Do you buy watches with value retention in mind, or purely for passion?

I’ve always believed the most satisfying watches sit in that sweet spot between emotion and good judgment. When I bought some of my early pieces, I wasn’t thinking about charts or resale premiums — I just knew they made me want to learn more, wear them often, and pay closer attention to what makes a watch feel special. Over time, though, I started to appreciate the practical side too. Not because I wanted to treat watches like stocks, but because understanding value retention sharpens your eye. You start noticing which designs endure, which brands support their products well, and which watches still feel relevant five or ten years later. That kind of perspective has helped me avoid impulse buys more than once. Personally, I think the best “investment” watches are often the ones with real substance behind them: strong design, honest pricing, serviceability, and a collector base that cares for the right reasons. Sometimes that’s a well-known model from Omega or Tudor. Sometimes it’s a Baltic, Formex, or another smaller brand doing something genuinely thoughtful. For me, the goal has never been to win the market. It’s to build a collection I’d be proud to keep even if values went nowhere. If a watch appreciates, great. If it simply earns its place on the wrist again and again, that’s a kind of return too. How do you balance passion and practicality when you decide what to buy next?