When it comes to the modern day family, stories are usually worth their weight in gold. Stories are passed down from one generation to another and even shared with close friends. In fact, in some families the more stories that a stranger learns, the closer they actually become to the family. It can be tempting to hold onto all of the stories for family members only, but sometimes there are just some stories that are meant to be shared.

When you get a really great watch on your arm and begin a full blown collection, it’s something that can definitely get the entire family excited. However, the reality is that you will still need to think carefully about all of the stories around each watch. If you’re serious about storytelling and building traditions, then you have already come to the conclusion that a watch isn’t just a mere watch. Think of it all as bricks in a series of houses — you will be able to pick up each watch and treasure it, then stack one on top of the other until you have a solid “house” of watches that serves as a beautiful collection that will last for a long time to come.

When it comes to the subject of collections, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to really push to get the oldest and rarest watches that you can find. A collection isn’t just built with money — it’s built with spirit, passion, dedication, and the willingness to share all of those things with other people. After all, none of us can take our collections with us when we die, so the collections are left behind as a marker of what we loved most in life.  why telling stories with watches can be so powerful — you get to look through the eyes of someone that isn’t here anymore and figure out what they thought about, what was most interesting to them, and where they wanted to go next.  Young children will enjoy looking at the collection and wondering what it might have been like to grow up in that era.

Family heirlooms don’t have to be expensive, but they do have to be filled with heart in order to be worth speaking about. So when you begin looking for that first watch that catches your attention just right, remember that you will need to have a story to share around the watch — that’s the only way to go!