hi sm,
Every individual is different.
Some love to keep every single piece they have ever owned becoz there is a story behind each of them.
I have a school friend who has kept almost every single watch he was ever given or bought since schooldays from Timex, Bulova, Citizen, Orient, Mido, Roamer, Rotary, Cyma, Favre-Leuba, Swatch, etc to current AP, VC, PP…
Another family friend who is an MD in UK owns only 5 very high end pieces from FPJ, ALS, Roger Smith, Urwerk, Vianney Halter and he only has room for 2 more special pieces.. here's one who believes in owning the most exclusive watches available. He sold or gave away to his siblings every other previous watch that doesn't meet his parameters.
I think most of us fall in between and the actual numbers that make us happy is not impt as long as you enjoy & treasure each and every piece, knowing each one in detail…
You may have a small collection but depending on the type of watches, the value could be many folds higher than mine.…
If u read my 1st post in this thread, you'll know that I had > 30+ pcs at 1 time but most of them were no longer worn for years and no longer attracted me so I culled > 20 over an approx 1.5 yr period years back. Our taste and priorities also change over time and as we mature I noticed a gradual shift in my parameters for a watch..
Currently due to my mad 2012 journey I have accumulated to under 20 pcs and there are still a few pcs which I know I will dispose off in the near future, given a fair price.
At the same time I know myself better, I would not be satisfied with just 2 or 3 pieces even if they were haute horlogerie watches (tourbillons, chain & fusee, remontoirs, equation of time, sonnerie, etc) from AHCIs or PP/ALS/Kari V/FPJ because I like variety in the form of different complications, dial designs & colors, shapes of case, types of watches (flieger,diver, round, tonneau, cushion, etc).
Unfortunately, without an unlimited budget I can't go beyond GO, JLC, GS, IWC and some newer companies offering in-house hi-tech movements such as Damasko. I have to play within my modest means. Even for these run-of-the-mill watches, most of them were acquired after some period of internet searches on their performances, movement qualities and fulfilling my parameters.
Now if I had a huge bank account, I would have acquired watches from the following;
PP Nautilus, FPJ Chronometre series, Kari Voutilainen, Urwerk, deBethune, Gronenfeld 1-hertz, JLC Duometre series, Christophe Claret's Extrem, Credor Minute Repeater, Hautlence, RM, etc
I'm nowhere nearer to horological nirvana yet so am not in a position to teach anyone but would gladly share my mistakes and impulse buys that I made along the way...
Your experience I'm sure is shared by most WIS incl yours truly, as we start off totally clueless and learn along the way.. like you say the journey can be more exhilarating than the destination.
Regards…Jos
Jos
My collection is small in relative to yours. Sometimes I have to think what I'll be putting on my wrist as I comb through my wardrobe. And we have another poisoned thread on shoes, haha. A miserable few hardly get any wrist time for months....
I'll take time to research before I take the plunge. Sometimes I mull over some watches and s/list cos I feel this is a very expensive indulgence. I have bought on impulse and end up badly bruised, haha. I suppose that is the joy, the journey is exhilarating.
Hope to meet and learn more from you this sat..
Tq. Sm
Thanks bro..

another forummer and friend of mine has an even nicer SBGA071 Limited Edition…go through the Watch Gallery..
You have super nice GS SD SBGA031 hi-brite titanium diver 