The truth about luxury watches
How about that luxury watch you’ve been reading makes the man? That airport attendants will treat you different when they see the watch on your wrist? That high end meeting attendees will appreciate the tastes you display with a high end watch?That women will notice the complete man when you wear a luxury watch?
It’s all non-existent. I’ve experienced absolutely ZERO of this. I’ve been to more than 200 meetings, shaking hands and sitting in meetings with C level executives. I’ve been on more than 100 flights, rarely going to a booking counter, but on some occasions I have asked to grab the last seat on an earlier flight if I get to the airport early. They don’t even look up, they ask for your ID and call it a day. I’ve met ZERO women that have commented on my watch.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
Nobody will notice your watch!
Your watch will never accurate on time ( It’s up to you to wind it and set it to the correct time each morning before you wrap it on your wrist)
Maintenance costs as much as a new set of tires on your car and will require maintenance at the same interval
The leather band will wear out and cost as much as another set of car tires
The resale market is as soft as melting ice cream
Pros:
Mentally, when you put on your $5,000 watch in the morning and put on your monk strap leather dress shoes, you will feel like a $1 Million bucks. You could take the public bus, drive a 15 year old car, and eat rice and beans at home. But there’s a mental sense of accomplishment that this investment of $5,000 will make you feel accomplished.
In some ways, the feeling of “you’ve made it” is worth $5,000. Unfortunately once you don’t care about “making” it. The watch becomes meaningless. In some ways it begins to feel weighty, embarrassing, stressful, and nonsensical. In some ways, the luxury watch was worth it before I “made it”, but once I reached a level of financial freedom the watch irks my nerve. I still wear my luxury watch and love the feeling I get when I wear it.
At the end of the day, it’s time to sell the watch. At this point, I’m selling the watch for more than $1,800 less than I have spent on it in under two years. This is on a somewhat *rare watch. Never believe anything is rare. Only the buyers of such items are “rare”.
**UPDATE! Watch sold. After months and months of having the watch listed for sale on Ebay and Chrono24. I ultimately sold the watch on Ebay for $3,450. After Ebay fee’s along with Paypal fees, my final take home was $3,000. For a total loss of around $1,600 in one year of luxury watch ownership. I’ve gotten the luxury watch itch out of my system for life. I no longer have to worry about the four year $800 watch maintenance routine. I no longer look at my wrist in guilt of where that $3000 could be working for me. I no longer wear my watch in embarrassment of living outside of my frugal habits. Selling my watch moved me one step closer to minimalism and owning only my favorite items and those that bring me happiness. I’m not sure what goal the watch was bringing me closer to. It was a life long romanticism with what a nice watch meant, but provided me with zero adventure. My watch costs more than my road bike, which has brought me hours and hours of fun with many more to come. No more watch boxes stored or watch bands in the closet to match the outfit. I feel great without the burden of my luxury watch!