Collecting watches is getting uncool.

[Speedbird-1]

Originally Posted by brandrea

I never thought of collecting watches as cool in the first place, so I’m good

Cool!....

[GoingPlaces]

Always liked watches. Can't really say is collecting is or was ever "cool". Just a nice hobby.

[JParm]

Originally Posted by GoingPlaces

Always liked watches. Can't really say is collecting is or was ever "cool". Just a nice hobby.

Haha, this.

Pretty sure all my friends think I'm a huge nerd with watches.

Can't be uncool if it was never considered cool in the first place.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by GoingPlaces

Always liked watches. Can't really say is collecting is or was ever "cool". Just a nice hobby.

I get it. It's been like that for me on the last 30 years on this hobby as well. The word used was meant to express an abstract idea not to be taken strictly but if some don't understand that's ok.

[Tricolore66]

Big difference between being a collector and an accumulator. Most today aren’t collectors and know little about the history or mechanics of what they buy. They buy because they think it’s the next cool thing.

[Rashid.bk]

Originally Posted by FTX I

With all the changes that happened on the last couple years would you agree that watch collecting got popular for the wrong reasons and is getting uncool? If you don't agree no problem. I'm just asking.

I agree. Some of the passion I felt for mechanical watches, a passion that I saw in the community, has shifted to a passion of values, and just owning a watch for fear of missing out(it's cool on IG and I want to be cool).

The greatest motivators for the majority of the watch collecting public is high market value and scarcity. As a consequence there's one brand that is king right now, and that's Rolex.
Rolex towers over the competition on social media and any other medium, the majority of posts by a long shot have something to do with Rolex, and the passion I had for mechanical watches as a whole has been somewhat diminished. I have value/fomo/wait list fatigue. I love Rolex still but it's really cliche to be a Rolex enthusiast now and my interest in other brands has gotten much more tedious in finding details or photos of other brands I like.

[Blansky]

I think that people collect stuff for all sorts of reasons and that's their business.

I do think the bloom came off the rose for many when Rolex started playing their games and since this is a Rolex forum we see a lot of the chatter.

I have 8 other brands of watches I like just as much as Rolex so I don't care what Rolex does. (Personally I think they are moving upscale and sliding in Tudor to the great unwashed).

The other thing of course is Covid. People aren't out and about. People see the devastation on other peoples finances. People see the downside of wealth and exploitation and should cringe. So for some it just doesn't seem fun anymore.

Everything in life is a phase. We will all work through this one.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by Rashid.bk

I agree. Some of the passion I felt for mechanical watches, a passion that I saw in the community, has shifted to a passion of values, and just owning a watch for fear of missing out(it's cool on IG and I want to be cool).

The greatest motivators for the majority of the watch collecting public is high market value and scarcity. As a consequence there's one brand that is king right now, and that's Rolex.
Rolex towers over the competition on social media and any other medium, the majority of posts by a long shot have something to do with Rolex, and the passion I had for mechanical watches as a whole has been somewhat diminished. I have value/fomo/wait list fatigue. I love Rolex still but it's really cliche to be a Rolex enthusiast now and my interest in other brands has gotten much more tedious in finding details or photos of other brands I like.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Everything in life is a phase. We will all work through this one.

Let's hope.

[enjoythemusic]

Talking about being cool is uncool.

[GolfJunkie]

I've come to realize lately that there are so many great brands out there besides the crown that everyone seems to focus on.

I will continue to collect although my focus has taken a dramatic turn. I have about 8-10 watches I'd still like to add and Rolex is at the bottom of the list at this point. JLC, Panerai, IWC, Tudor and Omega are all ahead and they're watches that you can actually walk into a store and buy.

[Chester01]

Listen, cool is an interesting word for things that most of us dont really need and can be done by our cellphones. I have been into watches since the early 80's, but dont see myself as a collector per se, I like them, use them as tools as part of my job, and wear them daily. Trends come and go, and ill tell you that ill always wear and need a watch, and for better or worse, never cared what others thought of me.

The massive hype and popularity of Rolex has turned me off. I had a 10 year old earlier in my office this year look at my wrist and say, woah is that a rolex. I mean a 10 year old. Then of course there are the threads of people getting violent and people getting robbed for these. More and more wrist time has been going to my seiko arnie and turtle.

[JParm]

Originally Posted by Chester01

The massive hype and popularity of Rolex has turned me off. I had a 10 year old earlier in my office this year look at my wrist and say, woah is that a rolex. I mean a 10 year old.

You have to hand it to Rolex and their reach...a marketing exec's dream.

[Bladeshot]

I don’t play along with things to be cool. I’ve never been cool. But I do know what I enjoy.

I just enjoy finding watches and putting them back into correct condition, and trading watches, too. Fads will come and go. This is a hobby I enjoy.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by FTX I

The word used was meant to express an abstract idea not to be taken strictly but if some don't understand that's ok.

Originally Posted by Speedbird-1

Who cares, what's 'cool'?

Who decides what's, cool?

Do you consider yourself cool, just because you, collect watches.

Originally Posted by brandrea

I never thought of collecting watches as cool in the first place, so I’m good

Originally Posted by Speedbird-1

Cool!....

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

Talking about being cool is uncool.

Originally Posted by Bladeshot

I don’t play along with things to be cool. I’ve never been cool. But I do know what I enjoy.

Please let's try 'not ok', 'less than stellar', 'lame' etc and see how it goes.

[Star Ferry]

"Collecting" watches or "having a collection" of watches is not cool. Wearing a nice watch continues to be socially acceptable.

[Chester01]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

You have to hand it to Rolex and their reach...a marketing exec's dream.

I know right. I mean really unexpected and it’s a 16610 so somewhat under the radar and boom kid still picked it up. I mean if that keeps up, old school watches will still have a place lol.


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[JParm]

Originally Posted by Chester01

I know right. I mean really unexpected and it’s a 16610 so somewhat under the radar and boom kid still picked it up. I mean if that keeps up, old school watches will still have a place lol.


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That's all we can hope, right? Passing it on to the next generation.

I know my boys (3 and 5) are getting full court press from me.

After all - I'm merely holding these watches for them (sorry, Patek).

[droptopman]

Interesting discussion. LOL, not sure it was ever "cool". Prior to the insanity market, most people thought/think I am a watch nerd. If I started talking about watches to non WIS, they simply glaze over and pretend to be interested. Very few people I interact with seem interested in watches at all. So hard to determine where all this demand came from. I guess we know it is social media but still, where did all the buyers come from? Where were they before? Been collecting since the 80's and never seen anything like this with any product really. I mean we see fad products but those markets rarely last as long as what were are seeing with certain watches now. I used to buy and sell once or twice a month. I think I have only made one watch move in three years. Kind of takes the whole hobby ideology out of the equation.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by Chester01

The massive hype and popularity of Rolex has turned me off. I had a 10 year old earlier in my office this year look at my wrist and say, woah is that a rolex. I mean a 10 year old.

That's what I'm talking about.

[Apheaven]

Originally Posted by FTX I

With all the changes that happened on the last couple years would you agree that watch collecting got popular for the wrong reasons and is getting uncool? If you don't agree no problem. I'm just asking.

I am cool with it becoming uncool (again). I always collected watches for my personal enjoyment, irrespective of what others thought.


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[KatGirl]

Originally Posted by Patton250

Maybe take a horological sabbatical?

Haven’t most of us tried this, only to always come back to it? I know I have.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by Apheaven

I am cool with it becoming uncool (again). I always collected watches for my personal enjoyment, irrespective of what others thought.


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English is not my first language and maybe I should have used 'unsatisfactory' or 'disappointing' instead of 'uncool' lol. Or maybe not. Maybe today is genius day and this thread is a parade.

[brandrea]

I get where you’re coming from my friend. I was teasing

For me it’s just as much fun now as it was in the 90’s when I began. I guess it’s good we all see things differently.

[Apheaven]

Originally Posted by FTX I

English is not my first language and maybe I should have used 'unsatisfactory' or 'disappointing' instead of 'uncool' lol. Or maybe not. Maybe today is genius day and this thread is a parade.

Got it...It has definitely become more complicated with social media helping drive the overwhelming demand.


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[FTX I]

Originally Posted by brandrea

I get where you’re coming from my friend. I was teasing

For me it’s just as much fun now as it was in the 90’s when I began. I guess it’s good we all see things differently.

Glad you're still happy my friend.

[dnpina]

For me, all this availability silliness has focused my collecting and limited my desire to collect. I'm getting rid of stuff and the only question a new member of the watch box has to answer affirmatively is : does the dial make me smile? So I'm after lapis, aventurine, malachite and other beautiful dials.

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[stockae92]

My love for watches hasn't change, but I have lost interest in certain brands and certain models from some brands because they are the "flipper special". The ones that got bought up by people mainly for the resell for profit, and I have been enjoying other watches.

[Nikrnic]

Originally Posted by pickettt

No, it’s just that the uncool are collecting watches now.

Haha.. and I was just going to say there are a lot more players in the 'now game' to some.

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[Burlington]

I think the problem is it’s become too ‘cool’ of late - with Facebook or Instagram driving the hype.

Anything driven by popular culture can be considered cool in that regard.

For me, I will always value timeless quality over any hype of the day.

Coolness for me will therefore generally be defined by the classics of the past which will remain so into the future.

One of my coolest items of clothing - a vintage Levi denim shirt, perfectly softened, frayed & faded from years of genuine wear and washing that cost me £3 from a flea-market. Compare that to these sandblasted and hand-torn off the shelf equivalents and they can’t hold a candle to it.