With the new year fresh upon us, we enter a time of reflection, resolution, and refocusing. For watch collectors it’s common to look back on the previous year and, looking forward, to consider changing things up in our collections. For some of us, this time of year finds us considering paring back and working toward that horological ideal so few of us ever really see in our watch boxes. Two avid collector friends wrote to me on New Year’s Eve to say they hadn’t bought a single watch in 2024, and that they were both gearing up to consolidate their collections in 2025. One who owns a bevy of Rolexes is considering going down to just a Rolex GMT-Master II and a Patek Philippe Calatrava 5196G in white gold—a fine two-watch collection that could surely do it all. The other friend owns boxes full of vintage Grand Seikos and several excellent vintage Swiss watches..
