Welcome to this watch life. Hi, I'm Lydia Winters and today
we're talking about Enthusiast or collector.
Which one are you? Wait, which one are you?
Well, but that spoils the whole episode.
If I say it. Can I say it at the end?
OK. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, it would make my my viewpoint like too immediate.
But anyway, this came about from a post by Average Watches
yesterday where he actually wrote about this.
Are you a watch enthusiast or a watch collector?
He writes I have owned many watches over the years, but I'm
still hesitant to call myself a collector.
I think I have an association in my head that a collector is
someone who is knowledgeable and knows all the different
references and variations in typography used on the dial.
I also feel like the intention behind acquiring watches is a
differentiator. I think a collector acquires
watches for the enjoyment of owning them, whereas I just
enjoy experiencing them and would be just as happy borrowing
a friend's watch. Happier even since I didn't even
have to spend my money. Really, I just think calling
myself an enthusiast and not a collector takes the pressure off
any expectations people may have of me in this hobby.
Yeah, so there is a lot here and I also.
Borrowing. I well, OK.
You're like it's no you'd be. Happier to not even own a watch.
No, no. OK.
I can let that part go. Yes but I really do I I
understand and feel a lot of these ways especially when he
talks about this sort of the association in your head about
collector that it can feel like a lot of hurdles to jump like
you really need to be and and you know like knowledge
knowledgeable is subjective. I'm like if I I guess a good way
to say it is you like. People ask me if I'm a
photographer and sometimes I say no.
You not sometimes. You almost always.
The other day. We're at our local Lovely.
Cafe. Medmeg and this really cool
woman starts talking to Lydia. She's got cool style.
Her kid is dressed in this really like cool kind of hipster
little jacket and she notices Lydia's wonderful little cute
like AQ3 and says, oh, are you a photographer?
And Lydia's like, Oh no, no, I'm just a hobbyist.
I just I just own this thing. It's really embarrassing that I
do that. And then and then it turns out
she's this really fantastic photographer.
So maybe you had that vibe and you get worried about claiming
that you are something that you feel you can't live up to that
title. Yeah, it is it.
It does feel like for me it's born out of insecurity, which
I'm like, oh so like. And what did I tell you right
away? The.
Words like stop saying no because this has happened
before. You're not a photographer, you
are a recognized by publications, by camera
companies, by all of these things as a great photographer.
And also, people don't need to be at the level that you.
Have achieved. In order to call themselves a.
Photographer you. Got to own that and it's the
similar. It's similar with watch.
Collecting, it's very similar with with like to how I feel
watch collecting. And especially at the beginning
when someone was like, oh, you're a watch collector, I
would be like, no. And then they're like, how many
watches do you have? It's like 20, you know.
And so I think it's when you get down into a community, you can
then like within the community you create more of these like
categorizations, which is like very psychological.
I was looking at that like, you know, like you want to
categorize things and that's that's fun in this case, but it
can be like harmful if it creates like exclusion and it's
like, hey, you're not a collector.
So to me it's really about like for.
These reasons, Yeah, you're not a collector, but I I think both
in the example of you as a a photographer and claiming that
you're a photographer, but also in the example that Average
Watches gives. Here about feeling like he's not
knowledgeable enough to be considered a collector comes
from real stuff. Oh, yes, because.
There are real people who have challenged you as a photographer
or you in in your job or you throughout your life as like
you're not good enough to be this.
Yes, and. People, I I have read, you know,
posts and articles and listened to podcasts where people define
what a watch collector is. And some of them set a very high
bar. Yeah, exactly.
And so if you hear that, then that's going to make you more
insecure. Yeah, you never.
You'll never reach it. And then you.
Don't want to claim it like something that you don't think
you are, that that you aren't good enough or that you aren't
knowledgeable enough or cool enough, or that your watches
aren't expensive enough. Then you're even more insecure.
And you don't want to say like, oh, I'm a watch collector and
have someone mock you for that. Because there are people who
seem like, based on what they say, that they would totally
disagree that you are a watch collector or a photographer or
whatever that is. Yeah, and it it is, it's not
like that You don't want someone.
You don't want to say a label and then someone perceives it as
wrong. But then I'm like, it's my
label. Because guess what?
The definition of a collector is just a person who collects
things of a specified type professionally or as a hobby,
And to collect. There are multiple definitions
and it's to systematically seek and acquire items of a
particular kind as a hobby or just accumulate over a period of
time. So guess what I'd be
accumulating over a period of time.
I'm just accumulating like. So it doesn't actually have to
be that you need to like. The specifications could just be
watches. Some people have more of like a
niche like vintage watches. Or you know, you can like add
another word on to what type of collector you are.
But I do think you still are a collector.
I think it's also very similar with photography.
It's like I am a watch photographer, so it's like I'm
adding another word to kind of like make it more descriptive.
But that doesn't mean that I'm also not a photographer or I'm
also not a collector. So it's like a vintage collector
or maybe someone just has, you know, every reference of one you
know? Or like I'm an oyster perpetual.
Collector You are definitely a Rolex OP.
A colorful Rolex OP. Collector, that's a lot of
that's you know then there's very few of us in that.
But the thing I like about the like this term enthusiast is
that it And I think the reason it was created I I don't know
this for certain, but I feel like the reason it was created
is it does create even more like broad categorization and just
like hey come on in and. There's a definition in the in
the name too. Yeah, exactly.
Are you enthusiastic about something?
Yes or no. Yes, you are.
An enthusiast, and I think that is where Collector could be as
well. Do you collect things?
Then you are a Collector. But I think where that falls
apart is that people have a different definition of Do you
collect like what is a collection?
Yeah, I mean, finds that I was thinking about this a lot
because I've been like, oh, if you have, you know, a few, it's
a collection and you're a collector, you.
Said it before. Lower the the hurdle.
But then I also think about things like, you know, I have a
lot of cameras, but I don't consider myself a camera
collector. I don't consider myself a purse
collector, a shoe, you know? So to me, it's like your own
mindset and then you get to define it.
That's what I think it all is about.
Yeah, I really do. OK, so as I thought through this
because I I thought through and I I did look some stuff up, but
also just from memory I made a list of like where I think
different people start to depart from what is a collector.
I think most people would agree if you only buy Rolex explorers
from different eras, different sizes you know in different
condition like you're a collector.
And an enthusiast because, right?
You probably probably. Well, and it.
Depends, because if you, you may not consider yourself an
enthusiast. Let's say you collect vintage
explorers because you want to sell them, but you don't wear
them and you're not really that interested in them as what they
are, but you see them more as an investment.
Perhaps you wouldn't consider yourself an enthusiast.
I don't think that's the most likely person, but I.
Do think. You could collect without
enthusiasm. True.
Enthusiast is just a person who is very interested in a
particular activity or subject. Yeah, it doesn't add or take
away if you make money off of it.
No, I guess it. Doesn't, you know.
So if you're very interested, yeah, yeah.
But OK, so so I I think most, by most definitions I've seen, they
would say if you collect, if you own a bunch of Rolex explorers,
then you're a watch collector, right?
And then you could even go more niche.
What if you only own a bunch of Rolex 10 sixteens, right?
Definitely A. Collector you have like.
One, by the definitions I've seen.
So then if we go more broad, what if you only collect Seikos?
Like just Seiko watches? There's some dive watches, some
dress watches, but they're Seikos.
Would you consider that a collector?
You would. But I think this is where some
people start to diverge. They think it's too broad.
Or what if you were like, I only collect Japanese watches, Yeah?
Still a collector right to. To.
Me. And to you, what if you collect
only watches? Because that's you and me.
We have different brands, different styles, different
colors, different eras, different manufacturers,
different price points, like super broad collections.
I would consider ours right? But I still consider it a
collection of watches because like, you could take this to the
next. Like what?
If you're like, oh, I only collect things made of metal.
You can do that if you want. It's it's it's weird, but I
collect watches so I can't really say much about it.
You know, like it's where do you draw the line?
And to me, since collector is not something that you go to
school for and there's no ploma for it, there's no business
license, you don't have to put it on a business.
It's not like if I said like, please call me Doctor Lydia
Winters would be. Different I I think there's.
A. There is a very clear
definition. Definition of what is or isn't a
Doctor. That sounds good, but I'm not
going to school for it. There's no award, there's no
medal you wear, right? So then to be a collector, in my
mind, you just have to feel it yourself that you are a
collector. It is interesting though when I
think about it, the perception of people like I talked about at
the beginning of the outside versus inside, inside the
community there are different like levels of things.
And you know, we we put ourselves against like we're
looking at some of the best, like the the most prolific
collections. And so then we're like that is a
collector. I have 20 watches that are you
know, whatever and all over the place and they have this very
specific thing and this beautiful taste and like that
can be. So we do that within.
But then like I said, if I'm talking to someone and they're
like, oh, you have like some watches and I'm like, Oh yeah, I
have 20, they're like, oh, you're a watch collector.
Like, no, no, no, no, You don't understand.
I haven't put the narrow enough guardrails around my collection
to be considered. I wouldn't say, you know, so I
do think that's kind of funny too.
It's, it's back to me and my like, Oh no, I'm not a
photographer. It's like, well yeah, I
obviously AM, but it's the inside definition that I'm like,
oh, but I'm not, you know, it's a then the collector word is
there as the main descriptor and then you add but.
It's because your intention is to collect watches, not to just
talk about them, which fits enthusiasm really well when
people ask me. I do not call myself a collector
though. Even though I have a fairly
broad definition of collecting, I don't believe that the
collecting is what I enjoy about watches.
I believe it's the enthusiasm. So to me, like when when someone
asks me, oh, you own a bunch of watches, like what?
What do you do? Like do you work in watches?
And I I almost always say, Oh no, I'm just a watch enthusiast
and I have a watch podcast. Yeah, again, you're like not a
collector though I I actually just say watch nerd.
For me that's the that's the term I use because I think it
doesn't even matter. It's more just like it's a
because again enthusiast isn't even used for every like
community. No.
So I just the shorthand is like, I'm a watch nerd and then I'm
like, how nerdy? Watch podcast how nerdy.
As we know, the most definitive answers always come from AI, so
I asked ChatGPT 4. OK.
What is a watch collector? OK, tell us.
I'm not going to read the whole thing because GPT 4 is usually
quite wordy like me. Yeah, exactly.
But just from the beginning, I think you get a sense.
A watch collector is someone who actively seeks out, acquires and
possibly curates a collection of watches.
And then it goes on to say, all the possibilities.
I like that it says possibly curate.
Possible, and it really doesn't put any limits on like, oh watch
collections need to be a certain way and I really like that.
Yeah, I think that if we allow for the definition to be broad
enough that each person can like have their own interpretation
it, it doesn't create as much like exclusivity and it also
just allows it to be open and. And also, who does it hurt?
No it doesn't. Hurt anyone?
Not saying. You disagree?
Yeah, exactly. It does hurt people if you claim
to be a doctor and you're not. That would be painful.
We. Don't want to see so I am both.
I am an enthusiast and a collector I think.
We're going to say Doctor. No, I'm not.
A doctor. What are you?
Let us know. Bye.