Parting With Beloved Watches
Those of you who know me must know that I am a bit of a hoarder. I have a quite large collection of watches, with more than 300 pieces, and about half have not even been revealed or posted on Instagram. It is not the most financially responsible decision to keep so many watches, but in an ideal world, I would love to keep every watch my heart desires. I often try to justify this by saying this is how I know I am a real collector.
However, I always seem to discover new exciting watches, and the reality is that some pieces need to exit the collection in order to make room for new ones. It’s never easy to sell watches I am really fond of, but one thing that softens the blow is when I know for a fact the watch will be treasured in its new home as it was in my collection.
Recently, I made a trip to Thailand to deliver a few pieces to a dear friend and a collector I respect very much. Two watches were incredibly special and close to my heart, and at one point I thought I would never sell them. However, I had just come out of making some major neo-vintage purchases, and some sales were necessary to at least partly offset the balance books.
A recently sold “Breguet-Breguet” Ulysse Nardin calatrava. To this day, it is the nicest time-only Ulysse Nardin I have ever found.
One of the pieces to depart the collection was this incredible Ulysse Nardin, with oversized Breguet numerals and purple Breguet hands. The watch also features a two-tone bullseye dial with a perfectly proportioned 33 mm stepped case. I have been collecting Ulysse Nardin with passion for many years, and to this day it remains the nicest time-only I have found from the brand.
A rare Le Coultre triple calendar with moonphase (ref. 2726) with a “Dore” patinated dial.
Another beloved piece that departed the collection was this Le Coultre triple calendar with moonphase - ref. 2726. While this watch is not rare enough to be irreplaceable, this particular one was very special because it had a dial with a perfectly even “Dore” patina. So, in this exact configuration, it may indeed be irreplaceable. It also was significant personally, as it is the most liked watch on my Instagram page and the first watch to hit 5,000 likes in a single post. I thought I would never sell this watch, but the timing was right (the fact I currently own two more examples of this reference helped the sale, too).
The Thailand trip got me thinking. Retrospectively, I can recall several pieces I would have deeply regretted selling, if they weren’t to close friends. A good example is this Girard Perregaux, oversized and centre-seconds with a Breguet numerals gilt dial. Many years after selling this watch to a good friend in Seoul, I have yet to find a suitable replacement. For special watches like this, I strongly prefer to sell to a friend than to a total stranger (even if that means less money; I sold the Girard Perregaux for around 500 GBP less than what I could have gotten had I sold it to a collector in Singapore). This way, at least I know I will be able to see the watch again in close vicinity and possibly buy it back in the future.
An incredible Girard Perregaux time-only with a Breguet numerals gilt dial. Sold many years ago to a good local friend.
I am sure that many other collectors will share these sentiments. Sometimes, it is not about the money. If the watch I sold is one I love deeply, I would be sad to see it go regardless of the profit I make on it. Again, maybe that’s how we stay grounded and hang onto the idea that we are indeed collectors at heart.