This is excellent. I really relate to the idea of having less. Like you, I lost a lot of weight and had to buy new clothes, and I've just bought a few things. Living off my motorcycle for five weeks last summer really reminded me how much I enjoy minimizing my possessions. I seem to have a deeper, and far less fussy, relationship to my stuff. I look forward to hearing how this goes for you.
I actually wore the motoscaphe for that 5-week motorcycle trip. It was my only watch. I made the mistake of putting a rubber strap on and wound up with a massive callus on my wrist. Yeesh. NATO is a good idea! (Thanks for the congrats.)
While I have not made it to the nirvana of one watch, I am close. I have sold all of my higher end watches and have worn my Explorer 95% of the time since getting it nearly two years ago. I have a rule that any other watch I bring into my collection must be under $500. I just plucked that number out of the air about a year ago. To that end I have a G-Shock as my beater and a Marlin as a dress watch. I am quite happy with the rotation.
About to sell my mid-size "Bond" Seamaster and be down to just my 114270. Similar to you, I wear the Explorer 95% of the time, and can't justify having a watch that I virtually never wear.
This past year I've been slowly progressing toward wearing my watches for longer spells; I'm at a 2-week rotation. I've noticed a couple of advantages: (1) by the end of the first week I start noticing small details on the watch that I don't normally see. Often I reacquaint with the qualities that led me to buy the watch in the first place. By the end of the second week, I'm thinking this could be my "one-watch-guy" watch. (2) The other advantage: the long intervals between wearing any given watch (in my case ~ 3months), makes it feel like a "new" watch, something to (re)discover. My desire to get an actual new watch has lessened. My bank account appreciates it.
Do I need to push it out the rotation to 3 or 4 weeks? I don't know, but I'll be interested in hearing your experience.
I've done this 3 times in the past - once with a Turtle, once with an Aquis, and once on a 5 week holiday with an SMPc. It was an interesting experience and well worth the effort.
The main outcome for me was that start of breaking my ties with watch Instagram, which has definitely been a net positive.
Currently I switch watches 3 or 4 times a day, so it's not like it exactly cured me of this craziness :)
I flirt with the idea of getting off IG, mostly due to the Meta ownership. Meta (FB) makes decisions that I don't agree with, and I'm cognizant of the fact that any service I don't pay for, means I'm the product, not the customer. That said, I think IG brings me more joy than sadness, and I don't know where I would try to post any photo creative output if I quit...
I can tell you now what will happen - I'll feel less distracted and happier with my current collection.
At some point, I'll want to see something on Instagram (probably from James or Jason), I'll create a new account, then gradually start following more and more people until it has got back to where I am now. Then the cycle will repeat :)
The guys at the Two Broke Watch Snobs podcast have floated this idea around for a while, calling it the "watch fast". I did one myself for the month of August last year, and it was really interesting and caused me to gain a lot more insight into what I really like and don't like about watches.
Excellent read! Now in my late 60s and I find it easier, not easy, to be a one watch guy...for maybe 6 months, then a different watch for 6 months. It was easy to be a one watch guy in college or when I was starting out in business, it was all I could afford. These days I am reminded both time and watch experiences are limited, so I try to make the most of both by periodic change.
I was a one watch guy for a very long time. I bought my 1675 in the early 90's and wore it as my only watch for the next 25 years or so. It was with me through a couple of wars and on my wrist when I got married. I wore it reaching into aircraft equipment racks and on mountain peaks. It bears the scars of that use but that is what makes it my watch. I see a lot of flips with the line 'I wasn't able to bond with it.' My answer is you didn't give it time. There is only one watch in my box that comes to mind when I think 'my watch'. I suspect if that Seiko from long ago hadn't disappeared, you would have the same kind of feelings for that watch. May of 2021 marked 30 years of ownership. I took the opportunity to wear my GMT for the whole month and it took me right back to the day I walked out of the AD with it.
I generally find I go two to three weeks with one watch - but sometimes it's only an hour or two. Then another catches my eye. It's not so much that I tire of the previous, it's the fresh one that beckons. And alas... I have pieces that don't see the light of day for months and months. But when I rediscover them...!
I've been a one-watch person since the Tornek-Rayville TR-660 arrived. The only times I've taken it off were when I was painting bedrooms recently (didn't want to get paint on the Erika's strap) and running the snow blower (needed to know if phone calls or other notifications related to work came through).
I usually don't wear a watch when I go to bed, but I've been wearing this one. It's neat to see the lume is still glowing (faintly) after 7 hours of sleep if I fully charge it with a UV flashlight before going to bed.
I started wearing watches at 4 years old, and for the next 16 years or so I'd get new watches always thinking "This is it... this will be my one watch that I wear forever." My father kept notes I wrote him in elementary school saying things like "Dad, if you get me this watch for my birthday I promise to never ask for another watch again." Something finally clicked in college, two decades into collecting watches, that I realized I loved watches too much to ever be a one-watch guy. I do however keep the same watch on for weeks at a time, never really understanding how people wear multiple watches per day. Good luck with the moth long venture! You can do it.. I have faith!
My 2 cents on Omega...I've owned 4 over the years, and three have broken and needed servicing..some several times. The only Omega that didn't break was the 300M... so I think yours should last at least the month! (I sold my 300M before it broke.. which seemed inevitable given my past track record!)
I’m already more than six months into only really wearing the Tudor BB58. I’ve always been a serial one watch person, buying one watch, getting sick of it, and moving on. But my goal has always been to eventually find the right one to stick around, and the Tudor has been it. That’s not to say I’m opposed to owning other watches for specific purposes, but until I have a need for a different watch, the BB58 blue is it. Needless to say, I’ll be with you this month, even if that’s by default.
Great article! I'm in my early 40's of life, and second decade of watch enthusiasm/collecting. The number of watches I've owned has swelled and shrunk, never really above 15, never really less than 5 (discounting the first year or two). Cheap end of what I currently own is $200 +/-, expensive end $6,000 +/-. I've never been one to switch up my watches every new day though, and often will wear the same watch for most days of a month, then cycle to another one on a whim, then repeat. I'm at a point where I hesitate to buy, because I don't often sell (nor enjoy that process). Probably already own my one watch though, and it's one I didn't get until a few years ago - Tudor Black Bay 36 with black dial. We'll see.
It took 70 years for me to become a one watch person. Now another 12 years later I still love your gift of my no date ARCHIMEDE ! Thanks son. Dad
This is excellent. I really relate to the idea of having less. Like you, I lost a lot of weight and had to buy new clothes, and I've just bought a few things. Living off my motorcycle for five weeks last summer really reminded me how much I enjoy minimizing my possessions. I seem to have a deeper, and far less fussy, relationship to my stuff. I look forward to hearing how this goes for you.
You should try the challenge on your Motoscaphe on a Nato, congrats on that watch
I actually wore the motoscaphe for that 5-week motorcycle trip. It was my only watch. I made the mistake of putting a rubber strap on and wound up with a massive callus on my wrist. Yeesh. NATO is a good idea! (Thanks for the congrats.)
While I have not made it to the nirvana of one watch, I am close. I have sold all of my higher end watches and have worn my Explorer 95% of the time since getting it nearly two years ago. I have a rule that any other watch I bring into my collection must be under $500. I just plucked that number out of the air about a year ago. To that end I have a G-Shock as my beater and a Marlin as a dress watch. I am quite happy with the rotation.
About to sell my mid-size "Bond" Seamaster and be down to just my 114270. Similar to you, I wear the Explorer 95% of the time, and can't justify having a watch that I virtually never wear.
A whole month? I can't even do one watch per day.
This past year I've been slowly progressing toward wearing my watches for longer spells; I'm at a 2-week rotation. I've noticed a couple of advantages: (1) by the end of the first week I start noticing small details on the watch that I don't normally see. Often I reacquaint with the qualities that led me to buy the watch in the first place. By the end of the second week, I'm thinking this could be my "one-watch-guy" watch. (2) The other advantage: the long intervals between wearing any given watch (in my case ~ 3months), makes it feel like a "new" watch, something to (re)discover. My desire to get an actual new watch has lessened. My bank account appreciates it.
Do I need to push it out the rotation to 3 or 4 weeks? I don't know, but I'll be interested in hearing your experience.
I've done this 3 times in the past - once with a Turtle, once with an Aquis, and once on a 5 week holiday with an SMPc. It was an interesting experience and well worth the effort.
The main outcome for me was that start of breaking my ties with watch Instagram, which has definitely been a net positive.
Currently I switch watches 3 or 4 times a day, so it's not like it exactly cured me of this craziness :)
I have been off Instagram for over two years and I feel that I am better off for it.
I flirt with the idea of getting off IG, mostly due to the Meta ownership. Meta (FB) makes decisions that I don't agree with, and I'm cognizant of the fact that any service I don't pay for, means I'm the product, not the customer. That said, I think IG brings me more joy than sadness, and I don't know where I would try to post any photo creative output if I quit...
I was completely off for a couple of years while. Currently I have an account that I don't post with, but I think it's time to nuke that, too
Ben, do it! I would be interested to here your thoughts after a month if you do it.
I can tell you now what will happen - I'll feel less distracted and happier with my current collection.
At some point, I'll want to see something on Instagram (probably from James or Jason), I'll create a new account, then gradually start following more and more people until it has got back to where I am now. Then the cycle will repeat :)
The guys at the Two Broke Watch Snobs podcast have floated this idea around for a while, calling it the "watch fast". I did one myself for the month of August last year, and it was really interesting and caused me to gain a lot more insight into what I really like and don't like about watches.
Best of luck!
That’s the first thing I thought of when reading this, the TBWS Watchfast. Also funny how many people can’t do a month, lol.
Excellent read! Now in my late 60s and I find it easier, not easy, to be a one watch guy...for maybe 6 months, then a different watch for 6 months. It was easy to be a one watch guy in college or when I was starting out in business, it was all I could afford. These days I am reminded both time and watch experiences are limited, so I try to make the most of both by periodic change.
I was a one watch guy for a very long time. I bought my 1675 in the early 90's and wore it as my only watch for the next 25 years or so. It was with me through a couple of wars and on my wrist when I got married. I wore it reaching into aircraft equipment racks and on mountain peaks. It bears the scars of that use but that is what makes it my watch. I see a lot of flips with the line 'I wasn't able to bond with it.' My answer is you didn't give it time. There is only one watch in my box that comes to mind when I think 'my watch'. I suspect if that Seiko from long ago hadn't disappeared, you would have the same kind of feelings for that watch. May of 2021 marked 30 years of ownership. I took the opportunity to wear my GMT for the whole month and it took me right back to the day I walked out of the AD with it.
I generally find I go two to three weeks with one watch - but sometimes it's only an hour or two. Then another catches my eye. It's not so much that I tire of the previous, it's the fresh one that beckons. And alas... I have pieces that don't see the light of day for months and months. But when I rediscover them...!
It's impossible to be one watch guy if you are into watches. I enjoy listening music - can't listen one album all the time.
What a conundrum, when contentment is the key to happiness whilst variety is the spice of life…!
I've been a one-watch person since the Tornek-Rayville TR-660 arrived. The only times I've taken it off were when I was painting bedrooms recently (didn't want to get paint on the Erika's strap) and running the snow blower (needed to know if phone calls or other notifications related to work came through).
I usually don't wear a watch when I go to bed, but I've been wearing this one. It's neat to see the lume is still glowing (faintly) after 7 hours of sleep if I fully charge it with a UV flashlight before going to bed.
I started wearing watches at 4 years old, and for the next 16 years or so I'd get new watches always thinking "This is it... this will be my one watch that I wear forever." My father kept notes I wrote him in elementary school saying things like "Dad, if you get me this watch for my birthday I promise to never ask for another watch again." Something finally clicked in college, two decades into collecting watches, that I realized I loved watches too much to ever be a one-watch guy. I do however keep the same watch on for weeks at a time, never really understanding how people wear multiple watches per day. Good luck with the moth long venture! You can do it.. I have faith!
My 2 cents on Omega...I've owned 4 over the years, and three have broken and needed servicing..some several times. The only Omega that didn't break was the 300M... so I think yours should last at least the month! (I sold my 300M before it broke.. which seemed inevitable given my past track record!)
I’m already more than six months into only really wearing the Tudor BB58. I’ve always been a serial one watch person, buying one watch, getting sick of it, and moving on. But my goal has always been to eventually find the right one to stick around, and the Tudor has been it. That’s not to say I’m opposed to owning other watches for specific purposes, but until I have a need for a different watch, the BB58 blue is it. Needless to say, I’ll be with you this month, even if that’s by default.
Great article! I'm in my early 40's of life, and second decade of watch enthusiasm/collecting. The number of watches I've owned has swelled and shrunk, never really above 15, never really less than 5 (discounting the first year or two). Cheap end of what I currently own is $200 +/-, expensive end $6,000 +/-. I've never been one to switch up my watches every new day though, and often will wear the same watch for most days of a month, then cycle to another one on a whim, then repeat. I'm at a point where I hesitate to buy, because I don't often sell (nor enjoy that process). Probably already own my one watch though, and it's one I didn't get until a few years ago - Tudor Black Bay 36 with black dial. We'll see.