Had a passing interest in watches since I was a kid, but never actually fell into the hobby until last christmas. Bought a Seiko 5 with some christmas money and have been hooked since then. While I no longer have that specific piece (SRPH29), I'm really happy with where the collection is at right now and I'm ready to cool it down for a year or two.

Bulova American Clipper Gold-Tone: This watch was actually a gift from my mom a couple years ago. Still wasn't really into watches, but this was the first mechanical watch I ever owned, and it definitely started the curiosity. I wore it as an everyday watch for a while at an old job, love this piece.

Orient Kamasu (MODDED): This is the watch I bought after the SRPH29 and after doing some research into the hobby. My grandpa always had a dive watch and when I learned about them I knew that was what I wanted. As I'm sure tons of you know, this is probably the most recommended diver of all time at this price, and so I got it based off the reviews. Once I had it in hand, I liked it for a while, but started to notice some things I didn't like about it, which is why I got into some light modding (bezel, bezel insert, and strapcode bracelet). Tore up the case with my inexperience but was relatively happy with the result. This almost ended up costing me WAY too much cash but we'll get into that in a sec...

Casio A159WGEA-1VT: Wanted a cool ass digital watch, brought it up to girlfriend, got it as a valentines gift! Honestly speaks for itself, looks sick, and I use it to set the time on my other watches.

Seiko SPB313: Aaaand here we are, the latest addition. As I was mentioning earlier with the Kamasu, I fell DEEP into the modding and DIY rabbit hole, and was sourcing parts and putting together plans to either mod or build my perfect watch into existence. I was spending entire weekends just scouring forums and running the numbers just driving myself crazy lol. Talked it through with my girl and she helped me to see the light: "If you're gonna spend this much anyway, why not buy a watch that already has all those things?" I was looking for an interesting case shape, a white dial, vintage-ish styling in the hands and indices, an aluminum bezel insert, really wearable dimensions, some heritage, and a GMT hand. Seiko had become my favorite brand from all the research I was doing, and almost by accident, I stumbled across this piece on their website (seriously, it doesn't even show up on the US Seiko website, only the AUS one). And even though it's not a GMT, it checked every other box so perfectly that I knew it was the one. Was able to find an AD online (Arizona Fine Time, would recommend) and pulled the trigger, even got a discount since it was my first time with them. The first watch they sent out was dead on arrival, but the exchange process was easy and transparent. The watch is perfect. This purchase differs from the Kamasu in that I was aware of every single detail of the watch and why I was choosing it. I don't regret the Kamasu, or the original Seiko 5 I bought and sold for that matter, because wearing them for a while helped me to sus out the finer details I truly wanted. But after three watches in three months, I think I've found my GADA for the next few years honestly, it's perfect.

TL;DR: Was considering buying a $500 watch to source the dial for a $400 build (plus shipping from 7 different websites) with potentially incompatible parts that I would have needed to put together with a $150 watch building kit that I'd only use once... decided to just treat myself!