Journey of a Young Watch Collector

The watch bug can bite when you’re really young, as was the case with today’s contributor. Dan Broun is a young watch collector—19-years-old to be exact—who started in our hobby when he was just 14. Dan reached out to us to share his story, one that we thought was relatable to both our younger and older readers alike. So enjoy Dan’s journey, and let us know in the comments below how you got started.

For as long as I can remember, my father has worn a vintage Breitling Navitimer. I used to sneak into my parent’s room and pick it off his bedside table and press it up to my ear to hear the tick of the mechanical heartbeat. When I was ten my dad explained to me the ticking came from a mechanical escapement. I wondered, how could something so complicated fit into such a small metal case? It was magical. That was the beginning.

I started off pretty simply: on the Breitling website. I would use their “My Breitling Made to Measure” tool to make the Breitling Super Avenger Blacksteel Chronograph as large and as black as possible. I was 14 and it needed to be tactical because if I was called up to join the Navy SEALs I couldn’t have my shiny stainless steel watch giving away my position.

” . . . and I learned . . . that a ‘nice’ watch didn’t have to be this inaccessible thing that cost eight figures . . . “

When I grew tired of that game, I expanded my research to other watch company websites: Rolex, Omega, Oris, among others. Then came the blogs: Hodinkee, ablogtowatch, and, of course, Worn & Wound, but I still wasn’t satisfied. I started noticing an unfamiliar name popping up in picture sources and mentioned in articles: Watchuseek. I Googled it and oh boy did I fall down that rabbit hole. An entire sea of posts lay before me, sub-forums and threads discussing everything I wanted to learn. I dove in eagerly, my inner nerd coming out as I perused everything from opinions on different watch hands to customer service horror stories to the oh-so-common, “I’m new to the whole watches thing and want to get my first ‘real’ watch” decisions.

None of my school friends had any interest in watches, and nobody I knew cared about them like I did. My father enjoys his Breitling, but he’s more of a one watch kinda guy and an excited 14-year-old can talk anybody’s ear off. It was the forums that became my outlet and I learned from blogs like Worn & Wound that a “nice” watch didn’t have to be this inaccessible thing that cost eight figures and that I could get a high-quality timepiece that could be treasured for a lifetime. So that’s exactly what I resolved to do.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

I had always been a saver and not a spender—until I encountered watches. I had amassed a small fortune of around $750 from several years of birthdays, chores, and generally hoarding every single penny that came my way. I was prepared to spend it all. Going in, there were two things I knew I had to have: an automatic movement and a chronograph. Other than that, I had no idea. So I started a 14 Year Old Seeks Affordable Automatic Watch thread on Watchuseek’s Affordable forum and started scouring eBay.

A few weeks and many replies later, my family and I headed to London to see my uncle Jon and his family. Jon is that uncle I grew up idolizing, everything he did or said was cool and I wanted to be just like him. That’s when I noticed he wore a quartz Tag Heuer Aquaracer. When we got home from London, I started looking at Tags. After hours of scouring the website and eBay, I found everything that I wanted in a watch in the Tag Heuer Aquaracer Chronograph (ref. CAF2110.BA0809). It was an automatic watch with a chronograph just like my dad’s, and it had the same cool shield as uncle Jon’s watch. Perfect!

“So a lightly used Tag Heuer Aquaracer Chronograph was my first watch. . . . It’s a watch that I will treasure as long as I live.”

At that time, there were a fair amount of these watches in pretty decent condition on eBay and I started poking around. Most of them went for around $850, a far cry from their list price of $2,700, but still more than I had but I was hopeful. I started bidding. My first auction started at $500 and I entered my max bid of $750, every penny I had in the world. There were still three days left when I was leading at $635. It held steady until about 10:00 PM the last day of the auction, then it jumped up to $700, but I was still winning. $50 seemed like a large cushion and I went to bed with a smile on my face and imagining a Tag on my wrist.

When I got up the next day I went straight for my laptop. My stomach was churning with anticipation. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the bright light of my laptop screen and I stared at the little number on the right side of the screen. $765. Bidding has ended on this item. I was $15 short. My stomach fell and the disappointment set in. That loss hurt, but it by no means stopped me. I bid on three more examples of the same watch, and in every single case lost narrowly.

By that time it was nearing the end of May, I was in eighth grade so middle school graduation and high school lay just around the corner. Graduation at my school, a traditional all-boys school the next town over, was a big deal. Prize days, ceremonies, and celebrations soon overwhelmed me and my eBay adventures fell to the side. My birthday and graduation rolled around and I still didn’t have a watch on my wrist.

The morning of my graduation I woke up early, excited and nervous for the day. I had just finished brushing my teeth when my parents called me into their room. Sitting on their bed was a box.

So a lightly used Tag Heuer Aquaracer Chronograph was my first watch. Pretty amazing and I’ve loved it ever since. I wore it to my middle school graduation and my first-ever date. It’s a watch that I will treasure as long as I live.

Since then, my collection has grown. My tastes have changed, but I have mostly stuck with diver-style watches.When I was fifteen I bought myself a Seiko 5 SNZG15. Sixteen was a Halios Delfin. That’s when I ran out of money. The next watch I got was a Halios Tropik B for my eighteenth birthday. My mom informed Jason at Halios that it was my birthday so he sent watch number “28” to correspond with my birth date, a whole bunch of straps, and even a birthday card! I preordered the Aevig Balaur with my summer earnings in 2016. Finally, my latest addition came in the form of a Damasko DA46 on a bracelet as a high school graduation gift this year.

So far that’s what I’ve managed to amass. Going to college at the end of the summer, I think I’m going to have to leave a few behind. I’ll likely part with the Aevig; I don’t wear it. I’m also thinking of giving the Seiko away. I recently got a Harris Tweed Worn & Wound watch roll, which I’m planning on shoving into the sock drawer in my dorm room to keep everything safe. I have four slots in that to fill. My Damasko and the two Halios’ are certainly coming with me, but I think the Tag is going to stay safest at home. It’s simply too valuable for me to bring with me and since I live just 45 minutes from school, I can always come back and get it. So that leaves me with one more space to fill.

My current obsession is the Sinn EZM 13, but I’m worried it’s too close to Damasko I already own. The Tudor Heritage Black Bay in blue has been in the back of my mind since it first came out as well. One of those two might very well be in my watch roll by the time I leave for school. The journey continues.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save