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![\"Clock,](\"http://www.tascione.com/coursepics/WatchCombo1.jpg\")
By Bob Tascione
'); document.writeln('Copyright 2007
'); document.writeln('Let\'s talk about collecting watches.
Wait! Come back! Okay, Okay... I admit collecting');
document.writeln('watches can be a little tricky, maybe even a bit risky but hopefully this series of articles will help');
document.writeln('dispel most of your fears and concerns. Watch collecting can be one of the most fulfilling, fun');
document.writeln('and often financially rewarding hobbies you can get into. Ironically, the very reason one may shy');
document.writeln('away from collecting watches is also one of its most appealing characteristics....that miniature');
document.writeln('mechanism that mysteriously and faithfully ticks off the passing seconds...that constant, familiar');
document.writeln('life mimicking maternal heartbeat that has congealed a feeling of warmth and security into our');
document.writeln('lives for as long as many of us can remember and...well alright, maybe I like this stuff a little too');
document.writeln('much, how about we just like the ticking sound.
If not for the fact that watches have miniature mechanical movements, collecting them wouldn\'t'); document.writeln('be much different than building a coin collection. Just as with coins there are books to help'); document.writeln('identify make, determine age and production run numbers and of course price guides to help'); document.writeln('place a value to a watch and again, just as with coins there are many different categories to'); document.writeln('choose from. A few examples within the watch collecting realm might be wrist watches, pocket'); document.writeln('watches, American railroad watches, European fusees or perhaps you have a keen interest in'); document.writeln('commemorative pieces or maybe period watches with historical provenance such as those'); document.writeln('produced through the American civil war era or “trench”watches, those military watches'); document.writeln('produced before and during world war one or possibly the highly collectible character and comic'); document.writeln('watches. There\'s something out there for everybody. Of course learning as much as possible'); document.writeln('about what one plans to collect is just smart business. It\'s essential to making smart purchases'); document.writeln('and sales.
So why don\'t more people collect watches? Often times they are a bit gun shy having been'); document.writeln('on the receiving end of a modern day watch repair estimate. A watches mechanical aspect'); document.writeln('inherently increases the risk to reward ratio for the collector...unless, one makes a little effort to'); document.writeln('educate oneself. While the addition of the mechanical movement adds a certain amount of'); document.writeln('functionality and appeal to the watch that many other collectibles may not offer it can also add an'); document.writeln('additional element of risk for the collector. Todays watchmaker justifiably commands good'); document.writeln('money for properly servicing a watch. I emphasize the word \"properly\" here as regrettably there'); document.writeln('are people in the watch repair industry doing poor quality work for low prices. This is not the'); document.writeln('type of repair work you want performed on your fine collectible timepiece. A watch that has been'); document.writeln('well maintained and kept as original as possible will certainly be more desirable and valuable'); document.writeln('than one that has been neglected or abused by a less than professional repair man.
'); document.writeln('Choosing and building a relationship with a reputable watchmaker is important if you wish to'); document.writeln('grow and maintain a fine watch collection. But there are steps you can take to avoid much of the'); document.writeln('sting of high cost repairs. Before purchasing a watch as much as possible should be learned about'); document.writeln('the condition of its movement. You will learn through this series of articles some valuable'); document.writeln('diagnostic techniques that will help you determine whether or not that ticking treasure you\'ve just'); document.writeln('discovered is a good candidate for your collection.
'); document.writeln('Future articles will also address different watch organizations and forums that you can join to'); document.writeln('increase your exposure to watch related topics and to get answers to questions you may have'); document.writeln('from other collectors. We will also discuss how you can begin building a \"quality\" collection for'); document.writeln('a small investment.
'); document.writeln('So keep your eye out for the next article.
'); document.writeln('................Bob Tascione is owner of Tascione Watch and Clock Courses and has been teaching'); document.writeln('Watch and Clock repair through his video and DVD courses and books for over 17 years and has'); document.writeln('been repairing and restoring watches world wide for over 30 years.
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