Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Rolex
 

I've not been a member here very long but, I guess, long enough to see a serious mental disorder-- OCD. People worrying about lint on the lens of their watch, etc.. People even have the problem of hoarding. It is all very telling.

I would love to see the results of a study on the ratio of Rolex owners with OCD to those who do not. It would probably show that people with OCD are trying to find the perfection that is missing from their life. Funny thing though... I have been treated for OCD for years. It took all that time to quit worrying about a particle of dust on my Rolex.

No hating now. I just call them as I see them.

I agree. I'm OCD to a certain degree but really only with my watches. Is it OCD then or just passion about my hobby?

Not ODC, it's CDO. You know, alphabetical order and all.:dummy::lol:
dP

I agree, definately some eliment of OCD involved.

-Pete

Hi. My name is Gerardo and I used to be OCD on my watches. As I posted some time ago, I had a beater watch that I cared for but wore it everywhere, and then it was 'all the other ones'. All these had to be worn with short sleeves only, not touched by any other human/animal/thing -I was the only one allowed to do so-; they had to be washed and rinsed with lab grade distilled water after using and prior to storage, which had to be in a humidity and temperature controlled environment. I am not kidding; if I wore my 2T sub everything was ok; but if I was wearing any other watch; you'd better not even come within 3 ft of my left arm.

Then something happened: I became a father. The most gorgeous and beautiful girl that has ever existed came to this world; and it shook my life pretty hard. I realized that all these toys are just that, expensive toys. Yes, I care for them, I hate scratches and do pamper them; but hey, what is the point of owning a killer DD in YG with your favorite dial if you can't wear it with a black 2 button Armani suit on your daughter's baptism?

From that day on; watches are meant to be worn. Yes, they still get rinsed with clean water after I wear them, but now they go with me on trips, vacations, lunch, good and bad times.

One day, I will be gone. These toys will be in my kids hands; I think they would rather have a near mint timepiece with lots of good memories of daddy and them together; than a pristine watch and little memories as daddy had to take his watch off every time he played with them.

Take care of your toys, you spend a lot of hard earned money to purchase them; but in the end, LIFE is much more precious (and has no price!). L I V E. Today. Always as if it was your last day on earth; we do not know what will happen tomorrow.

...just my 2 cents here.

I was horribly O.C.D. until I realize I could use my Rolex for popping caps off of beer bottles (hate cans!).

Now I know I have a true TOOL watch, and I'm at peace with the universe!:rolleyes:

That was just beautiful and a wonderful sentiment !!

FWIW I'm only OCD with my Rolexes. With my other watches, I couldn't give a sh@#! :chuckle:

x10

I smellsa "Poll" coming !

Amen to that. At the end of the day, Rolexes are only a watches. Take care of them as you should but don't be afraid to use them. There's very little damage that you can do to an inanimate object that can't be undone through some means or another. (sentimental or very rare pieces aside, of course)

If I wanted something to sit in a safe, I'd make it cash.

Definitely OCD here. My wife studied Phsychology and broke it down to me. It pretty much opened up my eyes. I work in IT so OCD is pretty much here to stay!

Yes, Rolex is only a watch, but it is an expensive watch and I think it is as much responsible people taking care of their items that they have worked hard to get as much as anything else. If I am guilty of wanting my nice timepiece to stay nice, then sue me. BTW, I swim in a watch, I cook, I hunt, I play with my kids all while wearing a watch...BUT I still take very good care of them and want them to look nice.

can't say have have an OCD on my watches. I buy to wear and understand nothing is perfect. However a small problem I have is the position of the rolex logo on the crown....
funny thing I found out last weekend is that the same thing happened to my omega PO......

I'm abit disappointed but not overly upset and had to bring it to a watchmaker for rectification.... :-)

Very well stated. :thumbsup:

Ok...time for a reality dose...Just so that we don't offend anyone unfortunate enough to actually HAVE OCD.


-I apologize in advance, but one of my pet peeves is the perpetuation of medical ignorance...and the Internet is the biggest culprit..However I expected better from the Rolex Forum..


OCD - Obsessive Compulsive disorder is a DISORDER...The Hallmark of any Disorder is that it impairs the ability to function in any one of three spheres of being - social, professional, personal.
People with OCD are tortured by their obsessive compulsions...they are Egodystonic, (incongruent with what would be good for the ego) - they wish they didn't have them...and often require medication for control. Someone with OCD might be late for work frquently because they must circle the house checking each locked door seven times before leaving the house - or else their day is overwhelmed by fear that something catastophic will happen (one example)

OCD is nothing to joke about.

However what most of us have is features of an Obsessive compulsive personality disorder...again, only a disorder if it impairs function.

Often people with features of OCPD will have compulsions and obsessions that are egosyntonic...we are perfectionistic, and fastidious.

Most of the time these personality traits help us succeed in school, work, life...interestingly enough one marker of success for many people is a rolex watch...go figure.

So it' sno surprise that many successful people have features of OCPD, and that those who have used those personality traits to be successful would buy rolexes that they can further obsess about...again egosyntonic...we enjoy the obsession...



Ok, I'll step off my soap box now...it's just that OCD is nothing to make light of.

I use them, but don't abuse them, I could care less... If that's OCD then kiss my A$$.

when my watch is new of course i like to take care of it, but after a few weeks not so much - it's like getting a new cellphone, then afterwards if you drop or dent it, it's just part of life. no big deal.

Did someone make light of OCD ?? If you were inferring that I was then you are mistaken. I can't even stand that T.V. show "Monk" because it makes light of a terrible affliction.

I really enjoyed your explanation of the disorder and disease. Thanks.

That was totally uncalled for. No one was insulting you.

I AM diagnosed with OCD, so not making light of the disease :cheers:

Yes....I do admit that I suffer from OCD.......

Sad but true....I am obsessive about keeping my Rolex as perfect as possible.
But its nice when ADs see my watch about 2-3 years later and say
"so you never wear it?" despite wearing it every day..


Nairn

Perhaps by my tone you will understand that I do not make a big deal about my timepieces... There are other, more important, matters in life to care about...

Put me in the Rolex owner camp that could care less about how they look but are concerned about how they perform.

Get it?

Have a nice day

Well... I guess that was somewhat better. You have a nice day, too.

Ditto, nice to see I'm not the only one... :rofl:

:cheers:
Blaine

Thanks!

Nope Blaine,

You are defo not alone.
My Daytona is 3 months old and immaculate. I clean it in the morning, and sometimes run a cleaning cloth over it as i wear it during the day.

At night it is wrapped in a clean cleaning cloth and put in a jewellery box.
Then in the morning it is re-cleaned and worn again.


now surely THAT is ocd?

You're very welcome brother in Rolex := )

Maybe borderline but hey, I'm not a doctor. I just pretend to be one on the internet. :bartmoon:

:thumbsup::thumbsup: PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP.....my dad's mantra & now mine!

You're supposed to say: "But I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

Interesting question, and since you quite openly admit ("admit" is the wrong word, makes you sound guilty of a crime or something, but I didn't know any other word that fit! Maybe "acknowledged" is a better choice. Anyway, no offense intended. :cheers: ) ... Since you have personal experience with this condition, your observations are certainly relevent. I would have to agree with you, to some extent a lot of Rolex owners exhibit some form of OCD. I don't sing to my watch, keep it in a humidity controlled room, and import fine silk from the orient to clean it every night, but it means a lot to me, and I am extremely careful and attentitive to it. If that qualifies as OCD, then I too am guilty.

My point is, is that really such a bad thing? :thinking: I mean, we all have "special" things in our life, I'm talking about inanimate objects of course, not family or friends. My Step Father for example, he has a 1995 Corvette, he bought brand new and it has a total of 42,000 miles on it. The thing is immaculate, we are talking BEYOND show room condition. He checks on it all the time, does this eight-hour cleaner-wax procedure that keeps it looking brand new. He changes the oil himself every six months despite the fact he only puts on about 1,000 miles a year on the car. Wipes the dust off every day (even though it's in a garage), and has done this since it was brand new, you get the picture. So, what is so ironic about this story? Due to a stroke, my step-father doesn't drive, hasn't in years. He has my mother, or me, come over once in a while to drive him around in it, or just take it out to keep the engine and seals in good shape. Is this OCD? I'd say so, but... so what? My Step Father takes care of that car like some do their Rollies. It doesn't harm anyone, and it brings him hapiness, so if some of us WISes show some of those same symptoms, I say there are a lot worse things we could be doing in this world.

Just IMHO

I hear you....Thats exactly my situation. When I had my first child 2 years ago, you stop sweating the small stuff. Like you, I still take care of my passions (watches,cars,motorcycles,etc..) but nothing like a new baby to put it all in perspective. The most exotic waters my diver have been in lately was the $25 baby pool from Kmart.:thumbsup::lol:

The most significant element of your step-father's compulsion(s) is that, as you say, it brings him happiness. The problem is when the line is crossed and you find that you HAVE TO DO the compulsions. Not all, but some of the members here sound like they may have clinical OCD because of the extremes they take to "pamper" a watch.

It was just my observation that people on this site tend to be overly-attentive to an inanimate object (Rolex watch) and I just voiced my finding. Like several have said, they take good care of their Rolex but I think some here have a definite problem. It's just my observation and opinion. Who knows? I could be wrong.

OCD Here.

I am diagnosed OCD, when I got my sub date 6 weeks ago I analysed every millimetre of it! Found some perceived imperfections and had to fight hard not to obsess every minute of the day. I guess you could say I was in danger of ruining the experience of owning it. I now have learnt techniques that help with the obsessiveness :thumbsup: but it is a battle.

I guess what I am saying is that as long as you don't ruin the experience of ownership through obsessing then it is cool :cheers:

I have met at least 2 people who have been seriously debilitated by OCD. It is a tough condition. But I do see your point--I have also seen people develop OCD-like symptoms about certain things at least. I am not sure if you can develop this condition by habitually becoming obsessed or not. Balance is the key to health in many ways.

Wow, before I read this reply... when I was getting ready to leave the house earlier today...I took my GMT IIc out of the polishing cloth I keep it wrapped in, spritzed a little jewelry cleaner on it, dried with a soft microfiber towel, then took the polishing cloth and finished it off before carefully placing it on my wrist...only to run the polishing cloth over it once more.

Totally sick. :agree:

:cheers:
Blaine

Just ask our wives about watch obsessions and see what they say--and also about time spent on TRF posting????:chuckle:

Having OCD and also suffering from Dyslexia means that I end up paying for all my watches COD........

What he said.