I just read this interesting article about luxury in the USA, particularly with regard to watches. Is it true, Americans among us, that your fellow countrymen think like this? http://www.forbes.com/sites/jackfor...sa-china-and-a-startup-called-patek-philippe/
He might be pretty close to the truth. Bill Gates, who could buy & sell companies on a whim, wears nerdy digital watches. I've seen otherwise well dressed men wearing a Timex Iron Man or a Casio G-shock frequently enough to wonder why they didn't know better. I guess it's just one more reason the world thinks we're ugly Americans - no class when it comes to watches.
No class. Full stop. Interesting article and definitely reminds me of an ultra-rich American family I know, who had CCTV cameras in their goldfish pond outside, so they could watch their fish on their TVs inside!
Americans buy a lot of very expensive automobiles, which are certainly a form of luxury item. I think it's just a matter of getting men in the U.S. to appreciate fine mechanical watches, as they appreciate Porsches, Bentleys, and BMWs. Interestingly, the same American man who would have no qualms about driving around in a $100K Porsche will shy away from wearing a $10K watch as being too ostentatious. The hardline Protestants who colonized America were not big on self-adornment, but a man needs to get around quickly and efficiently to oversee his interests, right? I think more American men will buy high-end watches if they appreciate them as toys and mechanical art pieces, rather than seeing them as jewelry. The subsections of American society in which men enjoy jewel-encrusted watches probably only puts other men off of wearing mechanically-distinguished watches. Regards, Jon
Respectable Member CanberraOmega Most of the real wealthy people do own the top-end vintage-watches, for 'investment' purposes only and they are not watch-lovers like us. Unlike us, they do not see the beauty of a vintage-watch but they see the beauty of making money out of their vintage-watch collections. Those filthy rich ones would usually keep their 'investment' pieces in bank safe deposit boxes, while watch-lovers like us will want to display our watch on the wrist, so that we can share the beauty with other fellow members. Have we ever come across the top guns, joining any vintage-watch forums? I have yet to come across one. I reckon, when they meet, they will talk about how to make more money, while people like us will talk about vintage-watches, from sun-rise to sun-set. Generally, watch-lovers collect watches for the love of collecting and passion only. Trying to generate income from vintage-watches is secondary. Thank-you.
I actually like these people to those who flaunt their wealth by buying and wearing good and expensive watches. Yes they wear their watches unlike those you have mentioned. And I am seeing more and more of them where I am. Yes I agree. But I also believe if the value drops by half the moment we buy a watch, we will find fewer members on this forum and people who are passionate about this hobby.
I see it all the time, a guy drives up in a Rolls Royce Phantom to pawn/sell some gold and is wearing a bling/bling watch that just screams "dealer" and has no taste at all. Well, maybe in cars, but then he puts 40K of spinner wheels on it. Cheapens everything. The worst are the guys that wear a FoLex and swear its the real thing. I just want to throttle them. I do know several people though that buy the real high-end watches and instead of "boxing" them in the bank they wear them and enjoy them.