The Watch That Spoke To Me

Have you ever purchased a watch that spoke to you? I don’t mean by voice (although they do exist in the electronic realm). I mean a design that shouted out to you in some way as being very special, in fact more correctly an absolute knockout that you can’t forget.

We watch collectors love our watches and there are many that catch our eye. They may appeal because of certain features, or perhaps history, relevance to important things in our lives, or it might simply be a captivating appearance. It may be something more considered like rarity and investment value, or it may be one of those incredible complications that tickles our technology interest. When one of those ingredients exceeds the highest expectations, it can be said that it speaks to us.

In my case it was a humble Seiko with the most gorgeous dial I had ever seen. And apparently I was not the only one because this watch has nearly doubled in value since I purchased it 3 years ago.

I was on holiday on the Gold Coast of Australia’s eastern seaboard. My holiday was already a week in so I was succumbing to relaxation mode. Life was good, uncomplicated and the stress of work was long gone. The jewellery store in a local shopping centre had more than 100 watches on display, and as I casually ran my gaze across the rows of different watches, one caught my eye.

It was a Seiko Presage Cocktail Time watch with an incredible blue dial that transitioned from a delicate frothy light blue in the centre to a darker blue at the extremities. I ran my eye across the rows once more, a little slower this time. There were many delightful watches on display but once again my gaze was drawn back to the blue beauty. 

I am not really one for dress watches. Diver or tool watches with an emphasis on functionality are more likely to catch my interest but this one spoke to me.

When I woke the next morning still thinking about that watch, I knew it had impacted greatly on me. Sadly, I wasn’t in watch buying mode. The holiday was costing me a bit, and my watch buying bank was too low to consider a A$750 purchase. But I did go back the store that next day and obtained the model number – Seiko SRPC01, the “Starlight”, a recently launched limited edition of 3,500 globally.

A few weeks later back in Melbourne I came across one of the central city watch retailers who had the SRPC01 on special at $575. My watch buying bank hadn’t improved much but when you are a watch collector, and an opportunity like this comes up what are you to do? Of course I purchased it.

As I write (February 2021) recent sales of used SRPC01’s on Ebay have reached A$1000. I might just have mentioned that profit potential a few times to my dear wife as I contemplate my next purchase.

Of course my next purchase will be considered, timely, affordable, and appropriate ………. unless a watch speaks to me again.