One Year In
One year of collecting watches, figuring out what I actually like, buying a few, moving one along, and learning that the best watches in the box usually have very little to do with specs.
A year ago, I liked watches.
That’s not quite the same thing as collecting them.
At some point, something changes. You stop seeing a watch as just a watch and start noticing case proportions, movements, dial layouts, handset shapes, finishing, history, and whether two extra millimeters of thickness somehow ruin your entire day.
So, yeah. Things escalated.
The funny part is that I didn’t start with some grand collecting philosophy. I bought what I liked, learned more, changed my mind a few times, and slowly started figuring out what actually matters to me.
One year in, I think I have a better answer.
I don’t want a box full of watches just because they’re considered good watches. I want each one to have a reason for being there.
Some mark milestones. Some were gifts. Some just have character. Some are useful enough to earn their keep. And some are probably staying forever because the story attached to them matters more than whatever the market thinks they’re worth.
I once wrote a note to myself and called the whole thing The Sentimental Curator.
At the time, it sounded a little dramatic.
Now I think it might actually be accurate.
Seiko Alpinist SPB121
The one that started everything.
The Alpinist started all of this.
But this one still matters because it was the first watch that made me pay attention.
Green dial. Gold accents. Cathedral hands. Weird little compass bezel. There’s a lot going on, but somehow it works.
It feels earthy and capable without trying too hard. Like it belongs outside, on the road, or somewhere with bad cell service.
There are better watches in the box now. There probably always will be.
There’s still only one first watch.
Seiko Speedtimer SSC817
The dependable one.
I used to think this one was transitional.
I was wrong.
The Speedtimer has quietly become one of the watches that makes the most sense in the collection. Solar powered, easy to wear, and dependable enough that I never have to think twice about grabbing it.
But somewhere along the way, I started appreciating it for more than just being practical.
That warm golden dial, the black registers, the racing strap. There’s a vintage motorsport thing happening here that I clearly had a weakness for before I even knew how to describe it.
Then I found the solid-gold TAG Heuer Carrera Glassbox.
And suddenly this little Seiko made a lot more sense.
Not because the two watches are remotely in the same league, but because I can see the thread now. Gold. Black. Chronograph. Racing influence. A little bit of swagger without turning into costume jewelry.
The Speedtimer was pointing me in that direction long before I realized it.
So no, this one isn’t waiting to be replaced anymore.
It’s staying.
Citizen Tsuyosa NJ0153
The untouchable one.
Coraima gave me this one, which means it’s basically exempt from all future trade discussions.
Gold case. Green dial. Loud, bright, and completely unapologetic.
Exactly my kind of watch.
More importantly, she gave it to me.
So movement specs, resale value, forum opinions, and whatever the internet has decided this week can all take a seat.
Sentiment outranks specs.
Every time.
Longines Spirit Zulu Time Titanium
The milestone.
Summer of 2025 marked ten years in IT for me.
That mattered to me.
Not because there was some huge celebration around it. There wasn’t.
It was more like looking up one day and realizing I had been doing this long enough to have scars, stories, gray hairs, and opinions about things nobody should reasonably care this much about.
The Zulu Time felt right.
Titanium. Lightweight. Capable. Travel-ready. Understated.
It wears almost absurdly light for how much meaning I attach to it.
I bought it because I liked the watch.
I’ll keep it because of when I bought it.
That difference matters more than I understood when I started collecting.
Casio A158W Custom
The cheap watch with the expensive story.
This one is objectively a little ridiculous.
It’s a Casio A158W.
I modded it with an orange display filter, put it on a genuine stingray strap from Zelio Bands, and somehow ended up with a watch that costs very little and means a lot.
The idea started with my groomsmen.
I was curating different custom Casios for each of them and eventually realized I should make one for myself too.
So I did.
Now it’s tied directly to that chapter of my life and the people standing beside me when I get married.
Cheap watch.
Priceless story.
I know that line is corny.
I also don’t care.
G-Shock GW-5000U-1JF
The one that doesn’t need permission.
Every collection needs one watch you can wear while doing something dumb.
Yard work. Crawling under a car. Hauling furniture. Starting a “quick project” that somehow eats the entire afternoon.
Enter the GW-5000U.
Made in Japan, screw-back case, solar, radio controlled, and built like it expects to survive whatever bad idea I come up with next.
No occasion required. No babying. No bullshit.
Just wear it.
That might be the most refreshing thing about it.
I want to wear and use every watch I own.
This is just the one I can put through the most without giving it a second thought.
And I have a feeling it’ll outlast most of them anyway.
The Empty Slots
The part of the collection I’m learning not to rush.
The empty slots might actually say more about where I am now than the filled ones do.
A year ago, I probably would have seen empty space and thought I needed to fill it.
Now I don’t.
That urge is mostly gone.
If anything, I like seeing the gaps.
It means I haven’t bought something just because I was bored.
It means the next watch has to earn its way in.
One of those slots is already spoken for.
Grand Seiko Shunbun SBGA413
The wedding watch.
Technically, I don’t own this one yet.
Emotionally, the slot is already taken.
The Shunbun will be my wedding watch and a gift from Coraima.
The name refers to the spring equinox, when winter gives way to spring and one season becomes another.
That hit me immediately.
Marriage. Building a home. Starting a family. Stepping into a different chapter of life.
It felt a little too perfect.
The soft silver-pink dial captures that idea better than something louder ever could.
Then there’s the watch itself.
Titanium case. Spring Drive. One of those dials you can stare at longer than any reasonable adult should admit.
But again, the specs aren’t really the point.
Years from now, I’m not going to remember the power reserve.
I’m going to remember what was happening when I put it on.
That’s the whole point.
The List Gets More Complicated
Of course I still have a list. I’m still me.
But one year in, I’ve stopped pretending every watch I want belongs in the same bucket. Some feel realistic. Some are vintage rabbit holes. A few have gone far enough beyond “wishlist” that I think of them differently altogether.
- Rolex Explorer II Polar 16570Late production preferred. 2007 to 2011. Caliber 3186 if I can get it.
- Omega Seamaster Diver 300M White DialThe Great White. Still one of the modern sports watches that keeps pulling me back every time I see it.
- DOXA SUB 300 ProfessionalOrange, obviously. If I’m buying a DOXA, subtlety seems like missing the point.
- Omega Speedmaster 145.022-69 Pre-MoonA vintage chronograph with exactly the kind of history and wear I want to spend time understanding before buying.
- Omega Constellation Pie PanElegant, compact, and proof that vintage dress watches can have more personality than plenty of modern ones.
- Vacheron Constantin Ref. 6592Champagne dial, small seconds, and the kind of old-world restraint that has become harder for me to ignore.
- Universal Genève PolerouterBlack dial. No date. Crosshair. Microtor. Very specific, because apparently that’s where I’m at now.
- Seiko 7015-6010 Time SonarBlue dial. Strange, technical, and completely charming in the way only vintage Seiko can be.
These aren’t simply the most expensive watches I like. They’re the ones that changed the way I look at watches in the first place.
- TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph GlassboxSolid yellow gold, champagne-gold dial, black registers, black racing strap. The watch that made me realize the Speedtimer had been quietly pointing me toward this aesthetic all along.
- Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-force TourbillonLess about ownership and more about awe. Mechanical engineering at a scale that still feels a little impossible.
- Rolex Day-Date 40 Olive GreenEverose gold, olive dial, President bracelet. A completely different kind of appeal, rooted in proportion, color, and classic luxury.
One Year Later
The collection isn’t finished.
Good.
I don’t want it to be.
It isn’t huge. It isn’t built around hype. It isn’t trying to impress anyone.
It’s just starting to feel like mine.
There’s a first watch.
A gift.
A career milestone.
A wedding watch waiting in the wings.
A ridiculous custom Casio.
A G-Shock I can beat the hell out of.
A few empty spaces.
And a lot more time ahead.
“You’re not just collecting watches. You’re curating time itself.”
It sounded a little dramatic then.
One year later, I get it.
A year in, I’m starting to realize the collection isn’t really about filling slots. It’s about understanding why certain watches stay with me.
And I think that’s a pretty good place to start.
Written and photographed by Binly