It's episode 12 of this Watch life.
Hi, I'm Lydia Winters. And I'm Vu Bui.
And today, we're going to talk about Turning Point watches.
We always talk about the watch that got us into watches.
That's like a very common question in the community, but
we wanted to talk more about some turning point watches in
our collections. And a turning point watch is a
watch that shifts your collecting in some way.
It it's sort of there's a before and after this one watch,
there's maybe it's just your philosophy about collecting what
you collect it it it it's a turning point.
Things turn. Things are not the same as they
were before the point, a turning point, because they turned and
things happened. So today we're just going to go
over my turning point. Yes, it's a Boo Booey Turning
Point episode. Turning Point Watch is not life.
I find this exciting because I do think people focus a little
too much on just the origin story when they talk about watch
collecting. But often times the origin is
not the most interesting. So I'm really interested in
other people's like it's it's like why more than why they got
to watch. It's like, what did that watch
then do to them? Yeah, I mean, because I think
it's because with the origin story, we're mostly talking
about the watch that sucked us down, This rabbit hole of like
endless money spent and time like the pit of despair.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a sad moment.
Yeah, that you're like, I can never go back.
There is no before, There's no before.
OK, OK, I'm going to get started.
The first watch on my list that I I think really changed my
relationship with watches was a watch you bought me in 2012.
So this was a little while back and it was, for me hitting a big
milestone. And you got what at the time,
was the biggest gift either of us had gotten for each other.
I mean, cuz I'm amazing. Is that why?
Or were you just prepping me to buy you a bunch of?
That's what I usually do. It worked.
I like a one for two. So I give Boo one expensive
thing and he gives me two back. That's my goal.
So first one was the TAG Heuer Carrera Caliber 6 and you let me
pick this one out, we went out. Together.
Because I knew nothing really about watches at the time, and I
wanted to get you something special for a work milestone.
And yeah, you I we just went to the store.
I don't know how much you actually thought about it
before. A lot.
Oh, OK, good. Because I didn't.
I was like, hey, I'm going to buy you a watch.
It's interesting because, you know, being a turning point
watch it, it was a turning point for me in many different ways.
I mean, in one sense, I mean it was my first luxury watch, what
you would consider a luxury watch.
So by far the most expensive watch I had ever owned.
I did not purchase though, because I bought it.
But also, it marked a few interesting things.
So for one thing, I really wanted A tag Hoyer.
Yes, you did. And even though in the past few
years I have not been at all interested in the tag Hoyer
brand or tag Hoyer watches. Although now there's something
called A tag Hoyer essence. Like A tag Hoyer Renaissance,
but you put it together. Tag Hoyer.
Yeah, I'm not good at saying it, but I yeah, it looks better in
print. Once again, kind of like fryer.
Don't don't say it, don't say it, just say it.
Yeah, tag is. You know, coming back.
But this was way before they were coming back.
And I just remember it. It took me years to figure out
why did I want A tag Hoyer over all these other brands in that
moment of my life in 2012. And I remember my boss when I
was like, I don't know 22 working at Oakley the Sunglass
Company and he we had Oakley watches and you know we wear
Oakley watches. They were cool.
But he said one time like, yeah, but one day when I've really
made it, I'm going to get A tag Hoyer.
And that moment stuck in my head subconsciously and made me feel
for a decade after that, that a true mark of success was A tag
Hoyer watch. So when it was time for you to
get me a gift that marked a career milestone, I was like, I
want A tag, Hoyer. That is a.
That's a whole. That's a whole.
Other topic is just how you have these watches that you know the
brand before you know anything about watches.
That's so interesting. I love that.
Story When we went to buy this watch, I still knew very little
about watches. I had been collecting very
affordable watches, just fun pieces.
And what this tag, why it was really a turning point for me,
is actually it changed my relationship with watches from
just a fashion accessory that I just put on my wrist and wear
and not really. Care about you weren't wearing
watches. All the time, single day to
something that I felt was important in itself and when I
put it on it made me feel something.
Whereas the previous watches which were like Nixons and G
Shocks and just you know, fun watches that were fun.
And I had a few of them. They they they weren't important
to me, but this one was, and this was the first time I felt a
watch could really be important. Yeah, I think that moment that a
watch, you put a watch on and you realize you never want to
not have, never not stop it. You never want to not have a
lot. I don't know why I'm going at it
again, that you always want to have a watch on your wrist.
You don't need to double negative.
Here forever, I think that is always like a turning point
watch. Sometimes it's the origin watch,
but like for me it no spoilers for my episode.
But for me it wasn't the original you know watch.
It was a different one. But it's, yeah.
So my second Turning Point watch was two years later.
I walked in to the AD and I was like, you know what?
I think I want to get one of those GMT master twos.
At the time, they were black bezel.
The This story really, really is time.
Period. It really shows you what.
The time of the world it was. Very different going on back
then. I walk in and the Eddie says,
yeah, actually we just sold our last one.
You're going to have to wait two weeks.
What 2? We and I said what?
I'm not waiting two weeks for a watch.
That's ridiculous. What do you have in stock right
now? Rolex GMT Master Two.
I'm not waiting two weeks. No one would ever do.
That never bought anything. Never.
Bought a watch. The only watch I own.
Lydia bought me and I'm walking in demanding this watch.
Two week wait. I said no.
Went with my second choice, This is not a distant second, which
was the Rolex Explorer to polar the white dial.
And I. After I bought that watch, I
think the big thing that changed for me with watches was feeling
like a watch was an important part of like my kit, especially
for travel and adventure. You know the tag.
I wore it in all kinds of conditions.
I'd take it swimming. I didn't have a screw down
crown, but it had 100m water resistance.
I took it everywhere. I took it jet skiing like that.
Watch survived all kinds of stuff, but I didn't consider it
an adventure companion. It was just on my wrist when I
did those things. It's like you you you were like
what tool watches. I I still don't think I had
heard the term tool watch in 2014.
But I bought this watch and suddenly it was like, I had this
cool companion for travel, for adventures.
It's a GMT. So the travel part was like, oh,
I just love getting on the airplane.
And I had my little routine of as soon as that door closed, I
had to change to the new time zone because it's like, oh,
we're no longer here, we're there now and so.
Yeah, you always really love doing that.
And I was like, what time is it? I don't have a My watch is the
wrong time from the time zone I was in and also the time zone
I'm going to. Oh.
You're still just trying to sell the loosey goosey idea, But
yeah, this watch really changed my thoughts on even just like
having watches for specific purpose.
And that, you know, watch isn't just the the watch that tells
time. It may also be the watch and
companies you on adventures, or the watch you want to wear to
special events, or the watch that you travel with.
All of those things suddenly became possible and enabled all
of the collecting that was to come.
Yeah, I mean, it's what we talked about recently is that
you when you get the one watch, a lot of times you want to have
the watch that can do anything, go anywhere, do anything.
I mean, even the tag for you, you're like okay, 100 water,
100mm water is it like, I can really do anything in it.
But then as you start collecting, you're like okay
now. It's an adventure watch, you
know? It's not just a watch I could
wear, because in order to make any sense of what we're doing,
we need to categorize much more specifically.
So now it's like, oh, this is an adventure watch, but only for
this type of spelunking. Only my.
Spelunking journey, Spelunking. Which is what the Explorer two
was made for, and Boo is always spelunking.
Yeah, absolutely. You know, and I only wear that
watch for that specific purpose. OK.
Next watch. This one was much more recent.
This was in 2021. And you had to wait more than
two weeks. I did have to wait more than two
weeks, multiple months. It was.
I think sometimes it's nice to wait.
That's probably a controversial opinion.
But if you wait for something for many months and you still
want it, or maybe even want it more, I feel there's more of an
impact when you finally get it. You know, even though you're
only waiting because it's just not available.
Not like you're waiting to earn it.
You're only waiting because it's not available, but it does
increase the excitement. Anyway, very different from the
guy who couldn't wait two weeks to waiting like.
The world had changed. So in 2021 I bought finally my
Rolex GMT Master 2 BLRO, also known as the Pepsi, and this
watch made a change that I truly could not have seen coming.
No, me. Neither.
I really didn't see it coming. But after I got this watch,
which when I finally received the watch, put it on my wrist,
wore it home, wore it for multiple weeks in a row, I felt
it was the perfect watch for me. It for me, my lifestyle, who I
want to be, not just who I am, but like who I see myself As for
my style, how I dress, what I wear, where I go, like what type
of events and what type of travel and what type of things I
want to do in my life. This watch felt like the perfect
one for all of those and it felt like, wow, I could be A1 watch
person and I can own this watch and nothing else.
And the problem with loving that watch so much is it killed my
desire for other watches, and it made me evaluate new watch
purchases in such a different way that it's been very
difficult to buy watches since I got this watch, even though it's
been 2 1/2 years. Yeah, it really.
I mean, I was surprised too. I mean, I knew that you love
this watch. You wanted it so much.
You know, that honeymoon period where you're like, oh, look at
my wrist. But then it just kept going and
going and you were like, this watch, this watch is so amazing.
And I think the next, the next year after that purchase, I gave
you a watch, but that was it. You didn't get any other watches
because you just like you just loved it too much.
I do and it it's still. Or a good amount, yeah.
There's no such thing as loving something too much.
Well, not not inanimate. Well anyway, I'm not going to
get into obsession, but I I feel like I still have that.
Problem is that every watch that I'm interested in, I have to
think when would I rather wear this than the watches I already
own? So it's not only being compared
to against my GMT Master 2, but it's like after I got that watch
it changed how I viewed owning watches.
Yeah, would you call it a turning point?
It definitely a turning point. Watch it.
Really just made. A turn and a point.
Point of turning that that now I I I collect differently and that
actually luckily my 4th and final turning point watch that
I'll talk about today helped me to be able.
To bring you back into spending money, spending money, buying
more watches. And that was the Hamilton Khaki
Field Murph 38. I hadn't really been that
interested in what I considered at the time, like more
affordable watches, sub $1000 watches.
Like, I think they're cool, but I felt like, Oh yeah, you know,
that's where you start. That's what it felt like to me.
You start in there, that category, and then you move up.
But over time, I've started to realize, like, no, all you know,
all these different watches at different price points.
It's not a level that you're levelling up to your pipe price
points. You can approach it that way,
but there's no reason that you need to.
No, it's a lot more about your own philosophy of like how you
want to collect because some people would like to have way
more watches and you know at A at a price point that is more
accessible to you, you can have more watches.
And some people don't want to wear an expensive watch.
They're worried about, you know, the safety concerns or image,
you know what that says about them.
There's all kinds of reasons to want different things at
different price points. And it's not just a matter of
higher price equals better, right?
Especially with things like watches.
So I bought the Hamilton Khaki Field Murph, which I spoke about
in episode 2, I believe, about, you know, how how great that
watch was for me. But what it really did was open
my eyes more to this world of sub $1000 watches and the
immense joy you can get out of these watches.
Because when I bought that watch, I was as happy and joyful
and excited and giddy when it arrived as I have been when I've
bought much more expensive watches.
And that realization that it's not only like these quote, UN
quote, high end watches that can bring that joy, that was a
turning point for me. That's probably a good turning
point. I I I hope so.
It feels positive. I think it it really allows you
to expand your collection in a different way.
You started real, you know, real big, basically by getting the
tag and then going straight to Rolex.
So I think this is a good, you know, it's part of that
evolution you kind of did the backwards watch collecting and
that's kind of interesting too. Yeah.
So I would love to hear about all of our listeners Turning
Point watches. Yeah.
What was the watch that turned you from the point that you were
before the time? No, but.
I I really am interested in these stories because it also,
it's not just that it tells you something about the watch,
actually it tells you very little about the watch, but it's
more about the philosophy, how these people think about their
watches. The philosophy and watch
collecting. So yeah, tell us.
Tell us your turning point. And for now.
Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye.
It's a Tuesday. Let's do it.
Bye bye bye. I hope you.
Have a wonderful day.