Instagram - New outlet for fine timepieces

ON Thursday, it was a stylishly retro 1962 Bulova Super Compressor on @analogshift that won my heart. On Wednesday, it had been an elegantly understated 1970 Rolex Submariner, courtesy of @jasonheaton, that quickened the pulse. Tuesday had brought its own obsession, a vintage Heuer 3647 Carrera chronograph, regrammed on @hodinkee.

Damn you, Instagram.

Daily, if not hourly, my social-media addiction causes flare-ups of a second, closely related, malady: vintage watch deficit disorder, a chronic form of watch envy that inspires thoughts of raiding the 401(k) account.

I am hardly alone. Among watch obsessives, the effect of Instagram can hardly be overstated. Facebook's explosively popular photo-sharing app not only serves to unite members of this fusty, long-obscure subculture the world over, but it has also helped sp…