The Grumpy Collector

Ending 2024 with gratitude and sharing a tried and true approach for collecting by playing the "long game" with the watches and things we love.

Ride along as the Grump applies the theory of constraints on his watch collection to reduce it to a more manageable size through curation by focusing on value, quality, sentimentality, and purpose. Nearly 60 watches will enter, but only 30 will remain!!!

You've heard the rest, now hear the best, of a Watches & Wonders recap. In this episode, we don't focus on the new watches and novelties as much as the experience of actually attending Watches & Wonders and the other shows and events taking place in Geneva during that time. Get a first timer and insider perspective on what it's all like to be at ground zero of the Swiss watch industry during their largest trade show.

In this episode broken into 3 acts, the Grump recounts three sticky stories of watch repairs and servicing going awry. Some key messages and tips are shared that every single watch collector should know and remember during the course of ownership with their watches. Enjoy!

In this episode as we close the book on 2023, we do a personal state of the watch collection (SOTC) review, highlight some of the biggest news stories in the world of watches, and share our picks for the best watches of the year. Enjoy this hour of getting inside the mind of an incurable collector!

In this episode we cover some of the highlights of GPHG and hot topics and then dive head first into our main topic of what it takes to create, grow, and run a watch club. Learn from the Grump, who has co-led RedBar, Raleigh Chapter for the past couple of years as he shares how to create value for your members and keys to maintaining a healthy club to common pitfalls to avoid. Remember you can't do it all yourself!!!

In this episode we interview Martin Braun, watchmaker and watch-designer behind some epic contributions to the world of watches including the first mechanical watch to tell sunrise and sunset to reinventing and reinvigorating the moonphase complication. We cover Martin's past, present, and future in and around the world of watches.

REMINDER: The show notes for this and every episode can always be found at: www.TheGrumpyCollector.com.

At this point we all know the major releases that were Watches & Wonders 2023, THE largest trade show of the year for the Swiss and broader watch industry. But, do you know which were the strongest and weakest offerings as gauged by the Grump? We'll pick apart the new releases by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, IWC, Cartier, Vacheron, and many others. If you are looking for the most comprehensive yet curated review of all the new watch releases, you've come to the right place.

As always, show notes for this and all past episodes can be found at www.TheGrumpyCollector.com.

The grump has been away for awhile, but is BACK!  We get caught up hearing about traveling through Europe with just a single watch (gasp!), the state of the watch collection (what watches were added and removed during 2022), and finally what are the Grump's predictions for watches in 2023.  It's a full packed episode, hope you enjoy!

Get the scoop on all the activities, events, and parties during the first ever New York Watch Week, aka the trifecta of watch events that took place between October 19-23, 2022.  This included RedBar Global Meetup, WatchTime NYC, and Worn & Wound's Wind Up Watch Fair.  Hear first-hand what it was like to attend all the events and things to keep in mind if you want to attend similar events in the future.  Learn from the Grump's mistakes!

This episode is a reading of my story that was recently published on www.StrictlyVintageWatches.com all about Jaeger-LeCoultre Lamp Post Clocks along with some amusing anecdotes and side stories.  We go DEEP into the fascinating variations of these clocks, when they were made, and what a potential collector or owner should look for in one.

The show notes for this and every episode can always be found at: www.TheGrumpyCollector.com.

The world of watches is literally flooded with options to store and transport your watches.  In this episode we break down all the various options on the market, their pros and cons and the things you should keep in mind when selecting your next watch box, case, tool roll or watch tube.  I've grappled with the idea of the perfect watch box for over a decade and have a pile of discarded watch boxes to prove it.  Learn from the Grump so you don't make similar mistakes along your watch journey.

For this episode I interview passionate collection and enthusiast Gary Slayen!  Gary and I go deep into his many passions and collections as well as probe into his criteria for what makes a great watch, boomerang, and kite.  Gary is one of those rare collectors who can see beyond brand names and marketing to truly uncover quality without the hype.

Show notes can be found at: www.TheGrumpyCollector.com.

If the watch world is a solar system, then the watch trade show that is Watches & Wonders is the Sun, which everything revolves around.  From Omega X Swatch MoonSwatch to the "Lefty" Rolex GMT II Master and all the new watch releases in between, we leave no announcement unexamined. Learn which watch brands got it right and which got it WAY wrong this year.  We cover all the new watches from Patek Philippe, Rolex, Ressence, Grand Seiko, TAG, Edox, Zenith, Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, and many others! 

In this episode we tackle and decode the art world from the perspective of an aspiring collector.  Everything from how to think about researching artists and galleries, derivative art, the distinction of fine art prints, social media's influence on the art market, and how hype culture has taken over urban art and everything in between.  The best part is we only talk about NFT's for one minute, I promise!  

For those listeners in North Carolina, I also include a list of handy links and references of my favorite galleries and museums in the state.

Show notes are epic as always and can be found right here: http://www.thegrumpycollector.com/grumpyshownotes.html

On this week’s super-sized episode we have our first interview!  I first heard of Olivia Briggs through Grand Seiko’s GS9 Club’s newsletter.  We talk about just a few of the things she collects and is passionate about… There’s a lot of watch talk (we go deep into Grand Seiko) but we also talk about Japanese lacquer, the idea of intentionality, fountain pens, the food and coffee scene in New York City, and her love for custom keyboards and keycap sets.  She’s even designed some of her own custom keycap sets under the moniker, Olivia++.

Check out all the show notes, which can be found right here: http://hitroy.com/grumpyshownotes.html

In this episode we do a deep dive into the Grump's watch collection, what did it look like like at the beginning of 2021, what came and went throughout the year, and what moves are planned in 2022.  It was a BUSY year with way more changes than I originally thought.  Did the Grump actually sell a Jaeger-LeCoultre from his collection?  Did he finally jump on the Rolex bandwagon?  Is it true, he only loves chronographs?  Find the answers to these questions are more in this week's episode.

This episode is all about Everyday Carry, aka EDC.  The idea and ethos as well as the community that's grown up around EDC is all based on curating and being mindful of the tools, gear, and gadgets we interact with and use every day.  In this episode, we'll cover some of the various categories of gear that falls into the EDC world (such as bottle openers, flashlights, pens, wallets, etc) as well as review of the better and lesser-known makers who are creating some amazing creations today that are affordable and accessible.

For this week's episode, we uncover the world of neo-vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre limited-edition watches.  The early 1990's all the way through the mid-2000's was an amazing time for JLC watches with groundbreaking Reverso designs and movements as well as new benchmarks in enamel work and wood marquetry.  This episode also acts as an experiment with Spotify's new video-format podcast.  Which means if you listen to the podcast on Spotify you can see accompany video as we go through all the rich watch content.  If you listen to the podcast through other platforms, fear not, as you can follow along with slides posted on the show notes page at www.TheGrumpyCollector.com!

Join the grump as we review the vast world of rocks and mineral collecting, where to get inspiration, tips for building a collection, and explore adjacent topics like their mystic and non-traditional healing uses and various collecting strategies including getting out there yourself!  We'll wrap up with the related topic of gold prospecting!