Jonny writes:
I guess I just don't care about status and image. For some watch collectors of a more upper class income (let's use the "Obama Definition" of $200K+ per year), a $200 Seiko might be considered a cheap watch because it isn't $1,000 or more. But that's absurd, of course, because a Black Monster or a SNAD05 is a quality timepiece, but for some who equate price-tag with quality, they just cannot see this.
The status and image is just that...an image, a perception, a chimera as Jeff likes to put it. Quality is relative, and follows a kind of diminishing difference, sort of like a skill. For example, the difference between a $300 and a $200 watch is less than a $200 and $100.
To put it another way, the more expensive the watch the more the percentage of its cost is based upon name, image and status.
For me all of that really doesn't matter. I'd love to own a Breitling Super Avenger because I think it is a cool looking watch, not because they cost $5,000 and that "means something." Actually, what it means I find somewhat abhorrent. It means "I'm wearing on my wrist something that could feed an entire African village for a year." Of course my hypocrisy is still present, but not as extreme.
The only element of expensive watches that "gets me" is that they're out of my reach, which increases my wanting of them. So for example, if I find a $300 watch that I love I know that I can get it, that it is within my means, but if I find a $3,000 watch that I love, there's a different kind of pull because I can't justify spending that kind of money on a watch in any way, shape or form. Not being able to have something makes its allure that much greater.
Now for luxury watches, which I define as costing $1,000 or more, I don't really have a problem because they're so out of reach that I don't even really think about it. I'm OK saying "maybe someday." But semi-luxury watches ($500-1000) are a bit more challenging because I could buy one without threatening my finances too much, if only through selling a few watches.
So I resonate with you, Angelo, in your liking your Tauchmeister/Aeromatic watches for their uniqueness and rarity. That's a kind of image and chimera that I can buy into, at least much more than status and wealth. Some of my watches I buy for their classic look, like the SNAD06 or SSC015, but some I like for their unique styling, like the Black Monster or SKA425. If different watches all "say" something to the wearer, I'd much rather have my watches say "You're a unique individual who walks your own walk" than "You're a rich guy who can easily feed an African village for a year but chooses not to."
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