The major offsetting thing for me on high end timepieces are the mark up from some of the producers.
Many of their watches are in no way near the cost to manufacture compared to their “retail value”.
This bul...it pricing is what will never get me buying these kind of items. Just a waste of money in my opinion.
Why does this bother you so much more than people here wearing Rolex, Omega, IWC, JLC, or any other brand when most of the planet lives a few dollars a day? Why aren't you calling those watches a waste of money too?
It doesn't bother me, I revel in it.
All my watches are a waste of money, I have wasted many times more on yachts.
I agree with all the facts you have said, we are just reaching a different conclusion.
But it doesn't bother me, I begrudge no-one their choice of spending, & am happy for the wealthy to indulge in ways I can't.
Of course they are a waste of money, that is the point.
Wealth signalling is all about proving one can waste money.
I'm not sure what conclusion you are drawing to be honest. It seemed like this was a critisim of the brand and those who bought it initially...
But it seems you are now saying you support this behavior...
😕
Nothing I said was a criticism, of the brand or those wearing it. Reread my posts.
I have made no positive or negative comments, merely stated my opinion of certain (common) behaviours.
To clarify, my assertion is that wearing a 100k+ plus watch always has a large amount of wealth signalling involved, whatever else is signalled.
So reveling in it is not a positive thing? Just trying to understand what you mean by that...
I was describing myself when I used the word revel, not someone else. It doesn't have to be positive. I imagine a drug addict may revel in his hit. For myself, I'm still telling myself my watch spending is positive.
I think you are ascribing intent with a very broad brush. I know people who are extremely wealthy, but have no overt displays of wealth. They own many watches well in excess of 100k+, but they wear them at home...not out in public. And like many truly wealthy collectors, they don't participate in forums - it's all very personal and just for themselves.
I am ascribing intent with a broad brush, & deserve to be tripped for it.
Do these people you know never show watches to friends or family? It doesn't matter, as you suggest, I am probably wrong sometimes.
D Desibabawhenever I see anyone with a Richard Mille on it seems to be one of their sponsored ambassadors like Sylvester Stallone or Bubba Watson. I’m curious if any of you know someone who actually shelled out their own money for a RM?
Sure, but those friends and family already are well aware of the wealth they have. There's no need for them to signal anything...
Ever heard of sibling rivalry?
I've lost track how often wealthy siblings I know will buy new cars within a month, or week, of each other. Sometimes they just outright bitch about it, "why should he have a newer car than me?"
That would be true for every watch that costs more than $10 from Walmart then...not sure I agree with your stance on this one. Since most people would have no idea what a Richard Mille watch is let alone what one costs, you could argue that Rolex or Omega are much more of a "wealth signal" to the average guy than RM is.
These watches appeal to a particular kind of collector, and not likely people here. The brand is all about "tech" in their watches, where this forum is heavily skewed towards vintage collectors, so it's not surprising that people here don't like them.
