How to collect and maintain watches

A guide to collecting wrist and pocket watches

Collecting watches can be fun and profitable if you are careful. Collecting for investment only can be risky without sufficient knowledge. Fakes and copies today are becoming very good, fooling even seasoned Watchmakers and dealers.

If you want to collect watches, here are a few tips.

1. Narrow your field of interest. It is not possible to collect every kind of watch or even every watch from one manufacturer. Instead, focus on one kind, either pocket or wristwatch, one type, like military, railroad, dive watch or time period, like from WWII for example.
2. Get all the information you can about your narrowed field of interest. Become a specialist, read everything you can, talk to experts, go to shows.
3. Save and buy the best you can afford. Take quality over quantity. Resist the urge to buy a bunch of watches cheap just to jump start your collection. You will regret it later having piles of useless broken watches.
4. Buy only from trusted sources. Ones with good reviews and a proven track record. Ones that offer money back if not satisfied. If it is too good to be true, it is.
5. Find a Watchmaker you can work with and trust to maintain your timepieces. Too many people try to repair and service watches without proper training and do more damage than good. A watch should be serviced every four to seven years depending on how much it is used.

Hope you found these tips helpful. If you have any questions, or have a watch that needs service, use the contact form for more information.

Thank you.