[devilsbite]

Hi WPAC, appreciate the move away from strict abstinence and look forward to an epic OT diversion, maybe a little kayak chat in the spring.

I've come to terms with my tiny watch museum currently contained in three boxes.

The "Front Six"

Empty Slot - waiting for the call up from the other boxes
Tangramatic 39a Moon Bauhaus - for when I feel like mixing with humanity
Seiko SNXF05 - Love this watch, thinking of a couple strap/bracelet options
Shinola Runwell 38 - Looks and feels like the perfect watch on my wrist
Vostok 710 - Vacation/Casino watch
Seiko SNK803 - The one to rule them all

The next two boxes are not organized in much of a manor. Glad that I think so much about arranging them, it's less time thinking about buying them.

Old-Timer's Box

Timex Easy Reader & Waterbury
My first "nice" (>$100) watch, ESQ quartz
Melbourne's Collins Moonphaze
Shinola's Gomelsky Moonphaze
Shinola Muldowny

Orient Mako II
Shinola Runwell 36
Seiko SNKl41
Seiko SND333
Vostok handwound
MWW Equinox

Box #3

Top Row - Vegas watches

Bocia titanium quartz
Seiko SNK607
Citizen Stiletto
Hamilton Khaki quartz

Songdu - $17 experament purchased because I love the dial, daed battery, maybe future mod fodder
Seiko Spirit Solar - JDM
Taki - fashion forward closeout buy @ local gallery (may become my new Casino Watch as it saw me through a monster roulette run in Biloxi)
Bulova Lunar Pilot - have come to terms with the size
Vostok mod fodder
EMG Horizon

Waiting for batteries: Bocia square 1st anniversary gift & Lip Boogie Chrono

For 2022 I'd like to come to terms with letting from one to four leave my collection. While I don't feel a pressure to down size I can't help but think about letting a couple of them go.

The 36mm Runwell is a treat of a watch in real life, pictures always fail to capture the color of the case, the specialness. Plus, I'll never wear it; any time I think about wearing it one of several Seiko5s take its place. Love the watch, it's been serviced by Shinola and spotless. Thinking about selling/trading in at a local multi AD/jewelry store.

I never wear the Melbourne moon phase, have worn it several times this past year as a trial and it just always leaves me flat. Because of that I don't enjoy seeing it in the box.

2021 saw me come to terms with this watch hobby by buying the third box and not worrying about it. I'm happy with an accumulation.

That said, I still have a very serious lust over Vaer's 36mm C3 Navy on bracelet. It went out of stock earlier this year and I thought I was off the hook. Bought a Hamilton Khaki on deep discount while on vacation which has made me want the Vaer even more (nice watch but at 38 with those lugs, too big). Now it's back in stock, don't think I will be able to resist in '22.

And the Seiko SRPE45 Mojito. Every picture I see of this thing makes my brain all happy. If I sell the Shinola this will likely get added.

Otherwise, I've got a super entertaining stable of watches with several still looking for their forever shoes. Strap / bracelet hunting as well as the completion of a mod should eat up most of my free time for 2022.

Good luck everyone!

 

[wgroves]

I realize I'm new here, and don't want to be that guy already, but this feels like a better than average place to ask this question.

Given that a few of us have included "spend less time on WUS and other watch sites/media" as a goal for 2022 I was wondering if I was the only person thinking this.

Does it seem like WUS lately has been making itself, let's say, easier to spend less time on?

Every other thread, seems like, is from one of about three or four genres. The most noticeable being: "something something ROLEX," "I got my dive watch wet, is that bad?," "this obviously fake watch is fake and I'm very obviously trying to sell it against the rules," or endless posts mocking the aforementioned categories.

I guess I'm just wondering if it's just me, or if there has indeed been something of a sea change.

 

[RustyBin5]

Three more sold today. To clarify current SOTC:

The ones circled are either for sale, shortly will be listed, or are under consideration. The four along the bottom... not sure which will stay, which will go.

View attachment 16331216

The two empty spots were watches not shown, but already gone.

View attachment 16331217

Down to 23, with 3 of those still listed; 7 watches sold in the past few days.

Harder choices coming up...

Some sterling work there

 

[tortugoala]

This will be the third year running I try to join. I flunked myself out the last two years. But I really feel like this time is different though (famous last words). Good luck everyone!

SOTC as of the end of 2021, as well as my plans for 2022 are below. To summarize: I'm going in to the year with 6. I'll most likely sell 3, buy 2, and banish 1 to a drawer. Leaving me with a tight 4 watch collection: diver, pilot, chrono, solar Casio. Edit: I'm not really in a hurry to replace the Pro Trek and Certina, since I do like them. So I guess best case scenario is I sell 1, banish 1 and then just chill.

• Damasko DS30 - This one is a keeper. Light, tough, and slim. My barton elite and ritche strap mount platform.
• Certina DS Action 38mm - I have to have a GADA dive watch. I wish this one was a bit larger though. It's just on the side of too small for me. On the chopping block, to be replaced with another diver. Maybe C Ward Trident Pro 600 40mm. Maybe even Tudor BB58...
• Pro Trek PRW-50 - My ultra beater that I never actually wear. I'll probably sell this one and replace it with a G-Shock solar square.
• Chris Ward C63 Sealander GMT - While I like the watch a lot, I realize I dislike the GMT hand. It takes me as much time to calculate 24 hour time as it does to just add whatever the time zone difference is in my head. I think this one will go. I don't think I need a separate GADA watch, I think my diver on a bracelet will do.
• Freddy C Runabout Chrono - Just got this one to replace my old chrono I sold off. While it's a bit on the large side on paper (42mm) and in pics, it wears so well. The case profile is just exquisite and the lug to lug distance is comparatively short. I'll keep this around. I like having a mechanical chrono on leather.
• Casio Edifice - I like this because the light is so bright I can use it as a dim flashlight at night when tiptoeing around the room trying not to wake the new baby. But once the baby is moved to her own room I won't have much use for it anymore. It's an odd mix visually, both flashy and tooly at the same time. I may sell eventually but it won't fetch much, so I can just relegate it to a drawer without much thought.

 

[Stubbadub]

As someone with both a 34mm and a 44mm watch, i feel like size doesnt matter, nothing is too small, no matter the person, its all in the head of the wearer

 

[bth1234]

@Hornet99
Well as you kindly pointed out the 2022 thread is live, I will direct my attention here from now on.

I am still awaiting 2 deliveries from last year, but I won't be buying any more in 2022. I will try to release some watches, but the first one I tried to sell has proved much harder than I expected, and still hasn't sold, which was a bit of a downer. Lucky I'm not desperate for funds.

 

[Lee_K]

Does it seem like WUS lately has been making itself, let's say, easier to spend less time on?

I guess I'm just wondering if it's just me, or if there has indeed been something of a sea change.

I think it’s situational. The longer one participates in enthusiast forums, the more one sees repeated subject threads. When one first joins, there is an excitement about learning something new. As one’s knowledge increases, seeing the same set of themes endlessly discussed (the homage debate and the threads about what water resistance really means are my favorite dead horses) does tend to lead to an exhaustion of it all. It happened to me with camera equipment and automobile forums, and now in Watchuseek I tend to only come to WPAC and some of the dedicated brand forums like Omega and Laco. The Public forum is generally a mean place, and I’m usually sorry when I wander over to the Rolex and Tudor forum.

Affordables has always been a generally accepting and friendly forum to hang out, in my experience. What I like about WPAC are the often intelligent discussions about the motivations and frustrations of participating in this hobby. I really don’t need to read any more breathless overheated posts about some new micro-brand release.

 

[RustyBin5]

Haven’t seen any mention of bashings yet. I think it’s worth mentioning especially to our new members - this is something that has become an integral part of WPAC. When a shiny timing device has gotten into your head and is tempting you and you feel your resistance is faltering then you can present the watch here for bashing. The WPAC crowd will then systematically and ruthlessly tear the watch apart pointing out its every flaw.

This is designed to put you off the watch.
This is NOT personal.
This should be done before purchase or there’s no point.

To get the most out of this you should try NOT to defend the watch and instead try to see if the criticisms have any validity. Many times a quick bash has saved several hundreds or thousands of £/$/€.

 

[RustyBin5]

I realize I'm new here, and don't want to be that guy already, but this feels like a better than average place to ask this question.

Given that a few of us have included "spend less time on WUS and other watch sites/media" as a goal for 2022 I was wondering if I was the only person thinking this.

Does it seem like WUS lately has been making itself, let's say, easier to spend less time on?

Every other thread, seems like, is from one of about three or four genres. The most noticeable being: "something something ROLEX," "I got my dive watch wet, is that bad?," "this obviously fake watch is fake and I'm very obviously trying to sell it against the rules," or endless posts mocking the aforementioned categories.

I guess I'm just wondering if it's just me, or if there has indeed been something of a sea change.

For yrs I have only subscribed to a couple of threads on wus. The couple of times I’ve ventured off my path has left me with an impression of armies of sad little people say behind they devices typing or tapping the same old mantra over and over ad infinitum.

I find Wpac interesting and in general feel I actually get to know people on here. I’ve even had a couple of meet ups. The only other thread on here I am subscribed to is a photos of blue diallled divers thread but I rarely even look at it unless I have a pic I think might be enjoyed by others there.

So yes I think in general the place is full of crap.

 

[Hornet99]

I realize I'm new here, and don't want to be that guy already, but this feels like a better than average place to ask this question.

Given that a few of us have included "spend less time on WUS and other watch sites/media" as a goal for 2022 I was wondering if I was the only person thinking this.

Does it seem like WUS lately has been making itself, let's say, easier to spend less time on?

Every other thread, seems like, is from one of about three or four genres. The most noticeable being: "something something ROLEX," "I got my dive watch wet, is that bad?," "this obviously fake watch is fake and I'm very obviously trying to sell it against the rules," or endless posts mocking the aforementioned categories.

I guess I'm just wondering if it's just me, or if there has indeed been something of a sea change.

Not sure that anything has changed specifically, but after a while on WUS it just seems to be the same topics repeated again and again......

 

[Hornet99]

Thank you!

But, isn't this the thread I come to to NOT be enabled?

Yep, you have a very good point here. We're not meant to be specifically enabling especially with brethren of WPAC that are trying to abstain......

Probably need a clarification of this......
......clarification added to OP.

 

[Hornet99]

For yrs I have only subscribed to a couple of threads on wus. The couple of times I’ve ventured off my path has left me with an impression of armies of sad little people say behind they devices typing or tapping the same old mantra over and over ad infinitum.

I find Wpac interesting and in general feel I actually get to know people on here. I’ve even had a couple of meet ups. The only other thread on here I am subscribed to is a photos of blue diallled divers thread but I rarely even look at it unless I have a pic I think might be enjoyed by others there.

So yes I think in general the place is full of crap.

.....but if you are bored of the general fodder on WUS then you can always go baiting in the public forum. Usually a thread on homages, especially Steinharts, usually works.

 

[Hornet99]

Was thinking that it might be worth some of the WPAC long term residents sharing some of their techniques for abstinence.....

What worked for me was to continuously research about the watch that was the current obsession. I'd read every review, watch all the videos I could find, scour through threads to find mentions of it and delay the purchase via this. I'd also set myself a date, usually a month in advance, that I couldn't purchase it before then. This delaying and the obsessive researching usually meant that I'd end up getting bored with the watch by the time the month had gone and wasn't at all interested in purchasing it.....

Another technique that worked for me was to revisit all the watches and thoroughly understand what worked for me and what didn't. This lead to a set of rules that any prospective watch had to meet and that usually knocked most potentials off. Two of my rules were that any watch had to be 40mm diameter or under and needed to have a rotating bezel......

Anyone else want to share their experiences or techniques that worked?

 

[sinner777]

Haven’t seen any mention of bashings yet. I think it’s worth mentioning especially to our new members - this is something that has become an integral part of WPAC. When a shiny timing device has gotten into your head and is tempting you and you feel your resistance is faltering then you can present the watch here for bashing. The WPAC crowd will then systematically and ruthlessly tear the watch apart pointing out its every flaw.

This is designed to put you off the watch.
This is NOT personal.
This should be done before purchase or there’s no point.

To get the most out of this you should try NOT to defend the watch and instead try to see if the criticisms have any validity. Many times a quick bash has saved several hundreds or thousands of £/$/€.

And here is the basher aka agressive croatian guy.

Will be here in 2022. I will probably have a new job I trained for during last year. Both of us, my girlfriend and I, got a job offer before end of our education...so both of us will probably have to move to a nearby small Town in february. We have to work through year of payed internship. Wich in current situation over here is like winning a jackpot. Especially due to fact we are both in our 40ies.

I also started to work for a local lifestyle website. Watches come and go. I am happy puppy.

I wish you all the best. 21 has been confusing for all of us. I hope 22 passes like a breeze.

Will drop by eventually. Have fun gals and guys.

 

[Hornet99]

And here is the basher aka agressive croatian guy.

Will be here in 2022. I will probably have a new job I trained for during last year. Both of us, my girlfriend and I, got a job offer before end of our education...so both of us will probably have to move to a nearby small Town in february. We have to work through year of payed internship. Wich in current situation over here is like winning a jackpot. Especially due to fact we are both in our 40ies.

I also started to work for a local lifestyle website. Watches come and go. I am happy puppy.

I wish you all the best. 21 has been confusing for all of us. I hope 22 passes like a breeze.

Will drop by eventually. Have fun gals and guys.

Sinner! Glad to have you back in the fold fella.....

......so, what are the new jobs then?

 

[sinner777]

Pharmaceutical technitian.

 

[Aaah]

@Hornet99
Well as you kindly pointed out the 2022 thread is live, I will direct my attention here from now on.

I am still awaiting 2 deliveries from last year, but I won't be buying any more in 2022. I will try to release some watches, but the first one I tried to sell has proved much harder than I expected, and still hasn't sold, which was a bit of a downer. Lucky I'm not desperate for funds.

It does appear much harder for Europeans to sell watches. I don't know why, in theory the marketplace in Europe is bigger. Lack of common language, not as consumerist, historical brand preferences; all have something to do with it but don't explain anything like the whole of it.

I was looking at a watch from a dealer in Germany on chrono24.co.uk and in the detail it said that they only sell to the EU. So given that they were posting on the specifically UK version of the site, what did this mean? That they didn't realise the UK was no longer in the EU? That they did realise and this was a way of expressing their resentment at us leaving? That anyone could buy from them but they couldn't be bothered to remove the VAT for nonEU purchases?

It's all too complicated to bother with.

 

[Stubbadub]

It does appear much harder for Europeans to sell watches. I don't know why, in theory the marketplace in Europe is bigger. Lack of common language, not as consumerist, historical brand preferences; all have something to do with it but don't explain anything like the whole of it.

I was looking at a watch from a dealer in Germany on chrono24.co.uk and in the detail it said that they only sell to the EU. So given that they were posting on the specifically UK version of the site, what did this mean? That they didn't realise the UK was no longer in the EU? That they did realise and this was a way of expressing their resentment at us leaving? That anyone could buy from them but they couldn't be bothered to remove the VAT for nonEU purchases?

It's all too complicated to bother with.

As someone who lives in europe but not in the EU, i get the impression people use eu and europe as synonyms

Enviado desde mi CLT-L29 mediante Tapatalk

 

[jcombs1]

Thank you!

But, isn't this the thread I come to to NOT be enabled?

We’re all here for different reasons; abstinence, curation, reduction, etc and your 4 watch collection seems to be pretty well thought out.
If you do get the call and decide not to take the Explorer, let me know - I’ll take it even if I have to fly out to get it.

 

[Lee_K]

Was thinking that it might be worth some of the WPAC long term residents sharing some of their techniques for abstinence.....

Anyone else want to share their experiences or techniques that worked?

For me, it was moving up the price ladder and concentrating my attention on more expensive watches. I've owned dozens of micro-brand, Seiko, and Casio watches. They are fine for what they are, but I found them way too easy to purchase and eventually flip for incrementally small monetary loss. But I realized one day that owning multiple affordable Seiko divers was almost the same financial outlay as owning one (used, of course) Omega or Tudor. I went from this set of divers:

To this:

I found that I was happier with the higher level of quality, enjoyed better overall performance, could rely on an established network of service, and the higher unit price made me much less likely to flip. My collection dropped from a high of 32 watches at one point in 2018 to the 12 that I own today. And no, I will never "just save up for a Rolex because it's what you really want" (a frequently seen bit of advice seen in watch forum comments), because I don't have any desire for going any higher in the pricing structure.