Does The Fear of Missing Out Leads to Uninspiring Watch Collections?

Without a doubt, watch collector types are diverse and varied, yet recent trends indicate a growing group of ‘checklist’ or ‘social media buyers’. These individuals strive to accumulate a collection strong in status and prestige, their choices in timepieces majorly dictated by the current hype and popular opinion. Their targeted list usually includes universally lauded watches like the Rolex Daytona, Omega Speedmaster, and the Cartier Santos, among others. Though these are great, owning one, or all is indeed a cause for celebration, zeroing solely on them could result in a discouragingly monotone collection. Differentiating taste becomes arduous, one’s personality reflected in their collection becomes blurred, if not lost altogether. It’s akin to choosing water as your only drink; it’s not inherently ‘wrong’, but limiting in its capacity to intrigue, to express a penchant for variety. The argument here is not against universal popular picks, but the obsessive prioritizing of these timepieces to the exclusion of other less prominent yet equally captivating models. Collections viewed online recently offer an insight into this disturbing trend—a slew of similar watches with black and white dials; a sequence that suggested no variety or adventure beyond the confines of conventionally secure choices. The same included a vintage Rolex DJ, a new Tudor FXD, a Sinn EZM 12, an old TAG Heuer quart F1 chrono, and others, indicating a mounting proclivity among collectors to stay within the ‘safe territory’. This emerging pattern prompts the consideration of whether the democratized access to watches and information, afforded by social media, is silently pushing collectors towards uniformity rather than inspiring them to seek out variety and remain true to individual tastes while building their collections.