What Do You Call People That Collect Watches?

Some people just can’t resist them. It’s not that they’re obsessed with time. No, they collect watches for their beauty, craftsmanship, and perhaps the stories behind each piece. It can be an expensive hobby, perhaps an expensive obsession! The more you read about specific watches, the more you want one. Just one more. Rinse. Repeat. What do you call people that collect watches?

Watch collectors share the same name as those working in the watch industry: horologists. Some also refer to them as horofiles or horolofiles. Horo(lo)files are lovers of timepieces, fascinated by the uniqueness, style, and sometimes the technology encapsulated inside the watch’s shell.

As smartphones have taken over our lives in the last two decades, it’s unnecessary to have a watch to tell the time. Our mobile phones keep time almost perfectly, so you would think that wristwatches would have faded into insignificance. But people are still fascinated by beautiful watches. There are even horological societies for watch enthusiasts.

What Do You Call Watch Collectors?

Horologists or horophiles don’t only collect watches. They have a deep desire to know everything there is to know about every watch worth it’s salt. Horofiles even have their own slang when speaking “watch.”

Who Are These Horologists?

Until recently, the watch collectors’ demographics were primarily dominated by middle-aged to elderly white men. This has been this way for centuries, but lockdown seemed to be a catalyst to get women to explore new hobbies such as horology via social media platforms. Younger men in their 30s are also entering this field now.

At the same time as the pandemic hit the world, people began to view luxury watches as an investment. This led to affluent people buying up the most valuable timepieces from the most popular brands of our time: Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe.

Luxury watch stores seem to have very low stock these days, which is turning buyers toward the secondary market. And since they can’t get them brand new, they are paying high prices for second-hand items, often more than retail value.

Men’s watches are still valued more than women’s because the men’s market is much larger. So, some experts in the luxury watch market advise women who want to buy watches as an investment to rather buy men’s watches.

What Is The Fascination With Watches?

One would think that one watch would be sufficient to tell the time, maybe two if one was a dress watch and the other for everyday use. But with collectors, it just doesn’t stop there. The variety of luxury watches on the market has grown exponentially in design, function, and types of movement, giving horofiles endless options for their collections.

The love of watches and those that horofiles choose for their collection are expressions of their personality. Each timepiece in a collection, with its brand name, design, and functions, appeals to collectors because of who they are. Each watch symbolizes a person’s style, passions, and priorities. There are endless options to express your personality in the world of high-quality watches.

One of the driving forces behind the decision to start collecting watches is the fascination with craftsmanship and technology. Comparing the way the first watches were made centuries ago to the technology used today can cause a craving to purchase at least one of every kind. The more complications they have, the more fascinating they are. One Patek Phillipe has over thirty functions.

Some horologists purchase luxury watches as investments. Many are more valuable than cars, and buying the right watch can make you a fortune at a watch auction. Those timepieces with stories attached to them, such as having belonged to a famous person, can bring in several million dollars when auctioned.

Collections often contain heirlooms that symbolize the family’s history. Perhaps they’ve been passed down from father to son, complete with their origin story.

Types Of Watches That Interest Horophiles

As watch collectors start learning about their passion, they discover their preference for watches with specific types of movements. They have choices of mechanical or hand-wound, automatic, quartz, and solar-powered watches.

Watch lovers may also favor the functionality of specific watches. There are digital, analog, chronographs, and hybrid varieties to consider.

Analog watches have the traditional clock face with a three-hand movement and are suited to dressy occasions. Digital versions usually have many functions and an electronic display and are great for work or sport. Chronographs have three subdials with a tachymeter and a stopwatch among their complications. Hybrids are a combination of digital and analog with multiple functions.

There are still so many different types of watches within the categories mentioned above. Dive watches are universally popular for their robustness and water resistance. Then there are simple but elegant dress watches that only tell the time. Aviators’ watches were designed to be legible for someone flying a plane.

GMT watches enable owners to track Greenwich Mean Time, and this complication is one of the most sought-after functions. In addition, there are field watches, military watches, nurses’ watches, pocket watches, smartwatches, and fitness watches, which still leaves the list incomplete.

The watch’s brand is one of the most significant deciding factors when collectors purchase a watch. It’s not just the name but the quality and craftsmanship. Some top names in the watch world are Montblanc, Tag Heuer, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Frederique Constant, Audemars Piguet, Cartier, Piaget, Harry Winston, Longines, Omega, Patek Phillipe, and Rolex.

Watch Your Language

Watch nerds have a dialect all their own, so if you’re interested in starting a collection, here are some slang words to learn:

AD is an authorized dealer.

Batman is a GMT watch with a black and blue bezel.
Cyclops is a magnifier watchmaker who sometimes puts on the crystal above the date window.
Desk diver is a dive watch worn by an office worker.

Grail refers to a watch that one longs to own but is out of financial reach.
Hammy denotes a Hamilton watch.
Pepsi refers to a GMT watch’s half-blue, a half-red bezel that specifies day and night.

Rollie refers to a Rolex watch.
Sexpile refers to a group of highly sought-after watches placed on a surface so owners can photograph them.
Speedy refers to an Omega Speedmaster.

Tropical describes dials or bezels on vintage watches that have faded due to exposure to the sun over many years.

Conclusion

Watch lovers are known by various names: horologists, horophiles, and horolofiles (don’t even try saying the last one). The younger collectors finding their place in this field would probably just prefer “watch nerd,” though. No matter how many grails have been acquired, a collection will never be complete. There will always be one more that needs buying. So many watches, so little time!