Did I know you at Princeton, Tom?
If you’re anything like me, you’ve had “new” vintage watches feel immediately familiar and special. After all, you’ve researched and Google reverse-imaged the hell outta this piece, so from a visual and mental standpoint, you have owned it for years!
In other cases (albeit less and less as I get “smarter” about buying), I experience another sensation, a feeling that deceives you at first. A new watch that is exciting, has an element of familiarity, and is perfectly intriguing. But after a short while, it becomes a stranger, like you made excuses for it for the first several days or weeks. It’s akin to all that time successful beachgoer, Dickie Greenleaf, spent with Tom Ripley, and just somewhere in the back of your mind you wonder, “did I know you at Princeton, Tom?”
“Did I know you at Princeton, Tom? I don’t think I did, did I”
Over the years, I have bought watches that felt amazing at first. The thrill of unboxing, lining it up under my loupe for a closer look, setting up my first wrist shot, maybe even changing out the bracelet and being a little grotesque by throwing it on a nato strap, but before I even could figure it all out, we grew apart! Before I knew it, I was gathering and editing those same wrist shots for the eBay listing that would terminate its existence in the 10thWATCH collection.
Much like the 1999 cult classic, The Talented Mr. Ripley, highlighting the achievements of Tom Ripley, an incredible con man who goes out of his way to impersonate a wealthy shipyard heir, I have found some watches to be truly deceptive and impersonators of “lifers” aka watches staying in our collections for the duration <<< what a ridiculous correlation, I know! I love it!
So below I list 3 common reasons a new watch becomes a Tom Ripley. Read on!
1. You Have Too Many Watches to Begin With
First off, let’s be clear, no one, absolutely zero people, are allowed to tell you this except your mirror!
But yeah sorry to say, my experience is that sometimes the new watch acquisition turns out to be a deception for reasons that don’t even have to do with the watch itself.
Wrist time is a real issue. How we rotate and wear certain pieces based on their responsibilities - the daily, a weekender, maybe a vacation piece, dress or formal occasions, and possibly an exploration or adventure piece <<< all can be true guides for why a watch makes sense in your collection in the first place. Maybe you went into it with sincere optimism thinking the new watch would displace a current piece. Or maybe you thought it was a new category of wear like the watch was for playing sports, gambling with @spartan.sfs, or cooking. Good excuses! But the more developed and well-rounded your collection becomes filling the aforementioned roles, the more likely you will be to understand what you missed by adding this one and how to avoid in the future.
A certain fancy trend that we don’t fancy.
2. Congrats, You Bought a Trend!
Lost in late night, Liquid Death-fueled research, we sometimes miss the part where we’re supposed to be building a collection of watches WE love. You’re half asleep, scrolling and constantly being served influencer wrist shots and the latest auction noise in IG feeds that are laden with 100+ variants of the same watch. That creates a subconscious interest and tunnel vision. My experience is that this has several results including buying the “look for less”, edging toward watch brands you don’t usually dabble in or know much about, and possibly overpaying because of your timing to the trend.
It’s true, it’s ok to be influenced and caught on a trend but there is still plenty of due diligence that has to happen so that when you’re ready to flip, you’re not completely skunked. For one, look at the watch’s history, what was the cost at its peak? If you’re a multiplier past that you’re probably out of your element.
If you can’t get hands on with the piece and you’re dying to learn more firsthand, then that’s just part of the journey. I’m a firm believer in experiencing watches in the metal and know how important that can be as previously highlighted as #5 on The Do’s and Do’s of Watch Collecting.
Worst part about buying a trend is that you forgot the reason you got into watches in the first place - for the stories, the connection, and what uniquely speaks to you. And that trend, just like Tom Ripley, that was so charming at the onset, will be annoying and lost before you know it!
3. Who Cares About the Provenance or History of a Watch Anyways?
Ok let me clarify. Not to be confused with a reference’s history, provenance is an important one. It can provide an almost instant and meaningful connection to a watch based on where it came from or how it got to you; a family member as an heirloom, a friend as an important gift, or even a workplace milestone and recognition for many years of service - like this sick 10-year anniversary Winn-Dixie Rolex Air-King. There’s no denying that a watch, no matter the brand, the style, the reference, or even the perceived value, that has a real connection to your heart, is a watch you’ll wear or keep forever. That’s provenance and most collectors have a related story and especially if they’re into vintage. You’ll hear it when you simply ask, “how did you get into watches?”
On the other hand, there’s the history or reputation of a watch and or reference. Recently, an IG Reel from @ BarkandJack asked, “Is there a major watch brand out there that doesn’t completely milk its history?”
On that same post, Adrian goes on to say: “When buying a new watch, my recommendation… Ignore the smoke and mirrors: A lot of this ‘history’ has been manufactured. If it is true, it’s been hugely amplified.”
Even though my ridiculous response has gotten several likes, I wholeheartedly agree with him. Never once have I had a connection with a watch because it went to the moon, was part of some incredible water-based expedition, or “enter whatever heroic story or race-car driver adventurer tale here”. It just does not speak to me from a account depleting standpoint.
Let’s face it, the framework for why we connect with a watch is truly visceral. Unless you went to the moon, or a relative did, or you work at NASA, or a relative does, your connection to a Speedmaster is based on history that you read or watched a show about aka a distant, second, third, or fifteenth connection. How do you get emotional about that? And emotional enough to spend thousands of dollars?
Bottom line, if you only bought a watch because of some far off or distant connection to its history, that admiration is likely to fade. Without a true tangible connection, you’ll be flipping it eventually. Ya know? Just like Dickie tried to flip Tom.
Listening to @strictlyvintagewatches on @thevintagewatchpodcast ep 6 tell the story about how quickly I fell in love with this Seaboard-Yacht chrono made me think about the immediate connection to and familiarity of a watch. Or conversely, reasons we don’t connect or keep a certain piece in our collections.
I Always Thought it Would be Better to be a Fake Somebody
These days, after the much anticipated package is signed for, and I hurriedly knife open the layers of tape and bubble wrap, I put the watch on my wrist for the first time, and I think to myself, “Did I know you at Princeton, Tom?” And as I look down over the course of the next several hours and days, I pray the notion of, “I don’t think I did, did I?” never crosses my mind.
