How to Build a Three-Watch Collection

One for the suit, one for the sea, one for the story. Three watches that cover every day of a life, and how to get there without buying twelve.

The men with the most satisfying watch collections rarely have the largest. They have three or four pieces that get worn, that mean something and that were bought in the right order. The rest of the watch world is a hobby, and hobbies are permitted, but the three-watch collection is the framework that stops a hobby becoming a drawer of regret.

The three roles

The everyday sports watch. Steel, water resistant, on a bracelet. The watch that goes to the office, the beach and the bar without thinking. For most men this is the first purchase: a Tudor, an Omega Seamaster, a Rolex Explorer or Submariner if the budget allows.
The dress watch. Thin, on leather, no bezel, minimal dial. For the suit, the dinner jacket, the evening. A Cartier Tank, a Nomos Tangente, a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, or, when the time comes, a Patek Calatrava.
The story. The watch that means something beyond its specification: a vintage piece from your birth year, a chronograph because your father had one, a Grand Seiko because you went to Japan. This is the watch you cannot plan, only recognise.

Three watches cover a life. The fourth is where collecting begins and sense ends, and that is fine, as long as you know which side of the line you are on.

The sequence

Buy the sports watch first, in your late twenties or early thirties, and wear only that for two years. It teaches you what you like: how big, how heavy, bracelet or strap. Buy the dress watch when you have a reason to dress: a job, a wedding, a life with evenings in it. The story arrives when it arrives. Between purchases, buy straps, not watches.

What to spend

A sensible collection for a man with a good salary: €4,000 to €8,000 on the sports watch, €3,000 to €10,000 on the dress watch, whatever the story costs. The whole collection for the price of a modest car, assembled over a decade, worn for the rest of your life. Above these numbers you are paying for gold, brand and rarity, all of which are legitimate pleasures and none of which improve the timekeeping.

What to skip

Limited editions, unless you love the watch regardless of the number. Anything bought because it is hard to get. Watches with more than one complication you will use. Microbrands that have existed for less than five years, however handsome, because the service question is unanswered. And the fourth watch, until you have worn each of the three at least fifty times.

Questions we get asked

Should I insure them?

Above €5,000 in total, yes, on a named-items policy with the receipts and photographs of the serial numbers. It costs about one percent of the value a year.

Where should I store them?

In a drawer, in their boxes or a simple roll, away from magnets and daylight. A watch winder is unnecessary for three watches; a stopped automatic takes a minute to set.

Is it worth buying vintage?

For the story watch, yes, from a specialist dealer who services what he sells. Vintage from private sellers is a discipline of its own and not where to start.