Bites: The 'F*** Off' watch - Elitist snobbery or scientific fact?

I like the Enclothed Cognition example as it means when I wear my bhf vest my heart is working at its best 😄

My commentary for @Stricko when I judged the photos, if anyone is interested…

“I laughed so hard at this, it’s brilliant. I like the photo, it’s vibrant, it’s playful, it has the brief nailed. I like the watch sprawled out over the grave like a wailing mourner, the zombie watch coming out of the ground (which for us vintage heads is pretty apt as to how some of our watches behave), and the Apple Watch lounging proud against the iPhone tombstone. Congratulations - have a biscuit!”

Thank you!

I forgot to include the screenshot with your comment.

Is it just me that can't copy and paste from DMs? 🤷

Awesome as always Kaysia.

I'm a Brand Owner! My life is complete. I'm definitely getting those pens ordered. 🤣

100% agree on the Emperor's new clothes theory. I think Paulo Nutini said it best when he said "I've got my new shoes on and everything's alright"

Never really thought of watches as 'F Off' tools, more just 'F my money'. I like the insight on how it takes 2 people who care too much for it to work that way!

Ever get dressed to the nines and feel that extra je ne sais quois?

No reason watches can't do the same. Or any object.

If it feels real to you, there's no doubt it can affect your attitude and confidence in a very real way.

Thanks for the mention! Sorry I'll be stepping away for a bit.

I hate the concept of an FU watch. Not because of snobbery (although that's also very distasteful) but because it borrows, poorly, from a much better idea, "FU Money."

I think what makes FU Money so attractive is the idea of independence, being able to call your own shots, and the ability to wake up in the morning and say "I can do whatever I want today."

It's not about peacocking or flaunting wealth. I have known many individuals who have less than me who nevertheless have achieved precisely what they need to be happy and feel wealthy and independent. I have known many visibly rich individuals with many multiples of my net worth who are, in turn, slaves to that wealth (mainly because the guy next door has a bigger house, nicer car, more extensive watch collection). One of those categories of people has FU Money. One doesn't.

An FU watch tries to borrow from that idea but does so in the same way that a kid's toy cellphone borrows from an actual smartphone. It's all form and no function. It's the inside stuff that matters not the outside.

An FU watch makes you look rich and independent. In fact, it does the exact opposite. Watches are cost centers and, by and large, they are not very good at attracting admiration from the sorts of people you want to be attracting admiration from. Maybe Archie understands that but somehow I doubt he's the type to reflect internally.

That doesn't mean I don't like often extremely pricey watches. I do very much and buy them occasionally. But I think it's important to know here they stand.

OMG I've won, many thanks to @Porthole for choosing my photo, I'm stoked,cannot take full credit for it, so many thanks to my daughter for the 5min lend of her phone (she had withdrawal symptoms) and the wifes umbrella (because very unlike the UK the sun was out).

Oh dear You've fell foul of IT, well you have a good excuse for it, a bit like Andy at my work whom i had been talking to about fishing on the local canal, so he typed in chesterfield canal, and forgot the C (and not chesterfield 😖) by the time we'd said "oh sugar" the managers phone was ringing🤣.

If something you wear makes you feel good it gives a PMA positive mental attitude, feeling good and positive helps you perform better. And as for sports n sports wear, if your not the elite/professional top of the game sports person does it really improve your performance using the best, no not really. But it makes you feel good, positive and in the mood, it's in reality not the gear but the idea, but the idea has come from the gear.

The idea of a FO watch can be positive, I look at my FO watches and they're not to make me superior over anyone else (because they definitely won't) but to give that personal positive vibe, maybe a bit shouty (sometimes not) give a boost and maybe just maybe get a bit more out of myself in whatever I'm doing. A FU watch can be belittling to others and just shows the the worst of the human psyche, mind you it can be quite nice to put a braggart down a peg or two. But it's got to be contextual, two big boys slugging it out,well you have your fun boys but picking on the little ones that's bullying.

Great piece as ever,so thanks from me. I'm off now to the pub to celebrate and wearing this month's FO watch 😆.

I LOVE stuff like Enclothed Cognitionand Positive Contagion!!!

But…

You know, the entire Replication Crisis!!! Like, at this point, to a first approximation, ALL social science studies are just a) P-hacking, b) genuinely spurious results, c) publication bias, and / or d) outright fraud.

Hell, we thought it was confined to the social sciences, but then John Ioannidis has shown convincingly that medicine is afflicted with the same issue! And we’re coming to discover even something like physics is not safe either! The entire edifice of academic, peer-reviewed, publication-based scientific inquiry seems to be crumbling before us!

Nonetheless, yeah, personally, I do feel good when I wear my watches! Ha!

Makes sense as I feel a lot of pride and confidence when I strap on a watch I made or restored even though no one else notices it or cares or they wonder why I'm wearing that old thing on my wrist. However, for me it provides a bit of armor.

Oh man, many thoughts to share later on this topic. I had no idea @Fieldwalker posted something similar to my post last night. Required reading when I am done work.

Enjoyed the article. And agree about your watch giving you confidence, even if others have no clue. Just dressing sharp for work regardless of "uniform" does wonders. If you look like you mean business, in a small way your attitude will reflect this as well.

As far as "FO"-watches go, I own one that is a kind of like that, but more along the lines of IFYKYK/only wear if you've earned it.

Upon passing my Team Leader Certs and earning my master badge I purchased a dive watch with said badge lasered into the dial.

The watch itself is nothing crazy expensive, but typically it is taboo amongst EOD technicians to own personal items with the Master Badge (aka the crab) on them outside of unit issued shirts/hats/coins. So it's a flex, but very subtle and usually only amongst other techs.

Like everything else in the watch world...

I promise to not go pitch the idea to Rolex to add it into their marketing.

However....

I do feel good when I wear my watches!

n = 1 observational study

.... I'm off to write my paper.

I'll be honest here. Reading the words "wisdom " and "ArchiLuxury" strung together in a single sentence tripped the alert of my oxymoron detector in a big way.

I can't stand ArchiLuxury internet persona and I would rather catch the pox than watch one of his videos. he is for me the personification of the used car salesman type that I avoid like the plague.

But then you are right because the transference that you described is also called totem magic, something which is practiced mostly by con artists nowadays.

I'm a little more new to the online watch scene but I never really understood the appeal of Archie video content or presentation style 🤔

IMHO, it's definitely a concept of a weak puny mind, an insecure childish soul, a judgmental condescending heart, and a proud haughty spirit. It's a mindset that wreaks with discrimination, plain and simple. I am never tricked by such pitiful attitude or behavior.

🎯

Bringing the wise words yet again Hakki.

How interesting!

I will have to hunt that episode out some time.

That was the one and only time I've ever used my watch to imply, "Oh, HUSH" to someone.

Oh I bet that was a sweet sweet moment 😆 I 100% applaud you for taking the opportunity to take down a watch snob 👏

Similar to some comments, I think a FU/FO watch is no different than any sort of social signaling which is meant to demonstrate standing, status or competence. I don't think it's always meant to be dismissive, sometimes people are just proud and in many cases in a quiet, humble way.

Social studies and experiments are not absolute fact, sure, but they are thought provoking. You don't need a study to tell you a person's confidence in themselves is directly linked to their performance. Any number of objects or situations can affect this.

I think any watch or object can boost confidence the same way a new haircut or shoes can. Anyone that thinks they are impervious to these sorts of effects is kidding themselves. Even if you don't have a FO watch, there is something you do, or wear, or associate with in general that makes you feel like "you". If you lack this something, it lowers your confidence, if you augment it, opposite effect. There is a fine line between being confident and arrogant, but it still stems from the same thing, how you manage your ego. You either are more affected by your own criticisms or that of others, affected nonetheless.

I really believe only very few humans, in history, are so enlightened that they have grown beyond all objects or associations to the ego that they can truly walk around in bliss literally just existing and owning nothing. I am not one of them haha.

That's a thing in Canada as well...

e.g. "I was about to go to sleep when a giant FO spider crawled out from under the bed"

Agreed. And right back at you, open, honest, dialogue with a bedrock of respect needs to be more prevalent. It's the only way to learn.

I'd also argue there might not be an "official" uniform, but there is a framework of acceptability or expectations for presentation, regardless of job, social status, corporate, artistic, scientific, etc. It looks different to the outsider, but those in the field or community don't think of it as such.

Uniforms also change based on environ. For example, what is expected or req'd stateside, is vastly different overseas for some career fields in the military. And I'd again argue the same would be true of any other job. Since each region, country, etc would have its own micro-cosm of "standards" if you will.

And in regards to the professional flex, yes it definitly depends on the culture and background. Badges in particular hold special significance. If I see a crab displayed, I'm going to talk to that individual, not for stolen valor, but just to say hi and share our brotherhood/sisterhood, and that's across all nationalities. An EOD dude/chick has a tangible, instant connection to another fellow EOD, whoever/wherever they hail from.

Same can be said of anyone who has earned the right to display a trident, scroll, etc. (Seal, Ranger Regiment) So it's DEFINITELY a flex, but it's subtle.

FO/FU watch is either a stupidly expensive bling piece, or dirt cheap 'beater'

Basically it's something around the term sprezzatura, but in more provocative way. Like wearing cheap Casio with a 1000$ suit on a top executives meetings or wearing solid gold submariner (like Archie had) to your grandma's funeral. Something that is so out of place, that it actually works.

Something that says - I don't give a single f**k.

The watch version of a black turtleneck and dad sneakers on a tech CEO.

But for me - the ultimate FO or FU (it's the same thing really) is a 35mm quartz Royal Oak in solid gold.

Angular brutalist toolish design, but there's nothing to this watch except just straightforward tasteless luxury. This watch don't have an outstanding movement to appreciate. Specs are basic to say the least, and no tool watch capabilities whatsoever. It's like a Kylie Jenner wearing Champion hoodie. Or Kanye wearing Dickies. Taking a tool item from blue-collar workers and shamelessly appropriating it. Taking industrial design and turning it into something that has almost zero practical sense, outside of telling you what time it is and how much disposable money you are ready to burn.

And then, suddenly it's 35mm. In an era when you see Kevin Heart wearing huge AP offshore it's just too small for a statement piece. Even more it's considered ladies watch by some and boy oh boy, you don't wanna be seen wearing anything even slightly 'ladies'. 'Why would anybody wear something except modern sports watch' - this was a comment on some watch related instagram page under the photo of a beautiful Cartier Tank Must. And yet, you are the one not playing those games. You are so above everybody else, that you are able to wear a mid-size watch as a statement piece. Because even tho it's quartz and it's 35mm it means that there's even less value for a huge money. And also, you are the one, who doesn't cover their insecurities with a huge pancake on a wrist. You are not afraid to show people who you are, and you don't need to look tough. You ARE tough. At some point in your life you just stopped caring. And so this is the watch that says FO/FU, I just don't care.

I love these stories. These older guys who have women who would not give them the time of day otherwise have no sense of self perception and think it is really about them and not a grift of some kind. These largely go unreported because many of the men are married and do not want to file charges.

If I had this watch it would be very hard for me to stay away from the Archie Luxury mindset of a FO watch.

Just seconding your wise words yourself, mam, with my two cents worth... 😉

After reading the FO watch stuff, I sat back and was like it can't be that bad right?! Oh holy shit, that was rough to sit through, the music, the editing, the voice. Whewwww that took strength..

You nailed it 👌

Especially if you met Archi himself...

"Sure it's gold Archi! .... Here, have a close look at the lume pip....."

Thank you @Deeperblue for the feature!☺️Love the Hoff profile pic by the way!😄

Interesting article about placebo effect watches! Goes some way to explaining why I like movie watches so much!

thanks!

I just really like that small AP)))))