An unexpected spark that starts a fire

For many years I had not really given much thought to the watch on my wrist, it had been the same one for some time and my only real consideration had been how accurate it was.   The watch in question was radio-controlled and I would enjoy knowing that it was always precise in its time keeping and if it did drift it would be corrected, automatically.   The perfect functional timepiece.     So there it sat on my wrist day to day, always working, fulfilling its function whilst I did not give it a second thought.    

But one day something occurred which made me actually sit down and start thinking about watches again.

I had enjoyed wearing different watches in my youth, I would not say collecting as they were treated so poorly I am not sure I ever considered them something to collect or cherish. Indeed my older self looks back and grimaces at how badly they were abused.   Thankfully the watches were mainly fashion watches, Bench, Storm, Fossil and the like (Bar one Rotary watch given to me by my grandmother, my first real watch, which is currently awaiting repair having been left languishing in my family home).

So what made me start thinking about watches and watch collecting,   well I was approaching my 35th birthday and out of the blue my girlfriend asked me if I would like a watch as a present.   I immediately said yes but I was struck by the fact that I had no idea what kind of watch I would like or which watch brands were a good choice.   The watch choices I had made when I was younger were not the same as what I would choose now and my adult choices had just been watches that were accurate but for which no real aesthetic choices were made. If this was to be a present I thought I best put some real thought into this.

Within these thoughts, the research and the considerable shop trawling on a wet and cold Saturday (with a   somewhat flu filled girlfriend in tow, sorry Scarlet!) the flicker of something began inside me.   I had seen so many watches of such varying style, cost and features but I was left feeling that one would not be enough.

In the end I chose the watch in the picture at the start of this blog entry: a Citizen Eco-Drive Endeavor, I could not be happier with it and it puts a smile on my face every time I wear it.   But even as my girlfriend was paying for the watch there was something in the back of my mind that knew this was not going to be the last watch I would own this year.

So the watch that started a fire in my heart – I think it could have been any watch – but it just happened to be this one. Everyone needs a hobby or a collection, mine was unexpected but it has gripped me right to my core.   In the few short months since I placed that watch on my wrist I have purchased four more to sit alongside it.

And from there came this blog. At various points during my life I have wanted to sit and write about a subject that I have a keen interest in and something that makes me happy.   I have worked in IT most of my life but never really felt the urge to write about that, I talk about it enough, maybe I just can't convey it to paper.   However this foray in horology through watch collecting has given me the inspiration that I have lacked.   So somewhat clumsily (I am not a trained writer by any means) I plan to write about my adventures in watch collecting.   I hope I manage to bring some of you along with me and I hope this novice's perspective will be an interesting one.

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