You’re probably wondering “What do a bunch of baseball caps branded with watch manufacturer logos on them have to do with watch collecting? Aren’t the timepieces really what people are interested in and not these other items?” Like any other hobby, watch collecting is not just about the watches. It’s a lifestyle, a passion, a camaraderie among like minds and a social outlet. The watch brands that we collect are like favorite sports teams that fans root for, criticize, celebrate and debate. Watch collectors are the ultimate armchair quarterbacks, and we argue about the smallest nuances, and which brands make the best watches.
My hat collection from my favorite watch brands
This is a vast subject rooted in commerce, psychology and how each of us can be defined by the brands that we support. I am not a psychologist, though I am happily married to one. I don’t claim to be an expert, and this article won’t be a deep dive into Ph.D. thesis-level neuroscience or human behavior, but it is an excuse to talk about the other things that watch collectors cherish besides the watch itself. More importantly, I get to show off my nerdy hat collection from the watch brands that I like.
Yet more of my watch-branded hats
On the most basic level, my hats are like a duck call meant to attract other watch collectors that I might meet in public. The hats are like beacons that shine the message: “I’m perfectly willing to discuss the latest Baselworld releases or the best NATO straps available.”
Tudor Watches
That fantasy hasn’t played out yet for me, even though I would welcome it. The only time that my watch-branded hats have been noticed was at a Tourneau Watch Boutique. Salespeople use every trick in the book to quickly “size you up” and create quick connections. I would not say that situation is a meeting of friends because you know those guys want you to buy something. That is not to say, that I did not enjoy talking to the salespeople. I was lucky that they were cool.
Vintage Swiss Army Watches
If I am being perfectly frank, I might have worn my Tudor hat into the watch store to let them know that I like their brands. Maybe I used it as a security blanket to cover my anxiety. If you have ever walked into a watch boutique and literally been greeted with a sneer that implies “what are you doing here?”, then you might know how being in some fancy jewelry stores can be off-putting. Little wonder that many of us choose to buy watches online.
Victorinox Swiss Army Watches
Maybe I was trying to communicate some qualification of being an interested watch nerd who knows more than an average customer. Maybe I was trying to show a certain level of interest or respect to the brands. Maybe it comes down to just being a fan and wanting to share that with others. It’s probably a little bit of all of that.
Tag Heuer Watches
Wearing favorite brands logos might say a lot about our current tastes or what we aspire to own in the future. For the most part, I usually wear logos of the watches that I have in my collection. But there are a few that are clearly aspirational, like Omega. I don’t own one yet, but for now, I can tell the world that I like their watches.
A Bell & Ross style watch (it ain’t real)
Watch collectors are driven by branding as much as any other type of consumer. Just mentioning a watch brand or seeing a logo can bring images to a watch collector’s brain. I say “Omega”… you say “Speedmaster”. I say “Rolex” and you say “Submariner” and so on. You might get 20 different answers from twenty different people, but the point is those watch collectors have brains that are wired to see images of their favorite watches at the mention of a brand name or glimpse of a logo.
Citizen Watches and Miyota Movements
Honestly, I’m not into wearing clothing with logos on it beside my hats. However, I am loyal to certain clothing brands such as Chippewa, Red Wing, Hanes, Eddie Baurer, and Lee Jeans. I suppose I fit into some mid-level, bang-for-the-buck category of consumer. When I think about it, the clothes that I like kind of reflect the watches that I like. My preferences could be distilled into a few words “Great quality at a good value.” Yep, that definitely describes my preferences accurately.
Raven Watches
Don’t worry if you don’t yet know what brands drive you, someone else already knows. Savvy online retailers like Amazon have replaced the traditional hit-or-miss shopping safaris with a customized shopping experience for consumers using valuable consumer data. Instead of wandering around a mall to see if we can find something that we want in endless rows of product, these online stores suggest a product that we already like. They magically know this from our past buying habits. They have each of us dialed in, and it is pretty accurate in my experience. They know what brands you like, your size, how often you buy something and whether you are driven by price, convenience, brand names or other factors.
Seiko Watches and my Seiko Hat
I wonder if consumers pick brands to define themselves or do we just naturally align ourselves with the brands that describe us? Perhaps, this is like arguing if the chicken or the egg came first. I suspect that it is a mixture of projecting an appearance and communicating a brand loyalty.
Lum-Tec Watches
I was not planning on having this many hats, but collectors collect. We cannot help it. It took me a couple of years of casual searching to get this many. In the process, I found that not all hats are made the same. Some are misformed trucker hats that can make people with small heads like me look like Elmer Fudd. haha. This is because there is too much space in the crown. I now know that I prefer a soft, gently sloping crown, a small logo, and an easy-to-use sizing system on the back. Caps get extra bonus points for a fine cloth texture or high-quality embroidering.
My Longines watch from my father via his father
I also realized that some watch brands are not that easy to find a good quality hat for at a fair price. You’d be surprised how much some companies want for their caps. There is no way I would pay $75 (or more) for a branded hat, but I would grudgingly pay $30. Missing from my collection are Doxa, Sinn, Hanhart, Rolex, Breitling, and Steinhart. Eventually, I might be able to collect them all (like those damn Pokemon Go monsters).
Oris Watches
That’s really all the time that I want to spend on this subject. There are a lot of smarter people, retailers (and analytical robots) out there who know more about branding than I do. Hope you enjoyed seeing my other collection. At least it has a little bit to do with the actual watches.
My first Timex watches
