It is my personal opinion that collecting is like drinking wine. One of my close friends is a semi-celebrity wine expert, the Rogue Sommelier, and several years ago I asked him for his expert opinion on what sort of wine I should drink.

His immediate answer?

“Drink what you like.”

Because… while it is always good to possess the necessary expertise to properly judge the quality of the items and experiences one encounters while traveling the road of life, in the end everything is subjective. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure; one man’s Chateau Pavie is another man’s Two Buck Chuck. Life is too short to waste time drinking wine you don’t really like.

I find this advice applies equally well to one’s choices as a collector of watches.

“Collect what you like.” And not what someone else TELLS you to like… collect what you REALLY like. If you ever find yourself looking around the room desperately trying to gauge what other people think about the watch you’re wearing, you may be collecting for the wrong reasons. Or at least for less fulfilling reasons than collecting for your own personal satisfaction.

No one can tell you what to like. Good thing, too, because that is exactly what the multi-trillion dollar marketing media establishment wants desperately to do… to dictate what you like, and why, to squeeze every last red cent out of your consumer pocket.

But collecting should be more pure, and more personal, than that. Buy what you like; wear what you like. Too easy. See how that works?

Nothing could be simpler.

Pocket watches, for instance… formerly so ubiquitous, they have now become an acquired taste in our modern day and age. Nevertheless, I like them. The most elegant examples hearken back to a time when there was a heavy, dependable watch dangling from every vest or waistcoat or ensconced in every pocket… often alongside a well-worn pocketknife, ready for immediate service to pull a horseshoe nail or trim a cigar. Pocket watches were an extremely important part of daily life for roughly two centuries, and in many cases (pardon the pun) they served to define the character of those who wore and owned them.

Wristwatches are often beautiful works of precision craftsmanship… but they are utilitarian in the sense that they are worn. Pocket watches, even when suspended from a chain or fob, are “carried.” There is a subtle, subliminal difference; the wristwatch is attached to the man, and becomes part of him; the pocket watch is eternally separate from the man who carries it. Often the wristwatch straddles the line between manly gear and personal jewelry, but the pocket watch is always first and foremost a tool for measuring time. To retrieve a pocket watch from one’s pocket to read the time is a uniquely separate act unto itself—like an explorer pausing momentarily to take a bearing from a compass, the owner of a pocket watch takes a similar reading before continuing his journey. But not strictly to measure distance or direction—to determine, rather, his present location among the hours of the day.

The pocket watch is a proper tool for a man to retrieve the time of day at his own leisure, rather than snatching a quick glimpse at his wrist. Because a man who owns a pocket watch has, or will make, the time to do so.

The Colibri Elite Series Mechanical Skeleton Pocket Timepiece. Photo: Colibri

Modern pocket watches are still readily available today, and (as has always been true) they run the gamut in quality and expense. Some companies design and produce them as specialty collectibles (Fossil‘s Harry Potter pocket watches comes to mind), whereas others seek to produce more serious timepieces.

At the more affordable end, Colibri (longtime manufacturer of personal accessories such as cigarette lighters, jewelry, and bar tools) produces a number of themed pocket watch models, many with quartz movements.

They also produce a mechanical skeletonized pocket watch for around $350—the Colibri Elite Series Mechanical Skeleton Pocket Timepiece, with a Swiss-made 17-jewel movement. If one seeks a modern mechanical pocket watch, in my opinion one might certainly do worse.

Hamilton Unisex Pocket Watch model H51439013. Photo: Hamilton Watch Co.

If you’re into simplicity and functionality, Hamilton Watch Company continues to offer modern mechanical pocket watches in the middle price range, a fine example of which is the Hamilton Unisex Pocket Watch model H51439013.  Not many whistles and bells on this offering; just a sunken dial minute hand. Once an all-American mainstay of U.S. watch companies, these days Hamilton watches are produced by the Swiss. But this is a good mechanical watch for the money and will run you around $500.

Aerowatch Men's 105645 mechanical 925 Arabic Dial pocket watch. Photo: aerowatch.com

Moving up the price scale, Aerowatch offers a large range of mechanical pocket watches of varying styles and quality. These range from their Men’s 1099-B Mechanical Roman Dial Pocket Watch (around $650) up to their Men’s 10260 Mechanical Roman Dial Skeletal Pocket Watch (in the $1,300 range). My personal choice as the most interesting Aerowatch offering is their Men’s 105645 mechanical 925 Arabic Dial Pocket Watch in sterling silver, priced around $1,000.

Lepine 972/1 by Patek Phillipe. Photo: patek.com

Of course, when one starts to climb in price, eventually the atmosphere grows thin and one samples the rarified air of the mid-to-upper-end collector. My current pick of the “costs as much as a new car” category goes to the Lepine 972/1-010 by Patek Philippe. Long a standard in the watchmaking industry, Patek Philippe has been producing pocket watches since the 1800s and continues to offer exceptional modern pocket watches of high quality. Their model 972/1 in solid 18-karat gold is a truly magnificent and tasteful timepiece—in my opinion well worth the price if one seeks a luxurious, well-made upper-end modern pocket watch. It comes with its own gold chain (with watch winding key attached) and retails for around $36,000, brand new.

Of course… these are just a few watches that have caught my eye, at various times for various reasons. Because collecting is so personal and so subjective (see above comments to that effect) I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree on the watches I’ve spotlighted here. But… we collect what we like. And these are a few I like, for many different reasons.

Timex T73751 Digital pocket watch. Photo: timex.com

Colibri CX Gear Tee Time Golfer Watch. Photo: Colibri

Nor should we forget the new modern fob watches that have come into vogue among sportsmen, outdoorsmen, and others who need the functionality of a multi-use timepiece without being tied to wearing it on the wrist. Two examples are the Colibri CX Gear Tee Time Golfer Watch and the Timex T73751 Black Grip Clip Digital pocket watch. These sell for around $20 each. Although they may lack the conventional styling of traditional pocket watches, they definitely make up for it in convenience and general usefulness.

The RM020 by Richard Mille. Photo: richardmille.com

My last modern pocket watch offering is one of my favorites: the RM020 Tourbillon pocket watch by Richard Mille. Made primarily from titanium and carbon nanofiber, with a choice of both front and back bezels in 18-karat red gold, white gold, or titanium, this manual-wind mechanical pocket watch comes with a titanium chain and retails for $475,000.

Why do I like it? For a number of reasons. It’s innovative and unique. I love the non-traditional styling. It’s just cool.

Be advised, however… the RM020 isn’t water resistant. I suppose when someone spends $475 grand on a pocket watch, one does so with the assumption that it shouldn’t be carried in the bathtub.  :)