Watch Buyers Anonymous, Anyone?

[brandon13]

Hi, My name is Brandon and it's been 10 days since my last watch purchase.

My business partner and I began having a silly conversation this past weekend which quickly took a more somber turn. A decade ago we launched our business. Finances were tight, so we each splurged on a timepiece only when we could.

We snagged maybe one or two pieces a year if we were lucky. Sometimes it was a Rolex, a PAM, or an Omega, while others maybe just a decent looking Tissot or Casio. More than anything we really enjoyed the hunt, planning the purchase, and discussing with each other what watch we would each work on to get next. The hunts lasted longer too, as we "saved" and searched for one piece at a time.

We've been blessed. During the past few years business prospered. With it came several Pateks, Rolexes, JLC, A. Lange, Vacherons. We are not Jeff Bezos, far from it. However, we appreciate Horology enough to splurge with more frequency than we ever imagined. Albeit being able to afford it, deep down, the guilt on every purchase has grown and turned into something else that more closely resembles greed. More than once it's really weighed on us to be wearing a watch that's worth more than twice the yearly salary of some of our most valued staff.

This past weekend, we reminisced the days that planning a watch purchase was a fun, almost unattainable guilty pleasure. One that involved careful planning and wife permission :)

One example he brought up, which clearly defined our feelings, was the fact that he finally purchased his all time Grail (5270J) four months ago, and forgot to tell me for weeks, even though we speak daily about work. Even worse, just three days after acquiring his grail, he got the call from our Rolex AD for a Pepsi, which has been on his wishlist for a while. He described the feeling of picking up the Pepsi almost as "forced joy".

We can admit that the watch hunt was a lot more fun when we couldn't afford it. Watch Buyers Anon group, anyone?