What kind of jobs/lifestyle do you have that allows you the luxury of buying watches? (Random photo for visibility)

Retired 2018 from Healthcare, 6 revenue streams, no debt and enjoy buying watches. Wife and I are happily retired and travel.

Damn! Living the dream. Congrats!

Tech company senior manager. Formerly at a big place, left to decompress, went to a smaller place for less money but more satisfaction. Role was made redundant recently so currently unemployed and therefore not buying any watches. Life is full of ups and downs! I do like watches but I don’t spend big money on other stuff like cars. Sensible car, I don’t drink (any more, that’s another story), no big debts owed.

….I won’t disclose current work to avoid misjudgments about “buying power” but I will say this… I had no school debt (because I’m the last of generation X who actually had affordable college) and I purchased BEFORE watches (in general) skyrocketed in value AND i picked up most of them before marriage and kids AND I keep my collection fairly small (capped at 4-5, and if I p/u another I have to sell one). So in other words, factors that played into building my collection is mostly circumstantial regardless of my income

I was fortunate enough to be able to start working for Toyota's north American HQ in Texas about 2 years ago. Its not just a matter of money that allowed me to start venturing into new time pieces but the benefits themselves that add up over time.

For example, employees are able to lease any Toyota or Lexus directly through the company. Those leases are quite a bit different than customer ones. I have a Tacoma TRD Pro that I pay $250ish a month for. No down payment, no credit check, no maintenance costs. Heck, I don't even pay insurance, they cover that as well.

Not to mention, bonuses & unused vacation payouts at the end of each year. With all that coming together, (savings in some aspects & profits in another) it's allowed me to fund this hobby differently.

I am a wage earning schlep in a factory that spends a disproportionate amount of his income on watches. It helps that I have a small mortgage on a small house on the wrong end of town and that my kids are in their late 30’s now.

As I look towards retirement, my watch spending will take a hit but I am pretty satisfied with my current collection.

I work as a production accountant in the tv/film industry.

Thanks for sharing your story. You sound capable and very qualified, more power to you on all your future endeavours.

Fellow Gen X here! Good thing we got into watches early! I also was able to walk away without any school debt, it was a different time indeed. Good for you for keeping a well curated smaller collection, it basically means every watch you have is a potential forever watch. Trying to do this myself.

I don’t actually work (I’m still studying) so I basically try to save for a really long time.

Military/LEO/Tac community here.

Primary job is husband and father, moonlight as an EOD tech and other tactical roles to pay the bills 😂.

Wow, nice benefits! I’m actually a real fan of Lexus and own one myself and will very likely get another. You can drive those cars forever with full expectation that they will perform. Sounds like a great company to work for.

It’s difficult to answer this question without coming across as a braggart. I will say that my wife and I have been very blessed to have very lucrative careers in the corporate world in the SF Bay Area. We’re not Silicon Valley millionaires, but we’re considered solid middles class by SF standards (according to our accountant). We’re not retired. We both turned 50 last year and still have one more year of college tuition for our daughter attending a private college in NYC. Our strategy was simply delaying immediate gratification. We prioritized owning a home where we live and work today. Buying a retirement home in Vegas so it’s paid of by 2023. Buying a home on Kauai as a second retirement home, and because my sister lives there. It was only after we accomplished those things that we allowed ourselves to buy luxurious stuff. We didn’t keep up with the Joneses when we were younger. We didn’t drive around in European cars. When the houses we purchased started self-amortizing (as rentals), we actually freed up cash to spend frivolously. Plus, all the write-off that came with our investments (no bitcoin or pyramid-type investments) just allowed us to take home more of our income.

For perspective, my wife gave me my first Swiss watch around 2008-ish. Breitling Colt II. Not a luxury watch by any means. I didn’t buy my next Swiss watch until 2021 IWC Portugieser. So we held off for 13 years. My wife’s bags cost way more than my watches. The other thing is we never considered watches or luxury bags as investments. They are mere excesses that we allow ourselves. Materials things that we enjoy but NEVER at a spiritual level.

My friend, here’s my perspective, you own your own house, have a great company job and your retirement is coming up. Sound pretty fantastic. Plus you have a watch collection! Good work sir.

Looks like someone gets to meet a lot of interesting people. I bet you’re got a lot of stories to tell!

It’s alright. Lots of social media and meetings with people that don’t understand social media 😂😂😂

Emergency Physician. Been doing it for 30 years. Hopefully I'll have another 10.

I am a saver by nature

I’m a quant.

Manager at a kitchen company. Previously a kitchen designer at said company.

That’s amazing! Congratulations! I’ll be 2 years in early June if I keep doing the right things each day, which I plan to.

Public safety and moonlight with our review blog/YouTube channel/accessories store. I actually keep a spreadsheet of all the watches I've moved through and it's super funny to look back and see what I've held on to vs let go.

Mmmm. I feel like a cliche but getting bonuses as an attorney is a good way to spend more on watches 🤣. I’m a recent grad though so nothing toooo heavy yet.

Rock on man! Keep it up!

I work in a management position where I my income is split between a base salary that is enough to cover expenses and performance based bonuses that are significant enough for me to be able to do fun things or buy trinkets I like such as watches. It’s not enough or stable enough for me to purchase a house in the current market so I just save/invest half and enjoy the other half. Watches do get an added bonus of being a store of cash. Meaning even if they depreciate by 75% that’s still more leftover value at time of sale than nothing which is what I’m used to from my other hobbies

I'm a newspaper weekly columnist and consultant. My new rule is that I can only purchase a new pricey watch once a year, and only if it comes out of extra projects, ie not regular income. I also have no other expensive hobbies and my car cost less than my Grand Seiko!

Medical device sales

I just know how to launder money … 😎

I work in healthcare. Post covid theres been a great demand and started traveling with the tax free stipends ive doubled my salery. More focused on investing than toys and its made me apperciate what i already have. I plan to buy myself a pre-owned luxery watch within the next two years.

I’m an attorney. Passed the bar last 2018 and been balancing family and work ever since. Past is private practice and am now in government, so I’m more attracted to military watches and the like. Had to get a Rolex though because people I deal with only recognize the usual mainstream brands (Rolex Omega Tag and PP/AP 😬).