THANK YOU VERY MUCH , PAUL .

We do not know each other yet, but somehow you have put my thoughts - I share with you - down WONDERFULLY in this lovely piece of the thread.
I very much appreciated reading. Just wanted you to know.

Happy Holidays for you,
happiness and, most of all, HEALTH.

Have a good one! :-)
Cheers,
Olaf

: There most certainly is an elephant in the room and I hope everyone
: is paying attention.

: I felt that both Ron and Jeff’s posts above should get some
: response so here are some of my views on the issues that have
: been raised.

: I am coming to the end of my fourth year as a watch collector. To
: some I am just out of diapers and to others I am looked upon as
: an experienced player in this game. I refer to my pursuit of
: watches as a game but one for the men and not the boys. If you
: are a dealer and earn a living from selling watches then it’s
: a business. But if you are like me and buy far more watches than
: you sell then it’s a game.

: As a game it exhibits all the characteristics that some may
: remember from the playground – fun, competitiveness,
: aggression, fights, tears, resolution and of course some rules.
: The rules on the playground are made up as the game progresses
: and are adhered to by some to play fair and bent by others for
: personal advantage. We like to think as men and not boys that
: everyone will play by the same rules that we impose upon
: ourselves. But as in life, this is never the case and as men we
: should have learnt by now how to weed out the good guys from the
: bad. This is not always evident when you start out but at some
: point it should become clear or you will be burnt. I have made
: mistakes, some costly and other less so but I hope that I have
: learnt something from all these mistakes and not make the same
: ones again.

: For me the fun element of this game is of primary importance.
: It’s a great distraction from the day to day pressure of life
: and if it was not fun then it would be yet another pressure that
: I certainly don’t need. I enjoy owing some amazing watches,
: wearing them and photographing them for me and others to enjoy.
: But most of all I enjoy the contact with other like minded
: people either by telephone, email, forum/OnTheDash or face to
: face This week I met 5 such people over various lunches,
: coffee’s and drinks to talk watches. Now that was fun.

: Through all this contact relationships develop and grow and once
: again you lean who the good guys are. Sometimes I am amazed how
: much trust there is in these relationships that have been
: nurtured. Whilst doing the book I asked for the help of some
: community members and the response was unconditionally positive.
: These people sent me watches without the slightest hesitation.
: Not everyone would do this but it just illustrates that there
: are some amazing people out there who have put there trust in me
: to act accordingly (and I would like to think that I have).

: I am not in favour of a set of rules of conduct nor do I agree that
: a moderator should impose his/her personal views on a public
: forum. Keep the peace yes but let people have their say whether
: you agree with it or not. I must say that Jeff has done just
: that and in 4 years I recall maybe two occasions when posts have
: been deleted from this forum and only because these were rude
: and personal attacks by one member on another. Let people have
: their say, talk up the value of a watch, link to a spectacular
: price realised for one of our favourite pieces and highlight a
: dodgy seller. That’s called freedom of speech and what goes
: with this is freedom of choice – if you don’t like the
: subject don’t read the post. If you don’t like the attitude
: or conduct of a community member don’t get involved with them.
: Conduct yourself as you see fit and mix with those that share
: your views but remember there is never one way of doing things
: or a single point of view. If that were the case life itself
: would be bland.

: Finally, prices are on the rise and if you got into this before me
: you were smart and your toys have substantially increased in
: value. Market forces are at play and the collectable market be
: it watches, cars, art etc have all seen tremendous growth in the
: past three to five years. Nobody can stop this and if you have
: read this far you are probably like me and can now justify to
: the wife/partner why you spent so much money and bought so many
: watches when they all do the same thing and could be had for a
: fiver. But it does not mean that behaviours need change and in
: my experience they have not. As I said above there will always
: be good guys and bad guys in the game and the sooner your lean
: which one are which the more fulfilling your experiences will
: be.

: Happy holidays to all the good guys out there and best regards
: Paul
: www.heuerworld.com

: PS: the only change I would like to see on this forum is more
: activity.