I used to buy and sell watches as a hobby for a few years a long while back. Mainly because I wanted a new watch all the time and could not afford to own more than one or maybe two at a time! Started low end mechanical and worked up to $2000 watches. Any more than that and I was afraid to wear them. I had everything from fashion watches like Corum Bubbles, to "in" watches like the giant Panerai , to classics like the IWC aviator or Omega Moon watch. Sorry I sold some of them, but the lure of a new watch was too much.
First higher end watch for me was the Omega Speedmaster. Wish I still had it just for memories. I beat that watch to death and it still kept great time. My daily wear watches now are a Seiko "Orange Monster" which used to be a Japan market only watch and I have a Citizen Eco Drive military style watch for when I dont want to risk anything else. I have two higher end watches still in my collection. A Rolex Sea-Dweller that I received as a wedding gift from my wife (she got a 2 carat stone that I feel like I am still paying for...) and a gold Omega that I inherited from my grandfather. The S-D used to be daily wear watch but it was getting beat to death and really needs to be serviced soon. I think I still have at least a dozen watches hanging around. Mainly cheap ones, and mostly quartz. I know I have a Swatch auto skeleton and a Russian hand wind alarm watch in my box. They were fun watches at the time. I also have some wacky Japanese market Citizen LED watches that are fun but eat batteries like drinking water.
If you want to keep basic time, nothing will beat a quartz. Even a cheap $5 quartz can be super accurate. Mechanical watches are like mechanical keyboards. Definitely not for everyone, but those that appreciate them tend to obsess over them!
