like I hope. I'm not going to say what it is just yet, but it's something I've been looking for for quite a long time, and something that is quite hard to find. It's also from a range that I don't currently have in my collection so it will definitely fit into that 'bringing something new and exciting remit' that I talked about earlier.
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