How much is "too much?"
Timekeeping today is ubiquitous. Clocks are everywhere, as are smartphones, so tracking time of day can easily be accomplished without a watch. But if I must insist on something on my wrist to track time, I can go to the corner store and for less than $20 buy some resin-encased digital watch that will accurately track time to within plus/minus seconds per month.
But I can also spend 5 or 6 figures to buy an artisan hand-crafted bracelet with an extraordinarily engineered time-keeping device designed into it. And whenever I glance at it to know what time it is, I may take a second look, mesmerized by it's uncompromising beauty, even chanting "my precioussss..." under my breath. The question is begged: Exactly what do I have here?
What is your price point at which you think, "Yeah, that's amazing, but WAY more than I need."
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I am aware of Swiss watchmaking companies that produce limited-edition time pieces, more like highly engineered jewelry, that are handcrafted by teams of people who work arduously to produce individual parts, polishing them to perfection, to create a timekeeping work of art that their salary will never be able to afford. At the same time, I see Chinese watchmakers producing droves of attractive appearing watches capable of keeping relatively accurate time that can be had for the price of a nice dinner.
What keeps me hooked on watches are the possessives "my" or "mine" that I add before the device that appears on my wrist. It is the reason I remind myself that I do not own it. I am merely a steward of it.
Watches are jewelry so something over 3 month income for me is too much, but sometimes I spent whole year save for it 🤣🤣🤣
If you refer to your watch as "my precious" you might want to stick with clocks and phones.
8-10k fall in to this category for me. WOW! But…nah.
I have trouble justifying to myself anything over £1K for a watch, the only gap for that will be a Spring Drive - but only when the prices drop.
I have better things to do with my own money than having yet another watch, my main rationale is that I get bored very quickly of 'whatever it is' and I may have lusted after it from afar for a long time but when I actually get it then it fairly soon becomes meh! 😄 Closest is with cars, spent £50K on a second hand car a few years ago and within about 6-8 weeks it was just a car LOL.
I'd far rather spend my ££ on making a memory with family, friends or solo, be that a meal, a gig, a holiday, something that is in effect priceless to me.
Its not just about keeping time, it's how your watch makes you feel.
When we put on a nice watch it makes us feel special, or even privileged.
Thats it in a nutshell for me 👍🏻
I am ok spending over 20k or more on a watch that I want, do not need any lectures from persons trying to educate me on how best to spend my dollars. My wife and two daughters will always be the only critics that I listen to. A few years ago a fella that knew me only as a watch guy needed advice on how to source an OEM bracelet for his well worn Omega watch from the 80s. I knew a watch repair service in the city famous for a massive inventory of original parts, cases bracelets etcetera for the enthusiast who has deep deep pockets. The guy gets a quote for an original mint in the box Omega steel bracelet that was probably a thousand bucks more than the price of his watch when he first bought it from an ad a million years ago. He was so upset that he barged into my office complaining that I was stealing from his grandkids. I physically threw him out into the street and told him to immediately give all his money to his infant heirs if that gracious gesture made him happy. Lol