How to know when you're ready for your first luxury watch?

your pockets decide when is the right time 😭JK. Personally I have like 30 watches none pass the 1k mark. Personally is not about how big the purchase is more how much you like the piece. I'm making my big purchase a milestone maybe on my bday or the day I got married or a promotion at work. I would not focus so much on the luxury part and more on the journey of the come up. If I was in it for luxury then I would be all up on a Tudor Black Bay and woo hoo I got a Tudor. while in reality I'm melting away for the hanhart 417 Yes the price is lower yes maybe the price retention will drop like a stone but I would be rock that Beach like if it was a Patek.

If nothing really "calls" you, keep saving your money. You may find that you never really feel the need to buy a "luxury" watch at all.

I started out thinking I needed a Rolex Explorer, then I decided maybe I needed a BB58. Fast forward to the time when I could easily afford either, and I realized that I didn't need either of them, and spending that much on a watch would not make me any happier than a CW or a Hamilton. 

Despite what watch social media might say/imply, there is no requirement to "climb the ladder" to more expensive watches. If you like Eco-Drives and Hamiltons, buy and enjoy them. If something more expensive catches your eye, and you can afford it, buy it. 

I want to say something about how you should be able to buy two without financial devastation. Then you can get one.

But another part wants to give the marriage advice. You must realize that the luxury watch will not make you happy, and that no watch ever will. After you have lost this illusion, you are ready.

Of course my standard anti-impulsive spending technique is to delay by (arbitrary period) and see if you feel the same. If not, drop the idea. If so, repeat for a few more cycles until you feel silly about hoding off on something you so clearly want. Of course there is also the chance that it will no longer be available, thus putting you back at square one.

Actually, your sentiment about "so many things at the market that I do not want" proves that you are already beyond the point at which you wish to be.

your pockets decide when is the right time

Yeah, sadly, this is the biggest determining factor for me. 

very well put, thank you!

very true, just gonna chase whatever truly catches my eye

amazing points made, thank you!

You’re ready for your first luxury watch when you have more money than brains.

I bought this watch for $5,400 brand new, still in plastic, with 5-year manufacturer's warranty from a professional dealer on Chrono24.

Luxury.  Heritage.  Desirability.

Next thing I knew,

• I was shown right into TigerHeat on Vermont Ave.  They parted the velvet rope, and all the plebs looked on in envy, as I strutted past their pleb a$$es
• This gal approached me at the protein shake bar, asked for my number.  She's been blowing up my phone with texts!  Not sure if I have the time to call her back or not, given all the others who are constantly DM'ing me on the 'gram

• These are going for $300k+ at the moment in exclusive, private sales, but the moment I walked through the dealership doors, the dealership owner saw the luxury watch on my wrist, and handed me the keys, saying, "Sir, for you, let's just call it a 'long-term' loaner"

Then, one day, the spring bar broke, the watch fell to the pavement and shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.  My magic, my mojo...  it all disappeared.

I'm left with this now, which at 1/7th the price is a much more comfortable, much more beautiful, much more unique, much more reliable, and much more loved watch.

The humble Seiko doesn't get me DMs from 18 year-old Brazilian models, like the Breitling did.  But, I love it much, much, much more.

I would advise you on trying a selection of watches from these brands first. Pictures and/or videos hardly represent the feeling on the wrist with actual light. 

Take your time before you purchase the watch, there is no rush. And don't ruin yourself for it. Some places offer 0% APR finance which is worth it if you don't want to deplete your savings, but you obviously want to make sure that you are financially stable to go through that.

yeah man that’s why I only buy seikos now I don’t want the headaches of responding to Brazilian models DM’ing me plus my wife knows my passcode!! 

When you can afford to and are comfortable making the purchase (with both initial acquisition and the maintenance budget in mind). I tend to research these kinds of transactions to death; sometimes years in advance. That way, when I'm ready, I can comfortably pull the trigger. Also, make sure you are calculating in the environment where your new watch will live. The biggest reason I sold my Reverso was that my environment isn't always that gracious to something more on the delicate end (no damage history to the watch, but the inner case was bumped to pivot mode at times and that could be catastrophic if not intentionally engaged). 

I would have to say when the thought of wearing a $5000+ watch outside doesn't make you wet your pants! 🤣

You and me LOL. To be honest I kinda like feeling the itch to work/wait for something you really want makes me appreciate more the item regardless of price or brand.  But I'm weird like that I like the hunt. 

set it as your phone screen saver for 6 months , if you want it still after that. Buy it. Thats what I do when im considering a watch and It has surprised me how quickly you can change your mind and like many veterans have said  its funny how you end up returning to watches you first started looking at , before all the shiny marketing and youtube videos 

 people do it with cars all the time , it's cringe and always has been imo 

There were several factors that made my Cartier feel "right" for me. It was the first "real" watch I ever bought. What a way to start the collection, right? It was something I always wanted too, back when I knew little about watches. For me, it was what Rolex is to many people: a symbol of success. 

And yet for about a year the Cartier was worn maybe 5 times, for special occassions with my wife. Because it felt too precious, and I did not feel worthy of it. Only after several years I felt like I "earned it" and felt comfortable enough to wear it more often.

I don't think you have to buy a "luxury" watch to enjoy this hobby. Kind of like you don't need to buy a high-end car to enjoy driving.

Luxury watches are a Veblen purchase.  You should be able to buy a Luxury watch cash with no issues of financial need before or after the purchase. There are many tiers of Luxury Brands. One collectors Grail Watch & Financial Pinnacle is not even sales tax for another collector. Seiko manufacturers at many price points Example Seiko, Seiko 5 , Presage, Prospe ,  Prospex LX, Grand Seiko. Rolex has Tudor then Rolex . Then there is RM, AP, Patek,  Vacheron and Constantine etc.  Think about your comfortable price range and then look at watches. 

My two cents: take your sweet time. 😅

 Enjoy the search. Enjoy learning about different brands. Almost certainly, eventually, you will see a watch and it will “call” to you. It will keep popping into your mind. You’ll save photos of the watch. And that’s when you’ll be ready to make a purchase. Good luck!

I agree with others in the thread it should be when you can afford it. There’s a few philosophies for what “afford“ means so I’ll share three here. Please note I am not a financial expert and this is not advice.

1. You can use the 50/30/20 rule. 50% goes towards your needs, 30% to your wants, and 20% to your savings. At the very least, make sure you are paying off your high interest debt (interest rate >= 10%) and maxing out your retirement funds. Buying a luxury watch may mean less money for your other hobbies, going out to eat less, and fewer vacations. 
2. You might have a goal of retiring early. In this case, you will need to save aggressively.  A couple of factors to how early you can retire are your annual savings and how early you start. It is crucial you do not interrupt exponential growth in your assets while you are just starting - for example, the first 100k is much harder to save than the second 100k. When considering a purchase, you‘ll want to ask how long it’ll push back retirement and if it’s worth it. You can use this calculator to help you figure out retirement savings: https://www.nerdwallet.com/investing/retirement-calculator

3. The philosophy I use personally is % of my net worth. I’ve heard watches be compared to gold or bullet bonds because they are a good hedge against inflation. As you can see in today’s market, watches are not depreciating as much as the Dow. I go for 5% of my net worth but I know friends who keep 10%. The caveat to this is you want to make sure you’ve diversified in other investments like retirement funds, stocks, real estate, etc. before you start investing in watches.

Recently I wrote this post here about my experience on the "watch-ladder". I hope that could be useful for you:

https://www.watchcrunch.com/thiago/posts/opinion-why-mid-range-watches-matter-most-the-illusion-of-watch-ladder-7612

love this point of view

If your an office worker watches are part of the flex culture. My Rolex beats your Omega kind of thing. People really into watches buy the stuff they love and know about. Buying into the luxury class isn't as important as buying something you love to wear. The best watch purchase is one for a life event. Like a milestone accomplishment to remember it. 

amazing post

This $1 watch gives me as much if not more enjoyment than my 2K Sinn. It's not the price of the thing it's the enjoyment it brings to you 💯

For me my family always comes first, I make sure they have all that they need and are happy and healthy. Then and only then I consider buying a new watch.

Trying on is key. But if you are looking to invest I'd go Rolex or something like Ming ( I'm gunna catch flack for that but oh well. Lol)

Omega speedy is my grail and that's affordable. Buy what you like. At the end of the day it's your wrists and your watch

I love all the wise advice here.  I'll offer my own experiences.  Tldr, buying a nice watch is like buying art.  You should only buy it if it genuinely speaks to you.  Its nice if it happens to go up in value but mostly you should expect to get hosed financially.

I bought my first luxury watch just about a decade ago.  It was/is a Cartier Roadster Chronograph.  I love it.  It is my precious.

It is also, by a very wide margin, the worst financial decision I have ever made.

First, I bought it at retail and did not negotiate.  If you know anything about watch collecting in the 2012-2014 period, you know that most everything was super over produced in expectation of massive Chinese demand that never materialized.  I will be lucky to get 40% of my initial purchase price out.

Second, I got into the hobby and, as a result, spend thousands of dollars a year on maintenance of what are basically better finished but less functional mechanical tamagotchis.

Third, the opportunity cost is ridiculous.  I once calculated that what I have spent on watches over the past ten years is probably the equivalent to the down payment on a Bay Area condo. A nice one.

And yet, every time I see a nice watch I like on my wrist I smile. None of us are pure economic creatures and, after taking care of our families and communities and retirement plans, we should be willing to spend money on things that make us smile.

If a watch speaks to you in a fundamental way, if it is comfortable and organic on the wrist, if it makes you smile.when you look at it, it's probably a pretty good candidate for what you're looking for.

And if it doesn't, don't buy it.  There's a lot of other cool stuff out there.

Note: Whenever I break my rule and buy without thinking as to whether something speaks to me, the watch tends not to stick and I tend to lose money. I might be the only guy in the world to manage to lose money buying a Rolex at retail.

Great response, thank you!

"Luxury" watches are overrated. I wouldn't consider spending more than 500 bucks on any watch. As for the "new toy" unboxing experience... I don't like being inside any Walmart store but sometimes Target is closed and I need pizza rolls right away, so whenever I do find myself in a Walmart I always check out the watch section and sometimes I spend 10 to 30 bucks on a Casio. Maybe it's because those memories are comparatively more recent, but I found that experience to be more memorable and at least as joyful as opening up a $500 mechanical watch that I got in the mail. Money affects one's ability to buy happiness, but it has no bearing whatsoever on anyone's ability to experience happiness.

I grew up on Casio a lot. For me its the its been the common man watch. I know theres other watches out there more better and expensive. I can easy travel or walk the most dangerous place with a any Casio watch from Walmart and never worry. When you have a Luxury watch theres always a second thought or what if... Taking a risk wearing a very high end Luxury watch that would be a very big bummer day for me if it gets stolen or serious damage. Again there nothing wrong having a Luxury watch go for it. Enjoy, cherish it but be wise out there.