There is a reason that I haven’t bought (never have and never will) stocks in luxury watch or other luxury companies. With the state of the world economy, and the world itself, I don’t see this as a safe long term investment.
It's Czech for "watch" ... ?
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My father who never wore a wrist watch would always ask me: Kolik je hodin (What time is it?)
I finally bought him a Timex because I knew he would be angry if I bought him an expensive watch. He loved his Timex.
My dad came back from China with a Chairman Mao and two fake rolexes. They remain his favorite watches.
I tried giving him a nice pie pan constellation. Just is not his thing.
The others were an elgin (which I kept) and A couple Casios which I threw away at eWaste recyclers. They probably were G-Shock. Which I knew nothing about at the time. Probably something to regret. Still there has to be a line drawn somewhere.
More recently I gave him an apple watch which I replaced the screen on. He has been enjoying that, although he tends not to wear watches.
Mom is much harder to please. She liked her 10 buck wallmart watch with a big dial. I keep replacing the battery. Even took it to the hardware store lady what I like. Runs for a bit then quits.
Neither of the parents, or many of my friends really understands my passion for watches. Especially as I never sell them.
But what would I gain for selling stuff in this market? More fiat currency to keep deflating in value. The watches do that just the same. The low end rat watches were 60 to 120 thirty years ago. Such things remain much the same (although the quality now is much worse.)
Watches like junk food give instant gratification. One can get similar feelings from reading a book, the paper, the net or watching a film or YT vid. Food though is fuel, so there will always be a need for that.
Pipe organs are also fun and have a lot of complexity to them as well. They do take up a lot of space. The neighbors do not seem to mind the occasional use (like on the fourth of July) It is the tuning and regulation what annoys. And there is even less market for them than flipping.
Let's wait and see but I find it a comforting thought to know that the founder is able to acknowledge some kind of failures in the past years and decided to go back to what made him successful in the first place. I wish him good luck with that and will check the site more regularly.
Hodinkee fell afoul of what happens to a lot of companies who try to expand their niche, their hubris got them to expand into areas that they didn't understand.
If they aren't adding any more used watches to Crown & Caliber that means that site is dead. It will probably be flogged, and if there is no buyer just shut down. Hodinkee fell afoul of what happens to a lot of companies who try to expand their niche, their hubris got them to expand into areas that they didn't understand.
