Here are two terms you might see used interchangeably if you?ve spent any time around watch folk: enthusiast, and collector. In the pursuit to accurately label, well, whatever it is that we are, these are the two words that seem to appear with the most frequency. In reality, we are enthusiasts, and some of us are also collectors. Having a collection of watches is not a prerequisite to calling oneself an enthusiast, and neither is a predetermined level of knowledge on the subject, Right" Does being a collector imply enthusiasm" There are indeed some prickly connotations associated with each of these realms, and I?ve seen friends and colleagues bristle at being labeled a collector. What do these words mean in the world of watches" And how should we be thinking about ourselves in relation"  Being labeled an enthusiast of any given genre does indeed imply a level of knowledge, but there?s a certain quality that I?ve noticed in many of the people I?d consider enthusiasts, and that is, quite simply, curiosity. Those same people would be the first to admit their own blind spots, and their curiosity is deep enough to reveal the unknown (besting the Dunning?Kruger effect). Just what drives that curiosity is another story, and this is often what separates us and shapes our own personal tastes. For some, that interest may be largely aesthetic in nature, while for others, historical relevance and practicality serve as inspiration.

Enthusiasm is not a labe...