Building a watch collection that brings you joy shouldn?t have to break the bank. Setting aside $5,000 to build an ideal 3 watch collection is within reason both financially (with a bit of planning as needed), and from an horological perspective. Not all great watches are locked behind long waitlists and hefty price tags, after all. 
A wise approach would likely entail carving out 3 genres to provide a diverse range of options to cover each section of your wardrobe. Luckily, my wardrobe is pretty one dimensional, so all three of these watches would enjoy ample wrist time. While outliers exist, watches that catch my fancy generally fall into the ?tool? watch category, meaning they are practical, legible, wearable, and, unlike myself, look better with age.  With that cleared up, here are my three selections for a watch collection under $5,000.

Autodromo Group B Series 2 ?Nightstage? ~$800

The Autodromo Group B with Nightstage dial

The Group B is an unconventional watch in its defiant design language. There is no clear horological inspiration or homage happening here, making it a rare bird these days. The design inspiration comes instead from the automotive world (if the name didn?t give it away, and if you?re not familiar with Group B racing, grab a beer and watch this), dripping with ?80s dashboard stylings of the Lancia Rally 037. The Nightstage adds a grid pattern to the dial, and a (kinda but not really) integrated bracelet that dials the whole package up to...