Keeping Time

Why Am I Doing This

I have all this while thought of the idea of keeping a virtual "watch box", like a photojournal of sort.

Throughout my years in the hobby, I believed I have bought and sold many interesting timepieces. It is sad that I did not manage to take good pictures of them but as I grew in the hobby, my photography skills seemed to have improved gradually.

When I now look at my earlier photographs of my watches, I will recall my watch journey and how my collection themes and focus have changed and evolved.

It all started in 2004 when I got my first pay bonus as an engineer. I researched into TZ, WUS, PMWF etc and finally embarked on a journey to KL Malaysia with the intention to buy a Tag Heuer Carrera. In the end, I chose a Tissot le Locle.

Some months later, I chanced upon a brick and mortar shop in Peninsula Plaza that sells a wide range of Orients. I have seen the Orient brand in KL and not many shops in Singapore carries this brand. Wow, they were affordable and I bought my first Black Mako. More Orients came into my watch collection this way.

Then came Seiko and Citizen, which are also established Japanese brand, like Orient. I dabbled into the vintage Seiko, the Chronos and the early quartz. At one time, I had 50+ watches! Many were repeat models but in different colors.

Oris is another forte of mine. The Oris brand is affordable and the tradition that it holds till today not manufacturing quartz watches. I hunted down the new-old-stock discontinued models and easily ended up with 10+ Oris.

I have also ventured into the world of Rolex as I uncovered the inherent value of the Sport watches in this luxury brand. The Omega Moonwatch heritage has intrigues me for awhile and I have recently acquired a few iconic models in the lineage.

Recently I have decided to thin down the herd and re-align my collection focus and theme. But again the watch hobby can be emotional so anything goes, really.

Time is not static and nothing is permanent.

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out ALL OF IT, of course!!!! Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against "tomorrow's." You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE-SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. And remember that time waits for no one.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!!!