When is it a Luxury watch?

Well, if @Aurelian was here it'd be "anything more than an F91W, something something modern capitalism, something something the revolution is coming"

To me it's less dependent on the price and moreso based on how it feels. Does it feel like a luxury good?

I’m with Aurelian, anything more than $20 is a luxury, when all it has to do is tell time, for a time. Every other added detail is superfluous and just creates wrist jewelry, and I love them.

"a condition of abundance or great ease and comfort" one of many definitions. Most other other mentiones "high end" "expensive". I'll keep the tab open, just in case you need an example of how to use ut in a sentence ☺️ I feel like luxury is something special. So buying you 6th Rolex and you don't have to consider cist to much=not luxury

If I like it, it’s luxury. If I don’t, it’s trash. Just show me every watch you’re interested in, and I’ll let you know. 

for me anything above 3k , I know people dislike putting a £ on luxury as its different for different people but generally most people who have a joby and are in my social group, regardless of pay bracket could obtain a watch under that value, and anything that is above that ammount get the ohhh fancy noise.

We dnt normaley talk about price openly , but my best mate will always say " go on...how manny pennys did you spend?" I tell him and we both laugh.

Im lucky , his mrs would murder him if he spent what I did on this hobby, but its all relative dude, you can think your hot shit wearing a Rolex OP , then move to another part of town where its nothing special.

Potter Stewart used that very line of thinking to define obscenity. 

This can mean a lot of different things to different people and their circumstances. To me, a luxury watch starts around the $2,000 mark in most cases. This is when I believe the area of diminishing returns has been firmly entered, and other things like superb finishing, in-house movements, and accuracy certifications become relevant. 

fairs 

There is nothing that I love more than free markets and free love, except perhaps, a well stocked seafood buffet.  Some of you can't tell when I am joking and think that I am a full blown Fabian. Well, you will be the first to the wall when the revolution comes.

Luxury is a thing just out of comfortable reach. @martini has the sense of it.  I ate lunch with a fellow a few weeks back who had a very nice Rolex on his wrist. The finishing was superb. I was wearing an uncommon watch, but not a luxury one. We didn't need to compare the two.

I agree it’s all about perception. The first luxury watch I purchased was a Movado while on vacation in the US Virgin Islands in 2008. For me, at the time, that was a big effing deal. I think I paid $400 dollars for it, but I was so super proud of my purchase and everything about that trip was luxury for me. It still has a special place in my heart and my collection today. love it and the memory associated with it, even though now I know more about watches and my career advancements allow me to shop at a different tier.  I also need to change the battery in it. 

And who cares that my friend called it the “Jersey Shore” of watches.  Not all of us had a trust fund and could afford a Ulysses Nardin in our 20s. I’m not bitter. 

Yep, I think you hit the nail on the head there mate. And you made me look up what a "Fabian" was. A luxury good is whatever you cant comfortably afford. A Starbucks is luxury to about 60% of the world 

All my watches are luxury because it’s a luxury for me to wear them…😎

I am just here to teach.  It is my burden to bear.

Something you won't find in my collection! 😉

That's a fascinating question. I think it's like someone said about pornography it's like it's hard to define but I know it when I see it haha!! But being serious.. I dont know really lol like a 300.00 to 800.00 watch is nice. Is it a luxury watch? If I say no, that's interesting. Where is the line money wise? Someone  up above was speaking about  us in a first world vs someone in a third world situation. That's so true. I saw a picture of a boy riding a bike in Africa. The bike had no tires, just steel rims. He was as happy as he could be. To him it was amazing to have the bike--even with no tires. So yeah from that perspective we live like kings really. 

Here's a thought...who are you trying to impress?

1.  No One - then any watch you wear could be a luxury watch because as stated previously, we no longer need watches, thus to spend any amount of money on them is a luxury.
2.  The Douche Elitists - you likely don't have enough money to impress them. Their whole point is trying to find something that is worth very little in real value and pay an enormous amount of money for it so they can feel like they have something rare, special and exclusive. No one who cares about their finances would buy these watches - thus, they are the ultimate luxury watch because you can demonstrate that you don't care about your money because you have so much of it that you are willing to throw it away on something - for example, an RM watch on a red strap.
3.  Another Watch Enthusiast - then there is no hope for an answer - you will be caught in a loop of endless tautological arguments about what brand, movement, manufacturing process, price, etc. represents "true" luxury.

So in the end...what is the need for the answer - who are you trying to impress?

Myself - I am a capitalist anarchist representing my true Sicilian heritage - I have no desire to impress anyone and will happily oooh and aaah over a cool $20 watch or one that is five or six figures - I don't believe in hierarchy, monarchy, superiority, etc.

I walk through life self-assured that I am unique and everyone else is too. We all have value that can't be measured. So why try to put a label on it.

Climbing down now off my soapbox...thanks for listening. 

When you feel like you're paying too much 😂 About $1000 and up for me!

And if Aurelian is our Yoda then Omeganut is our very own Darth Vader here on WatchCrunch. Nothing wrong with Pin and Lever watches my little green man 

I’m hoping it will be with me tomorrow, but I’m not holding my breath, it’s been delivered by FedEx 🤣🤣🤣

for me any watch with price range above 2000$ is a luxury item. with a good sense of style, material, movement, and finishing

My working definition that accounts for different income levels and different geographies: A luxury watch is a watch that costs as much or more than your phone.

Well, if you want to get technical, pretty much all watches are luxury items. The concept of luxury is something you buy that you have no requirement to own, or a less expensive option fulfills the same need, but purchase purely for the pleasure of it.

So unless you are the less than 1% that can not function without a watch (astronaut, doctor, etc), any watch qualifies.

Damn... How many jewels are in that movement?

The word "luxury" seems to be used in two different ways. On the one hand, people often refer to anything that isn't considered a necessity to be "a luxury". In this meaning, the word is used more as a noun than an adjective. On the other hand, people often refer to certain items as being "luxury", such as "luxury watch" or "luxury car". In this situation, the word is being used as more of an adjective, and tends to have connotations of elegance, refinement and opulence.

With both meanings, a persons individual perspective impacts their definition.

To someone who uses public transportation out of budgetary necessity, any car might be considered "a luxury", but I don't think that even they would consider a bare bones Chevy Spark to be a "luxury vehicle". Most people probably consider a Mercedes S-Class to be a luxury vehicle, however for those who are accustomed to Maybachs or Bentleys, it may be considered a rather "entry level" version of a luxury vehicle. Those same people may look upon a C-Class as being barely acceptable, while the majority of people may even consider a C-Class to be a luxury vehicle.

Considering that there is no real "need" for a watch these days, any watch could be considered as being "a luxury", but I think most of us would agree that a $100 Casio would not be considered a "luxury watch". I think most people would consider Rolex watches as being luxury watches, but to a Patek collector, they may be considered as entry level luxury watches. Those Patek collectors may look at watches from brands like Omega, Longines, etc as being nothing more than "nice watches", whereas the majority of people are likely to consider them as luxury watches.

The bottom line is that it depends upon your own perspective. 

I feel like this is dependent on your location and relative value of money. 

Living in central Europe, for me personally stuff like Longines and Rado are starting to open luxury segment.

For western people that have different income I imagine how the luxury segment can open with pricier brands.

I agree good comment.

There are two types of luxury and two definitions of a luxury watch.

1. intrinsic luxury - this is when the watch is a luxury solely because you don't need it but want it anyway because something inherent in the watch brings you joy.  Under this definition, any watch you buy for the joy of it is a luxury watch.

2. extrinsic luxury - this is when the watch is a luxury because something external to the watch has defined it as so - ie its expensive, or exclusive, or is considered cool.  Under this definition any watch other people have defined as a luxury watch is a luxury watch.

Personally I subscribe to the former - for me catering to external views of luxury is work and therefore isn't luxury.

Does it matter? It’s all a sliding scale anyway. I tend to find more expensive watches boring - I only get out of bed for random “generic Swiss” vintage sub-£50 for a laugh now. Brands you’ve never heard of without decent movements that will last. You can wave your Tudors and GS at me, I’m not biting. I might dive into a Corum again for another Bubble, or maybe an Heuer Silverstone if I come across the right one, but I have my heavy hitters, and I‘m climbing back down the mountain and I’m planning for gold in the valley.

I think if you want to spend £££ on something that you like the only person who should be happy with that is yourself. Again, its not a necessity - you won’t perish without it, like insulin or dialysis. I have £8 watches that are much nicer than £800 watches, and I have £5000 watches that don’t hold a candle to £50 watches, I couldn’t care less as these are not essential, they are nice to have.

What is a "short" person or a "big" box of cereal?   No shortage of big egos to assume the role of Final Arbiter.

I like this, the same for me from South Africa, where a Omega costs a whole year's income, sure there are some people that can afford the likes of PP, AP or RM, that would make about 0.5% of South Africa's population.