[Tseg]

Like many on these forums a while ago I caught the WUS bug and started buying multiple multi-hundred dollar watches and each new purchase felt equally unsatisfying. I then took some set-aside home improvement money and instead bought my grail, a Rolex BLNR. I love the watch and have worn it almost every day for 8 months.

Here I am 8 months since my last watch purchase, I like my watches and love my grail, but now I have a pot of fun money building up and I'm thinking of buying another nice watch, likely a Grand Seiko. I convinced myself and my wife that buying (the first) pricey Rolex made a lot of sense as it would be an heirloom for our only son. What is the mental Ju Jitsu collectors do to justify their second nice watch purchase?

 

[jakec]

Maybe the wife will want to have another heir to the new watch?

 

[Legion681]

Like many on these forums a while ago I caught the WUS bug and started buying multiple multi-hundred dollar watches and each new purchase felt equally unsatisfying. I then took some set-aside home improvement money and instead bought my grail, a Rolex BLNR. I love the watch and have worn it almost every day for 8 months.

Here I am 8 months since my last watch purchase, I like my watches and love my grail, but now I have a pot of fun money building up and I'm thinking of buying another nice watch, likely a Grand Seiko. I convinced myself and my wife that buying (the first) pricey Rolex made a lot of sense as it would be an heirloom for our only son. What is the mental Ju Jitsu collectors do to justify their second nice watch purchase?

You only live once.


Go get that Grand Seiko!

 

[21234rick]

I live by the rule.... It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Go buy it and then figure out how to justify it.

 

[Jackson Filth]

tell her that its just a seiko lol

 

[marlowe55]

I never use mental Ju Jitsu, always mental Ninja.
Make that next purchase swiftly, silently and cunningly, the other half will never know until it's too late.

 

[CMSgt Bo]

Tell her you want your heir to have a nice watch for every day of the week. ;-)

No mental Ju Jitsu here...the BLNR was my second really nice watch and I have no heirs. Mine mark milestones in my life...marriage, the final promotion, surviving a half-century, and retirement after 30 years. What better reasons does a guy need?

 

[Tseg]

Maybe the wife will want to have another heir to the new watch?

Ha! If this happened my watch collecting would be put on hold for another 15-20 years. No more Bambinos for me, Orient or otherwise (but I do have a Visodate, which is close).

 

[socrates35]

Funny, I happen to be in almost the exact same position, albeit you're 8 months further ahead than I am. I too finally took the plunge and treated myself to my first 'sizable' watch purchase one month ago, a Rolex Explorer (36mm). I've been wearing it every day with enormous pleasure. And I've already started saving for a GS to keep it company! Don't know how long it will take, but seriously, do I REALLY need another pricey wrist adornment?!

 

[shemp55]

When you pass on to your son the BLNR, you will need something else to wear. Buy it now, before the prices go up!

 

[Tseg]

When you pass on to your son the BLNR, you will need something else to wear. Buy it now, before the prices go up!

Bam! Thanks for making the clouds part. :-!

 

[Dane17]

I find that the lower tier watches in my collection generally don't get the wrist time that my upper tier ones do (with the exception of my Patek which is too dressy for me to wear regularly).

I would agree with your plan- go for a few nicer watches you will be eager to wear rather than a bunch of just ok ones.

 

[Omjlc]

I think the chances you'll stop at 2 is next to 0. I'd start getting a long list of excuses for the wife.

 

[bronxbomber252]

I bought a breitling Transocean Chrono Unitime this fall as my first high end watch (after years of citizens and seikos). I had wanted a breitling for years, and I had just gotten back from my first deployment and had just been promoted to Captain (I'm a USAF aviator), and I fell in love with the watch. So I treated myself as my promotion/first deployment/anniversary/birthday/christmas gift from my wife. I told myself and my family/friends that this would satisfy me, and would be my one expensive watch...


I have an Omega Speedmaster Co-Axial Racing on layaway right now as my 5th anniversary gift from my wife....

We justified it in a few ways: 1) I had discovered that I liked the analog chrono over a digital one for flying, 2)the breitling was too pretty/flashy/shiny/expensive to take with me on deployments, 3) the Omega was much more of a tool watch, less than 1/2 the MSRP less flashy, and overall better suited to deployed environments, 4) it made sense for a 5th anniversary gift to be something that I could travel the world and use in combat without a second thought, 5) we both fell in love with the watch. We had originally started looking in the $1000USD range for deployments and such, but were ultimately unsatisfied and broke down and spent more.

My wife is very supportive of the watch hobby, she is an artist and jewelry maker with a mechanical engineering degree... and she appreciates the workmanship, artistry, and engineering that goes into these and enjoys helping me shop for watches. Once we have the Omega, we are going to start saving for a vintage Rolex DateJust, we have both fallen in love with the steel/WG version with the red wine colored dial (not made anymore). So that will likely be next year's watch acquisition.

What is the lesson in this? First, every relationship is different so you will have to figure out the justification that your wife will respond best to. Second, you'll never stop at 2, so the first part is extra important.

 

[Zeroedout]

At the risk of sounding a bit morbid....

Explain to your wife that a watch is more than a timepiece, it's an instrument that marks the passage of time spent with loved ones. A watch symbolizes every moment, every heartbeat and every breath of our lives. It represents the point where our past, present and future intersect and become one....

And as important as it will be to hand one down to your son, it will be equally important that you take one with you when the time comes. A cherished watch serves as a conduit to every smile, every touch and every memory we have; because it measures the only common denominator to all experience......the passage of time.

So "number two" will be your eternal link to all that you leave behind, a symbolic "recording" of your life.

Like I said, it's a bit morbid. But hey, when you're looking for ways to justify a watch ya gotta exercise some creativity. I'm not suggesting it'll work, but there it is. Use it at your own risk.

 

[Soh1982]

Just tell her that you need a dressy watch. Tell her BLNR works very well casually but in dressy situations, you'd like something else, like a GS. And that way you will have a casual and a dressy watch to pass on to your son.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Shockwave]

If it's your grail does it deserve to lose out to another "sub par" (sub par in comparison to your grail) watch?

 

[Tseg]

If it's your grail does it deserve to lose out to another "sub par" (sub par in comparison to your grail) watch?

Now this is a new threadworthy discussion. How many grail watches can a man possess? The GS would not be a grail. It would be my first Grand Seiko, first automatic chronograph and first spring drive. I really, really like the watch, and next to my BLNR, would be my next favorite watch and the next favorite watch I would want to buy. I would offer that like the BLNR I cannot think of any watch that I would want after I make the purchase... but I've been around watches long enough to know that sensation can/will disappear seconds, minutes, days or months after the next purchase.

 

[truthinthedetails]

Explain to her that a watch "collection" implies more than one watch. One watch is what regular people own. Two watches are for hobbyists. 3 + are for WIS's.

 

[Alex_TA]

Hurry up and make one more son. Then you'll need one more watch to pass it on.