The idea of a New Year’s resolution has always been something I have found quite funny. While we are all certainly capable of implementing change whenever we see fit, there is something innately human about being keen to implement change specifically at the turning of a new leaf. Be that at the start of next week, today, tomorrow, or the start of next year, our lives are full of moments when we seek out the right time for something, and the new year is often when we decide to make large sweeping changes to our lives, like going to the gym, quitting a bad habit, or making changes to our watch-collecting habits. While I’m certainly not the best at sticking with my New Year’s resolutions, I hope to stick by this handful of resolutions that I have come up with.
1. Follow My Own Desires
In the modern world of watch collecting that has come to fruition over the last ten or so years, I think we, as a collecting community, have allowed the opinions of others to influence what watches we buy, how we buy them, and why we buy them far too much. From the sports watch mania that has gripped the community in recent years to the hype-driven collecting cycle that so many people are caught in, we often don’t let our own true tastes determine what we want to collect. I’m personally a victim of it, and I think most of us can put our hands up and admit that there are watches we bought over the last few years that perhaps weren’t accurate reflections of our tastes and preferences.
And so, for 2025, I have decided to try to make the conscious effort of chasing what I want, not what social media tells me to chase for one reason or another. This is an expensive hobby, after all, and tastes and preferences are deeply personal. Just because loads of others think a certain watch or brand is cool doesn’t mean I have to subscribe to the same way of thinking. In fact, I can think of a handful of watches off the top of my head that I used to like just 1–2 years ago that were hyped up, but I no longer fancy all that much now that my hype-powered, rose-tinted glasses have come off. So, I need to learn from that and try to put external biases aside and allow myself to recognize when I like a watch simply because others are telling me to like it, and when I actually like a watch because it appeals to my tastes and preferences.
2. Experiment More
Ever since I have been collecting watches, I have been quite a conservative collector. I largely buy sports watches on bracelets that offer very good value retention, and I think I owe it to myself to break free from that mold a little bit and try new styles, designs, and types of watches. I mean, with everything that the watch industry has to offer, I don’t think my buying habits over the last few years have allowed me to sample more than a tiny fraction of what’s out there.
I will say that this is something I have been trying to do for the majority of 2024, but I think I need to make a genuine effort to keep it going into 2025. It has helped me grow an appreciation for all the different types of watches out there, it has allowed me to expand upon my own personal tastes, and it has simply enabled me to have more fun in this hobby than ever before.
3. Give Straps a Go
Feeding off my last point, I think 2025 is the year that I make a genuine effort to try and expand my horizons and delve into the world of straps. Like I said, my collection has always been very bracelet-dominated. I can’t quite say why, but I am naturally drawn to them. Perhaps it’s their sportier nature and more robust aesthetic, or maybe it’s just an implicit bias that I have never bothered to break free from. Either way, I think 2025 is the year that I challenge my preference for bracelets and try to enjoy some straps. While I might discover that bracelets are the way forward for me—which is what I suspect, to be honest—I still think I owe it to myself to give straps a shot because I haven’t given them a fair shot.
4. More Vintage
Continuing another trend that I have set myself this year, 2025 is the year I fully embrace vintage. While I love plenty of modern watches and I am always interested to see what brands are bringing out, I can’t quite get as excited about modern watches anymore ever since my infatuation with vintage began. Thanks to the Audemars Piguet Beta 21 ref. 6001, Rolex Explorer cream “Chicchi di Mais” ref. 16570, Rolex Cellini ref. 4350/9, Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse ref. 3648, and others that I have been lucky enough to get my hands on this year, I have discovered that vintage watchmaking has a certain je ne sais quoi about it that has truly captivated me in ways that modern watches can’t quite emulate.
And so, 2025 is the year that I will truly dive headfirst into the world of vintage for all that it is worth. Sure, modern watches are cool and better built for the most part, but there is something to be said for the charm of a 50-year-old watch that has somehow found its way onto your wrist as part of its everlasting journey.
