lesdmd Loc: Middleton Wi via N.Y.C. & Cleveland

Last week I opened a discussion on Leica camera bodies asking if they are demonstrably better than their competition.
This week, I move on to asking why those of you who collect or simply wear luxury watches do so. I am hard pressed to come up with any reason why an expensive mechanical watch does a better, or even as accurate a job as the simplest of electronic alternatives. Clearly, no one purchases a multi thousand dollar watch purely to know the time.
I am not being judgmental. I understand the concept of fine craftsmanship, the idea of dressing for success, and certainly the desire to show that you can afford something expensive on your wrist. I am not suggesting that one should not buy something he can afford.
When does it become smarter and better to find alternate ways of displaying ones affluence.

drklrd Loc: Cincinnati Ohio

I prefer the time piece to be accurate and have an affordable price. Those with high prices are just not something I would buy. Otherwise I might be shooting with a Hasselblad instead of a Nikon. My wedding shots were done with a Bronica SQA which I still think shot as good as the Hasselblad when I used it. So a cheap watch is all I need.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Can't really comment on watches. I stopped wearing a wrist watch 40 years ago. I had cheap ones, I had good ones, they all got destroyed when I did anything rough with my hands (which I do frequently). 40 years ago I didn't need to know the time immediately: there were clocks pretty much everywhere anyway. And out in the field I got so I could estimate the time pretty closely. And today I carry a smartphone which fills the function of a watch as well as many other items.

I don't pay attention to watches that others wear. Clothes, probably, but not jewelry (which is what I think the high end wristwatches are these days). But that's me. Others may pay attention to things like that. As I frequently tell my wife: "Why would you ask someone dressed like me for fashion advice?".

If you're going to ask about watches, how about rings or pins or things like that? Their function is much the same: something expensive on your hand, wrist, or clothing.

jdedmonds

When one realizes that displaying one's affluence is just plain silly.

One Rude Dawg Loc: Athol, ID

It doesn't even come to expense. There are a lot of interesting inexpensive watches, under $2000, they are fun to collect, different movements etc. Just as photographers use collect and play with their lenses. There is a lot of history to watch making which is also interesting, the improvements in technology etc. just like cameras. It is not really the price tag, I wear watches I like , use the cameras I like and drive the automobiles I like and don't care if anybody likes it or not. Yugos to Bentlys and all of those in between makes life interesting. A matter of choice. Hard to explain, to each his own.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

(My $35 Timex Indeglow that I got 25-30 years ago is still going strong. Still accurate to within a few minutes a year. No need for expensive.)

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

They don't keep time as well as a cheap $40 watch. But, there are several good reasons for having one though, assuming you can afford one.

Mechanical watches are an acquired taste. I own five mechanical watches, three are self winding, and two need to be hand wound daily. For me, the number one reason for owning them is the idea that these throwbacks to an earlier time are a very complex, miniature, non electronically driven, collection of gears and levers ticking away second after second, minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, and year after year. One of my watches, which is over 20 years old and has never been serviced, ticks at the rate of 8 semi vibrations per second, or 28,800 an hour. That means in 20 years it has ticked, non stop, over 5 billion times and is still accurate to around 5 seconds per day!

High end watches are also built to a higher standard of construction and finishing and tend to look better, not to mention still work, years after their original purchase. They also has a number of style and design innovations which may not add to the functionality but make ownership more pleasurable. And of course, for many well healed folks we can't ignore the exclusivity and ego stroking of higher end watches. But I'm not wealthy. I have three automatic watches, two of which are kept on a watch winder while I wear the third. I still wear my 18 year old Omega Seamaster Professional most days and it looks as good as it did the day I bought it. When I trade off its mostly to my Breitling which is accurate to around 1 second per day. My watches, are all certified chronometers, are water and dust resistant with screwed down crowns and all have thick sapphire crystals which not only are highly resistant to damage but show no micro scratches of any kind even after years of use. I also have 2 hand wound watches which must be wound daily and can't be put on a watch winder.

As for the deviation from accuracy as compared to a quartz watch, over time the deviation tends to be smaller than most people think, and secondly it tends to be relatively unimportant for owners of mechanical timepieces. I have to reset my watches a couple of minutes every few months. No big deal.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Vietnam Vet

I haven't worn a watch for years, my iphone is good enough for me. But I like this watch so much that I am thinking about buying it. https://www.rolex.com/watches/day-date/m228238-0042.html

therwol Loc: USA

A waste of money for people who have money to waste, but I suppose it keeps those watchmakers in business. Personally, I have no use for them. I inherited a 1940's Rolex from my father. It needs repair and some cosmetic work from the wear and tear of his wearing it for years. My wife has said many times that I should take it in for service. I say, 'Why?"

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Well, a waste of money for you perhaps, but not necessarily for others. And I'm sure many out there would say the same thing about the higher end cameras many of us purchase.

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

John Cameron Swayze must have smiled on you. Bill

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

...and keeps on ticking.

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

But I never licked mine. Yours lasted so long, it might have been one of Mr. Swayze's demos. Bill

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Oh, I don't think he was the pitch man anymore when I purchased this one.