What happens when you fall out of love with your watch(/es)? It happens, even to the most feverishly dedicated among us. But unlike a scandal, it never happens overnight — it erodes, like a riverbank. Slowly, surely, a watch gathers dust, until one day you pick it up not to wear it, but to wonder what it’s still doing there.
Let’s not race ahead, though. Let’s start at the beginning of this now seemingly-dead coupling.
The Tryst
Nobody remembers when they fell out of love with a watch; everyone remembers exactly how they fell in. A chance encounter at a store, a glimpse on a friend’s wrist that spiralled into an hour of conversation, or the slow-burn anticipation from the moment it launched at some fancy watch fair. The first look is what hooks you — nobody buys a watch that only mildly excites them. You want a stunner, a piece that earns second and third looks, and comments every time you wear it. The acquisition itself is another mountain to climb, but that’s part of the appeal — a watch that money alone can’t buy. Like a prom queen turning down three suitors before Saturday’s dance, desirability is inversely proportional to availability.
So, you did everything right — the calls, the waitlists, managing your watch portfolio better than a finance shark — until the call finally came: the watch had landed, and you’d made the cut. You were there, credit card out, before they’d even hung up. You had it sized and didn’t take it off for the next two months. It’s all you talked about — to people you knew, or didn’t, even possibly to the watch itself — and somehow you worked it into every conversation, including the one about wildlife conservation in the Amazon. Your wife would have staged an intervention by now if she hadn’t seen this particular madness before. She always waits for the next obsession to arrive and break the spell.
Free Falling
The euphoria never lasts. No wait is long enough, no fixed-deposit deficit steep enough, to revive that first-day high. The chase is always the best part — ownership dulls it. Which isn’t an argument against acquiring things; it does wonders for desire and gives you something to point at.
But laurels aren’t for dwelling on. Thus begins the next pursuit, because the drama needs somewhere to go. It’s a drug, and we’re all chasing a high that can’t be extended or repeated — only replicated.
Gradually, the everyday watch becomes the rotation watch, then gets edged out by the next new purchase, then slides further down the bench — weekend watch, followed by occasional vacation show pony. Till one fine day, you look at it and feel something close to embarrassment: why did you buy this, was it worth the wait, how many people did you bore with it, and certainly some apologies are owed.
But the low is as overblown as the high was. The watch hasn’t changed — maybe a ding or two. What changed is you: your attitude, your perception, your memory. The good news is all of that can be re-geared and revived. Here’s how to hard-reset it sans contemplating frontal lobotomy.
Spruce Up: If the watch can be polished, get it polished. Nothing like a gentle buffing to bring that sheen back. Think of it like a de-tanning facial. Sometimes what was lack-lustre wasn’t the relationship but the watch itself, making for a classic case of “It’s not me, it’s you”.
Strap Up: One thing that always works is switching bracelets, going from a rice grain to a Milanese, or maybe something retro and racy. Either way, this is like a fancy-dress party for one – always fun. If you are part of a watch forum, you can be assured of endless chatter around which bracelet you must try next.
Colour Up: If you have already slalomed down the bracelet-swap slope, or have a watch which will not let you swap bracelet styles so easily, then changing over to a simpler leather or fabric/rubber/silicon strap can be contemplated. Straps allow more flexibility (literally) and open up a world of colours which can make the watch take on a more light-hearted mood.
Accessorise: If you are too stoic to meddle with the aesthetic of your watch as was intended by the house, then you can always garnish around it. A funky bracelet, in chain or beads, or maybe a watch charm, all such can act as the shrubbery which highlights the ticking rosebud on the wrist. Stacking up has already been a thing since some time, maybe it’s time you upped and owned it.
Switch Up: If you will walk your watch through all these cosmetic makeovers – nothing invasive – then you have something which is encore more versatile than it was originally intended. So perhaps it could be fun to alter the usage plan a bit. Now I am not remotely suggesting you wear your field watch with a compass on the strap to a black-tie event but perhaps a diver could be made to look less conspicuous on a regular workday, or maybe a pilot feels dressy enough for an evening affair. I am not making the rules, nor suggesting how you break them, but a little twisting for convenience is never to be not considered.
Dial a Friend: This is only to be tried if (a) you are really not loving your watch and (b) you belong to a circle of collectors you trust more than the pilot on your plane. If you have then so has someone else, i.e., fallen out of love with a piece. Maybe a short-term swap can be considered, without feeling immoral or like a degenerate. The borrow-lend combination might need some ground rules – similar price bracket, different brands/models/styles, time period, etc. – you can make it up as you (both) go along down that route. In the end, it is a brave decision, like sending your kids over for a sleepover.
Downtime: This is like cryo-freezing an asset. Just forget you own the watch and park it in some deep dark corner of your storage where it is safe and protected but accessible. Just tell your wife to remind you in 6 months else chances are you won’t see it or even remember it exists till it is your daughter’s wedding and you are rummaging for your tuxedo, which, I imagine, will be parked in the same closet.
So there you have it. So many nifty ways to rekindle a forgotten joy. Methinks I should charge for this therapy session. Maybe you can pay me in that watch you don’t wear anymore. But I bet you won’t. And just like that I’ve made you rediscover how much you love it. You’re welcome.
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