If you hang around with watch collectors for any length of time you are guaranteed to hear the word “Grail” mentioned and probably more than once. I don’t know who coined this term for a particularly desirable watch (maybe the late, great Chuck Maddox?) but it has come to be the word of choice for that certain timepiece which most captivates us at a given moment and inspires an obsessive quest to obtain it. Which is not to say that a particular Grail watch remains a constant. On the contrary, the more driven collectors (guilty as charged) will constantly shift their definition of Holy Grail and apply it to multiple watches, especially as their tastes evolve and they wade ever deeper into the seemingly bottomless waters of the watch world.

It might happen that a beginning collector getting into vintage starts out with a particularly handsome Omega dress watch as his Grail but finds himself being attracted to the legendary Speedmaster chronograph line. So, having acquired his lovely dress Omega, he shifts his Grail designation over to the yet-to-be-acquired Speedy Moonwatch. Then, having acquired a conventional Speedmaster, he may learn through research and participation in the various forums about earlier, scarcer versions that were being used at the beginning of the NASA space program and before the design was completely standardized. And so with his classic Moonwatch acquiring mere “daily driver” status, now a pre-Moon straight lug cal. 321 Speedy becomes his new Grail.

Likewise, a budding Military Watch collector may start out feeling very well satisfied with a Benrus Type I or II, no small achievement to be sure. But soon enough, through discussion with other enthusiasts, a hierarchy of MilWatches is revealed to him and he discovers that his well-loved Benrus Type, while highly regarded, is nowhere near the top of the pyramid. So he researches and finds how coveted a German Bund-issued Blancpain Fifty Fathoms or a French Air Force Breguet Type XX is. With the skyrocketing prices of those rare beauties and if our man is not possessed of unlimited resources, sometimes these watches must remain more mythical than realistic and he will have to stay satisfied with his Benrus Type even as he lusts after the tantalizingly unobtainable Grail.

For the fact of the matter is much of what drives the concept of a Grail watch is based on the standards set within collector groups and is therefore the product of groupthink rather than strictly individual aesthetics. At its most pernicious, the anointing of Grail status can become a means of competition amongst the uber-wealthy to show off toys that people of more humble economic means can never possibly afford. You see it in the Vintage Rolex community, which tends to attract a very high-end collector in general and at its uppermost levels displays a rarified competition between elites which sometimes eclipses the true collector ethos. So while the “common” Vintage Rolex collector is very happy to achieve his pricey Grail of a Red Submariner there is a whole other bigger-stakes stratum on the hunt for a Jean-Claude Killy Triple Date Chronograph from the 1950s with its attendant 6-figure price tag.

The trick is to remain just as happy with your Red Sub as the wealthier fellow is with his Killy Triple Date Chrono because if you succumb to coveting what you can’t have and can’t afford, you’re never going to find fulfillment in this hobby. The same way one can look at a Ferrari and appreciate it and even lust after it yet know that one can’t afford it and still fully enjoy their Audi or Mustang is how you should probably look at those Grails that are almost certainly unobtainable. Find joy in the fact that you have a watch on your wrist that’s special and has a great history that 90% of the population has no inkling of. The magic in a watch comes from its meaning to you and that comes from your hard work in obtaining it and your understanding its special qualities whatever the sticker price. You’ll never lose the fun of collecting if you look for the joy and pleasure that a particular watch gives you rather than how much it costs.

That said, since Grail is a shifting definition, the veteran collector may find that he is willing to sacrifice several watches in his collection for one special but pricey piece. After all, the converse of not placing an emphasis on price when collecting watches is that sometimes the market dictates that a piece you covet is going to be expensive with a capital E. If you want to obtain a Grail that is more than a trophy but something that is going to give you lasting pleasure from owning and wearing it, sometimes you have to stretch a little. Like a lot of collectors, when something really special comes along you may find that you’ve exceeded your “watch budget” and can not assault your bank account any more, at least not without the trade-off of having a bunch of great watches but no home to wear them in. So I would suggest you consider these two questions when that magic timepiece pops up:

1. Is it really as special as I’m making it out to be? And if the answer to that is yes…
2. Which of my other watches can I live without?

You may find that you are merely suffering from a momentary infatuation and, after sleeping on it, say to yourself that you can live without the object of your desire, at least for now. After all, when you get right down to it, most watches are actually not that rare and one can usually find another even if it may take some time to do so. But if you do come along that special piece after looking for years and you know in your heart that this is a genuinely important acquisition that will be a long-lasting love affair, then it may be time to look at your collection and decide which pieces you could sell to make up the price of that True Grail. Without touching your bank account, you may well find that you can trade a bundle of very good assets for one truly Blue Chip timepiece.

I speak from experience because I recently sold these:

So I could buy this:

Was I crazy to sell so many cool watches for only one in return? Maybe but I certainly don’t think so. For me this early “B” series Royal Oak is a Grail, one that has achieved that designation through my evolution as a watch collector for over a decade and the standards that I’ve acquired, the many things I have learned from other collectors I respect and, frankly, buying and selling a helluva lot of watches. For me, this AP hits all the high notes and gives me a thrill every time I strap it on. Most of all, I’m proud to own it because I had to bust my butt to get it and yet I didn’t withdraw one red cent from my bank account to do so. It’s a fine feeling to capture one’s Grail and still feel the same joy in owning it as during the thrill of the hunt. Which is not to say that there are no more Grails out there for me now that I’ve got the Royal Oak. There are fewer watches that I would apply that holy designation to since I have become so well seasoned a collector. But they’re always out there, driving me forward in this hobby, tempting and teasing me along a merry path and ready to inspire another quest. And in selling off so many wonderful timepieces to fund my most recent triumph it’s distinctly possible that I’ve given one or two other fellows a Grail watch of their own. That’s also not a bad return on one’s investments.