Credits: Article and images by @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/12/26/collecting-watches-and-cars-whats-the-same-and-whats-different-2/
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Phases and tiers of collecting
Enzo: Watch collectors and car collectors seem to share a similar path then it comes to the evolution of their collecting. As children, well before they have to means to buy the objects of their desire, they typically develop great enthusiasm and appreciation for the objects. Later, they buy the “contentment” items – in other words, they buy relatively affordable items that are available to them. They cherish those first items and often keep them indefinitely.
But they frequently move on to the “achievement” items, the ones that are more expensive and rare. The ones for which they might have to apply to be on a waiting list of prospective buyers. There is a special satisfaction with owning such innovative, rare, and beautiful objects.
But, eventually, a certain degree of frustration often sets in. Why must the car or watch be that way? Can’t it be made differently? Can’t I be involved in the process? That is when many such collectors move on to the “involvement” items in their collections.
Those are the ones that are typically made by hand in very limited numbers and provide the collector with a bespoke experience. The collector can get to know the creator of the object and be personally involved in the details of the design. Those items often provide the collector with a wonderful feeling of connection with both the creator and the item itself.
GaryG: I really like your contentment/achievement/involvement taxonomy; I hope you won’t mind if I borrow it and add it to the fun/patronage/foundational model I stole from our pal Terry!
I understand and generally agree with your view of collectors going through phases; that said, I don’t think I’ve ever completely left the earlier phases in your model. One of the great things about both of these types of collectibles is the ability to access different tiers of products and enjoy each throughout one’s collecting journey.
For me a new steel Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso can be just as satisfying as a complicated Patek Philippe, just as there are Ferrari 275 GTB four-cams and Fiat Jollys available to the car enthusiast.
I never got to the “involvement” level of commissioning a bespoke automobile, and so I tend to associate that sort of personal engagement more with watches. With watches – especially with independents, but even with brands like A. Lange & Söhne, where the creators are accessible – it is easy for me to form a bond with the person or people who conceived of, designed, and made my piece. As I’m fond of saying: “meet the maker, want the watch!”
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Credits: Article and images by @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/12/26/collecting-watches-and-cars-whats-the-same-and-whats-different-2/