Worn & Wound
Organic Second-Hand Horology: The Joys of Uncovering a Used Gem at a Local Shop or Sale
Finding a watch at your local Goodwill or community rummage sale sparks a certain kind of euphoria in a watch collector that’s hard to capture from any other source or stimulus. My watch collecting journey started at a local flea market with two Timex pieces found in a basket of old silverware, buttons, and thimbles. At age twelve, I still can’t identify what made those watches stick out to me like sore thumbs––or why I decided to invest my hard-earned leftover $5 allowance money on them––but that feeling like I discovered a diamond in the rough is a high I continue to chase into the present day. Why does finding and purchasing a watch second-hand from a local sale or thrift store feel so incredibly rewarding? To support my theories with some examples, I invite you to take a trip down my own personal memory lane and look at some of the timepieces I’ve picked up at thrift stores, yard, garage, rummage, estate, and community sales throughout my years of collecting. For those keen-eyed readers out there, you may have noticed I skipped over a classic locale for second-hand goods: antique stores. I want to save that lengthy discussion for another day, as there is a far deeper discussion into the idea of price vs. value vs. availability that will take far longer than a side tangent to be included here. Putting antiques aside for another day, let’s discuss what makes a thrift find feel so valuable. The Thrifty State of Mind Everyone loves a good deal. Do I really ...