Watches

Yes. When there is a housing crisis and I really need to stop throwing my money away, now seems like a great time to worry about something other than wristwatches.

Now that everyone has to pay student loans they're going to "get bored with watches" too. Some other people will probably "get bored" with their cars they paid $20k above sticker for and their houses they paid 40% more than it was worth in 2019.

Because buying things isn’t a hobby. Find a hobby that you actually have to interact with, not just save money and swipe the card.

You don’t have to buy new items to still be a collector. Hell you don’t even have to own more than one haha It’s ok to be content with your collection! Don’t force yourself to invest more into something if you’re not feeling it right now. You’ll come around. Or not. Hobbies are for your entertainment! They serve you, not the other way around.

I did but mainly cause I’m very comfortable with the collection that I currently have. I still peruse forums and such but it doesn’t take up as much time as it used to.

I think the hype reached a peak and we’re starting to see a decline. It seems people are not as excited about new releases. Also, luxury goods are the first to go during an economic downturn. I’ve always liked watches and always will, but there’s a lot of economic uncertainty in the air and one would be wise to keep money in the bank rather than plow it into a luxury watch when they have others just sitting at home.

You may have hit a saturation point.

I spent 4 years going nuts and then finally figured out I would much rather own four pieces I loved than 10-20 ones I liked. I've also bought and sold like 50 watches and tried on many more in stores so I'm pretty sure the four I ended up with are perfect. Now I just enjoy those four and don't buy any more so I've mostly dipped out of the hobby. I still watch videos and reviews on new releases I like but can't see myself buying anymore for years

Buying things is not a hobby

I’ve lost a lot of my excitement around new releases, but largely because I know what I like and want and now it’s just working towards those.

It’s rare a new watch catches my eye now. Tudor FXD did. And the Fortis N24 has. But it’s like once a year.

As what anyone else has said in here, I think this is extremely normal. I've been collecting for about 10 years now and I've come and gone. I don't buy watches often ( every 1 or 2 years), so when I get that itch, or something catches my eye, i'm back in researching and catching up on all the watch news. Then I make my purchase, enjoy the watch, and for a while, all my attention is on that one watch. Then as it becomes part of my everyday life, I forget about watches for a while, until the cycle repeats itself. It's come and gone about 4 times in my 10 years, but I think that's for the better.

But I think watch collecting is great for this. Watches, unlike some other hobbies, don't get outdated. They get better over time. You don't have to have every single watch out there. I'm fine just going into some AD's trying on the watch for a few minutes and i'm good.

Watch collecting should be personal and if you feel like taking a break from it, or you lose interest for a while, don't worry, your watches will be there waiting for you when you come back. Or when your kids find them and post them on this subreddit asking if they're real.

Like most other hobbies, people looking to exploit and profit ruined it for many. Now it’s not as fun because shitty people hold on to stock of cooler models and sit on it until a fool is desperate enough to fork out the dough. And publications like hodinkee are too influential and hype up trash.

I’ve been interested in watches for a long time… my grampa bought me a Casio f91w when I went back to my parents home country as a child and I’ve worn a watch ever since as a tool. I wear it 24/7, so i can check the time when waking up, how long I’ve showered, etc.

So because it’s a tool, I just keep refining the tool. I have 3 on rotation. My Omega Seamaster as a daily, it replaced a skx007, my daily needs to be durable and waterproof. A seiko grand quartz for a dress - I love quartz as a dress so I never have to adjust time, its -/+5sec a year, so near atomic time without needing radio signals. An Apple Watch (yes I consider it one of my watches) for fitness because as a tool/gadget it’s probably the best, I switch to it if I’m doing some fancy cooking for the timer/stopwatch and Siri voice commands.

I don’t really get bored of my watches because end of the day, they’re just tools for me! The hobby is refining those tools.

Ive been into it since my first real adult watch in 2nd grade in 1992, a real 1970s seiko kinetic, yes I still have it. Over the yrs it will always wax and wane, ffs I have a smart watch on now and feel like Ive given up on life fully. But, you never fully lose a hobby, you just see other people from time to time.

It's more fun looking at them, learning about the history, and looking for a good deal than actually buying them.

It's getting too expensive now with the cost of basic needs skyrocketing. Lots of traditionally affordable watches have shot up in price 30-50% in the last few years. The basic Moonwatch now retails for $7,000 when it used to be around $4,500 when I first started collecting in 2014. You could find nice used ones in the low $3000s.

I'm wish I had some other people to talk to about watches irl and just kinda nerd over them. I think that would help keep my enthusiasm. Unfortunately nobody I know cares.

Every time I buy a new watch I kinda don’t even think about the next one. I find myself losing interest in the subreddit and watch channels the few months after buying a new piece. Then I’ll maybe catch a glimpse of something and dive headfirst back in until I buy a new watch and the cycle continues.

I still have an interest in looking at watches, but buying watches? In this market? lol, no thanks. It doesn't cost $10,000 to make a Rolex guys. You're just buying the brand, and I got better things to buy than a status symbol.

you go in and out, I was really into them from 2012-2014 then took like a 10 year break and now I'm randomly super back into them

It waxes and wanes, like all my interests. Other things come up, to occupy my time, etc. I've found that my interest spikes when something cool and new comes out. That happened to me when Grand Seiko became its own brand, and came out with the spring drive, etc. I made a trip to another city, just to go to a GS dealer and look at it. Suddenly all of watches took on renewed interest for me.

Just my experience. I'd say if your interest is ebbing, give it a rest. Something may pique your interest later, to bring you back.

It's normal to have many different interests at different times in our lives. Losing interest is also normal.

Watches are a weird interest/hobby because it can be very expensive. Even if you’re focusing and buying cheaper watches, it adds up very fast. It doesn’t help that for many collectors it eventually reaches a point where you have to save up for what you want and that can be monotonous.

I haven’t bought a new watch in a few years. I had just bought two nice pieces for my income bracket at the time and a few cheaper pieces I really like. I didn’t feel the need to buy one or look into them much.

My interest shifted to a different passion and I started investing in that. Now I have enough new pieces of equipment in that hobby that I’m satisfied in, and this year will probably get myself a new watch I’ve been eyeing for awhile.

But I don’t think it’s uncommon to go some time without visiting the watch blogs and YouTube and subreddits. It’s an ebb and a flow. Pretty natural.

After I bought my bb58 I'm basically done with watches. At least, I'm done until I make rolex money. Which given what I've heard about rolex stores, might actually be never (and I'm fine with that). At the end of the day I'm only going to wear one watch and when you need to wear your watch to keep it ticking, multiple automatics become a hassle.

I like watches. I like looking at watches. But that's about it. I bought plenty of cheap microbrands back in the day to know what I like and what I don't like. These days I like talking to watch people and I like my bb58.

Yea haha, they still interest me slightly, but at the end of they day, they are just watches, and spending so much time and money on them seems silly after a while, to me at least.

The ridiculous luxury watch bubble we have was only inflated by 'covid rich' blow-ins so now they're bored they can sell their watches for a loss which will be great for actual watch enthusiasts.