I will cut straight to the chase. I have bought yet another watch. But this time it was a big purchase watch. I finally obtained my first proper luxury watch. I have a Rado Diastar Original 38mm, which was my first luxury grail watch purchase. However, given Rado's not so well beloved reputation in the West, I considered it a "pseudo-luxury watch." My first luxury that I bought is a.... Cartier. Not just any Cartier, the first iteration of the Cartier Roadster 2510. I promised myself I would not get a new watch for a while, especially not until I get a proper luxury watch. Recently, my friend sported an Omega Aqua Terra he recently bought. He bought it pre-owned with the original box but no papers. It looked like a masterpiece on his wrist. He recently purchased it as a treat to himself. I was quite happy for him making such a nice purchase. Then I thought, maybe it is also time for me to tap into watches again. Life can be cut too short not to enjoy the little things, so why not, I thought. As long as the watch was priced under $4,000, I am very willing to consider purchasing. But which one shall I go for. Like my friend, I browsed for pre-owned luxury watches. I appreciated Cartier watches, but never bothered to look closer into them. Then one caught my eye. A Cartier Roadster. An automotive themed watch that takes styling cues from cars from the 1950s. I never heard of the Cartier Roadster before. It was one Cartier's more obscure watches, it did not have a long standing heritage like the Tank, Santos, or Pasha. It is a design and philosophy that is as old as Gen-Z (what I am). I thought the automotive cues on the watch were beautiful, along with Cartier's jewelry like look, it is a must have. The one I found was a tad bit over my budget, and did not come with original papers. So the hunt for a better priced Cartier Roadster was on. I was continuing doing research on the watch as I was hunting down the one Roadster for myself. The watch came in several different styles and dials: the Vegas style Roulette dial, the speedometer dial, Chronograph, GMT, etc.

Is figuring out what your grail watch is. I think I've decided on mine: https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en/collections/sbga211g Now to start building the fund...

I saw this in a magazine I was reading last night. It looks fantastic for some reason. My favourite has to be the Villeret Quantième Complet It could potentially replace the IWC Annual Calendar as my dream watch.

The Cartier Tank Must Large SolarBeat. Been eyeing this one a long while. And then had to wait for my AD to get one in stock. Pulled the trigger last Friday and it will mostly be my daily for the foreseeable future!

How many of you have a watch in your collection that you will never part with, regardless of the value? It's sentimental value would indeed make it a "grail" watch. This one is mine - I believe valued at $9.99 at the local department store. The sentimental value - priceless - it was a gift from the wifey. And so, it will live forever in my watch display cases. "Thank you dear, I love it!" Now nodding my head up and down and smiling broadly.