Big Bucks vs Bargain Buys: Are Luxury Watches Worth It?

I'm team "bang for your buck" & if I had a lot more bucks, I would gladly switch sides. 😀

If you can't hear it ticking from across the room, is it really worth the money?

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The Weekender tick tock

There could have been a voting option of ‘Both’ or ‘Mixed’. I see the value and worth of both. I have a primary collection of watches that to me are luxury, such as Omega, Glashutte Original, and a few others. But I also have a secondary budget collection of Seiko and homages. I like both, though for different reasons and purposes.

Most enthusiasts don’t see luxury watches as status symbols, and the plurality would rather not have their watch recognized by a non-watch person.

So is higher quality worth the higher price tag? Certainly not. Certainly higher end watches are of higher quality, but the law of diminishing returns dictates that a $1000 watch is not 10X better than a $100 watch. It is somewhat better. OTOH, you can’t wear 10 watches at once, and over the ten day rotation, none of the “experiences” would be as high of a quality experience as every day with the $1000 watch. But you would have more diversity.

Diversity only goes so far. Most enthusiasts want to maximize their experience within their budget. If one could spend $50K over 5 years, would they buy 100 watches costing $500 each, or 5-10 costing $5-10K each? Probably a handful of Seikos or G-Shocks in both collections.

Bottom line is that there are great watches at every price point. Buy what you can afford and gives you joy!

C: affordable luxury tier 🤷‍♂

I like both and there’s a place for both. I believe watch collectors and enthusiasts will agree. There is something at every price, for every style and for everyone.

Until it's cool to wear a copy of your net worth around your neck then luxury watches will be around.

There's a place for luxury watches. I just happen to have gotten lost on my way there.

Watches to me are jewelry, usually the ONLY jewelry that I wear. Much as a woman has her precious stones and costume jewelry, I have both luxury and bargain watches to best suit whatever occasion arises.

Both for me. I have very little in the middle.

I think there's a happy medium.

If you don't need the fanciest movement then things start to peak at like 500 or 1000 bucks. Maaaaybe like 3k.

And honestly even at 200 there's some crazy good value in titanium and sapphire.

But at a certain point it's less a tool and more jewelry. Certainly very nice sometimes but jewelry nonetheless.

So it's hard to compare because it's sort of a different category.

What's a luxury for some could be a beater for others & vice versa.

I voted yes, they're absolutely worth it!

It's not just about the spec list, but the feeling you get when you wear it - my first "good" watch was an SKX, and I felt a million dollars wearing it - but now 20 years later it takes my Seamaster to get that same feeling - so maybe we get desensitised over time 🤔

Luxury is worth it to me, even though I have about $20 to my name. It's not really about value which is why I defend Hublot quite a bit. If a watch is horrendous value, but you like it and can afford it, why not take the plunge. Enjoy your money, it's meant to be spent.