Worn & Wound
Opinion: Why I Don’t Have a Grail Watch
I’ve always assumed that my affinity toward affordable watches was somewhat forced by circumstances. With limited funds in the watch bank at the start of my collecting journey, purchasing attainably priced timepieces was the only way I was going to fill more than one slot in my watch box. But years later, even as I find myself with a bit more disposable income, I can’t seem to escape the pull of a $500 watch. For me, nothing hits quite like a microbrand that is able to develop their own design DNA despite their access to the same 316L steel and 3rd party movements as everyone else. Offering those unique designs at accessible prices will never cease to impress me. A conventional journey for a collector might go something like this: Buy a Seiko 5, maybe an SNK809, to test the waters without breaking the bank. Then, when it’s financially responsible to do so, a collector might move onto an “entry level” luxury timepiece such as a Longines or Oris. Experiencing many watches and brands allows the opportunity to identify which watches evoke emotion. Often, as collectors continue to refine their taste, watches that kindle these feelings come with escalating prices. While each enthusiast has their own price range where they feel comfortable purchasing the watches they are drawn to, there is one category where we can (nearly) all find common ground: grail watches. I’ve seen a few definitions of this term over the years, ranging from dream watches we would never sell, to...
