50 Things We’ve All Done As Watch Nuts

Ever since I got into watches, eleven years ago, I repeatedly caught myself doing things I never imagined anyone – let alone myself – would be up to. Not only taking constant photos of my wrist, but doing so at the most inappropriate times, in equally inappropriate places; often staring at someone’s watch in a way they thought I was observing their cleavage; or picturing a dial under multiple angles and lights in my head while someone was confiding in me about a personal issue.

At least, over time, I realized I wasn’t quite alone. We watchoholics often share similar tendencies and corresponding behaviors. So a few weeks ago, I thought it would be fun to mention some of those common denominators in a few Stories on Instagram. That’s when I kicked off a little “Things we’ve all done as watch nuts” series. Unsure of how many there would be, I started numbering them, to keep track. It turned out to be an almost bottomless pit. As soon as I thought we really were done, someone would send me a DM with another suggestion. And that was the beauty of it: the series got so much feedback, responses and personal stories being shared that it further motivated me to keep it going.

Eventually, as we reached 50, it felt like most usual scenarios had been addressed. I’m sure we could have squeezed in a few more, but it felt right to make it a round, fluffy number. Some folks asked if there was an actual list somewhere. Well, there wasn’t. But there is now. I’ve gone back to the IG Story archive and here we go:

1. Buying a watch on the premise we’d sell other watches in the collection to fund it. And never selling any of them.
2. Being close to tears over a scratch or a dent.
3. Trying to somewhat discretely take a wristshot in a place that makes no sense at all from a normal person perspective, e.g., a stadium or restaurant.
4. Listening to someone’s personal issues and struggling to focus because of a watch on our mind.
5. Being asked “are you in a hurry?” whereas in fact, we’re just staring at our watch, not checking the time.
6. Staring so much at someone’s watch in a public place that it looks like we’re about to mug them.
7. Taking the watch off at a random moment in the middle of the day just to stare at the movement.
8. Jumping straight to the comments section of a Hodinkee article.
9. Starting to fall in love with a watch, until we realized it’s quartz.
10. Losing a link (at least temporarily).
11. Not fully disclosing how much we paid for a watch to our partner and / or relatives.
12. Buying a new strap to fall in love with a watch again but then selling the watch shortly after.
13. Accidentally banging the watch and taking a deep, hopeful breath before looking at the damage.
14. Changing our first impression of someone after we realized their Rolex is fake.
15. Obsessing over the buckle of an after-market strap not matching the case.
16. Neurotically refreshing the UPS / FedEx / DHL tracking page.
17. Staring at someone’s watch in a way they might think we’re looking at their crotch or cleavage.
18. Buying a watch we otherwise never would have because of a huge discount. Eventually selling it, for even less.
19. Getting a lesser version of the watch we wanted only to eventually end up getting the one we really wanted at a later time.
20. Traveling back home and, more eagerly than anything else, looking forward to being reunited with our watches.
21. Buying a pocket watch. Never using it.
22. Being so pleased with ourselves when an old strap we had lying around works perfectly on a new watch.
23. Getting a call from the AD. Thinking it was “the call”. But it was an invite to an event.
24. Worrying about what to do with our watch at airport security.
25. Kicking ourselves for scratching the lugs while changing a strap.
26. Impulsively bidding on a watch, regretting and then hoping someone else would outbid us.
27. Missing, more than ever, an ex-watch after seeing the same reference on someone else’s wrist.
28. Twisting the bezel at the most random / inappropriate moment, e.g., a work meeting.
29. Double-wristing with a smartwatch or tracker (or at least having considered it).
30. Trying a watch on at an AD and buying it cheaper online.
31. Liking a watch but not getting it because it’s the poor man’s [insert any classic reference].
32. Our partner agonizing over what outfit to wear at an event but all we could think of was our choice of watch for the occasion.
33. “Trimming down” the collection only to make it bigger than it ever was just a few months later.
34. Thinking of documenting our collection with notes about each watch, its history, how we got it, etc.
35. Visiting the bank vault more than we visited many friends and / or relatives in the same town.
36. Expecting everyone to notice our new watch but no one noticing until prompted.
37. Purchasing a piece of clothing to match a watch and / or a watch to match a piece of clothing.
38. Paying extra a mechanical watch for its high accuracy (eg COSC) and using a quartz watch or a smartphone to measure it.
39. Buying a watch that “will never leave the collection”. Selling it a year later.
40. Buying a watch that has since spent more time in service than on our wrist.
41. Having more pictures of watches than of family on our phones.
42. Gifting a watch to our partner and / or child when in fact they would have preferred something else.
43. Complaining about a date window at 4 o’clock.
44. Learning the hard way about laptops and clasps.
45. Remembering someone by their watch but forgetting their name.
46. Knowing more about a watch than the salesperson at the AD.
47. Buying a watch and spending as much to find the perfect strap to go with it.
48. Boring the hell out of someone who’s not into watches.
49. Putting a watch up for sale but deciding to keep it in the end.
50. Coming back from a vacation with more pictures of watches than of the places we visited.

A special thanks to those contributed: @charleslao24 (#28), @helvetic_tac (#35, #41 and #50) and @herr_seiler (#47). And finally, if you are actually concerned about watch addiction or just want to find out more about the topic, here’s an interview / therapy session I did with a Psychiatrist earlier this year .