Starting a watch collection
A Collector is a person who collects something with a theme in mind. A true Collection must be more than a drawer full of things, for example, watches. There must be a criteria or basic reasoning behind the collection and each watch should have its history and place in the whole collection. Collectors are serious and add to their collections in a serious, thoughtful way. He or she knows what they want, and they wait patiently until they can acquire it. A true watch collection is integrated into a whole that is amazing and greater than any of its individual pieces.
The first thing a potential collector needs to do is decide what he is collecting. Watches can include wristwatches, pocket watches, modern watches, Art Nouveau watches, ancient time pieces or vintage wristwatches. A collection could be all from one country, one designer, one company or whatever interests the collector, but it must work as a whole.
Once the collectable is chosen, the collector needs to learn as much as they can about the product. If they have a working knowledge, all the better, but they need to learn, because knowledge of the product is the only way a collector will know what they are purchasing and if the price is fair, too much or a great buy. Some things to learn are movements, history, fashion, collectability, complications and case materials.
There are guides for watch collectors full of information about all types of watches for sale as well as clubs or groups where there will be like-minded collectors who can share information and inform each other of exhibitions or sales. It is good to use these resources to learn as much as possible and share knowledge. In this way, collectors can find places where the particular type of watch they want will be.
Spend time shopping either on foot or online. Before buying, it is good to know the market and see what is being offered. In this way, it is possible to see what types of watches have appreciated in value over the years and what have ended up as junk.
When a collector finally decides to make a purchase he needs to make sure all the authenticating paperwork is there. This may include the original box and a certificate of authenticity. They should get and keep all the buckles, straps and links that originally came with the watch.
Watch manufacturers produce limited editions to make a watch more desirable to a collector. He should know if it truly is a limited edition or if it is in name only, and there are a large number of the watches actually on the market. Complications are another aspect to understand. These are hand finished time pieces and the more complicated the less number produced. These watches will increase in value over time.
A good watch collection should reflect the collector. He will buy according to his criteria what attracts him and not simply what the experts think is best. Finally, the collector should learn to tell the fakes from the genuine. Then, each piece in his collection will shine.