I have a Rolex and I definitely think it’s worth it. I normally wear it everyday (in Pandemic life, more like 3-4 times a week...) but I love it and it’s by far my favorite watch I ever owned. Only you can decide if it’s worth it for YOU though.
Is an expensive watch worth it? Rolex, Cartier
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I love wearing a nice watch everyday so for me my Cartier is totally worth it. It brings me joy. I’ve worn the same watch for 10 years and still love it. So yes, for me, it’s worth it.
An expensive watch is only worth it if you can truly afford it without sacrificing the necessities of life.
I was planning on buying a Rolex in 2021, but after getting an Apple watch for Christmas I don't see myself wearing a regular watch except for a much nicer occasion so now I am torn. Plus, I'm young-ish and I'm not sure that I will have the same taste in ten, twenty, thirty years to buy a lifetime type of watch yet.
there are plenty of nice quartz watches you can get in the hundreds rather than thousands of dollars. and they generally don't require service like an automatic
"Worth it"? I like the previous poster who put it in terms of investing the money for ten years and comparing it to how much you want XYZ now. It's the ol' Mercedes vs Honda comparison, and on and on. Men notice watches a lot. Women, not so much or at least they don't comment on it like they do for designer jewelry. I get more comments from women on my David Yurman cable bracelets than I do over my yellow gold Rolex. When traveling, I often wear my under the radar Ebel Beluga watch and am amazed how many men pick up on it. I didn't load up on $$ watches and other $$ things until my later years. After investing and structuring my money to make money.
that's a good point. If you have a healthy retirement account, plus some liquid assets and a good income, then you can probably afford luxury items. If any of the above aren't there, then a watch costing thousands of dollars might not be such a good idea
Luxury items are a nice treat when you are earning a lot and have made smart investments, but do I think they’re worth it...?
Idk. I would want to be more than financially “ok” to buy a luxury item. Ideally one might want to be able to splurge on these items with their investment profits.
Delayed gratification is a wonderful and difficult thing. Living conservatively is not the most fun way to live, but I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum and you will never regret feeling stable with a sizeable safety net.
I also am hemming and hawing over a Rolex, even though by most standards I can afford it. I’m still waffling over selling off my entire collection of bags, as these things don’t bring me any more happiness in today’s world.
Idk. I would want to be more than financially “ok” to buy a luxury item. Ideally one might want to be able to splurge on these items with their investment profits.
Delayed gratification is a wonderful and difficult thing. Living conservatively is not the most fun way to live, but I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum and you will never regret feeling stable with a sizeable safety net.
I also am hemming and hawing over a Rolex, even though by most standards I can afford it. I’m still waffling over selling off my entire collection of bags, as these things don’t bring me any more happiness in today’s world.
Isn't this the truth !! NO one ever stops to ask me what the time is anymore !!
@Bookie2020 I can totally relate to your conundrum! As I was approaching a milestone birthday, I was asking myself the exact same questions about a high-end timepiece.
After a TON of research...highly recommend visiting watchuseek.com, the best watch forum....I decided on an automatic Longines watch. It was about 1/4 of the price of a Rolex or Cartier, but has all the horological cred and classic style. In fact, Longines was founded long before Rolex! There are tons of other brands that create beautiful and quality watches, and I prefer something that is more under-the-radar and actually considered more highly by those in-the-know about watches.
And totally worth it! Even though it was less than a Rolex, it was still a big purchase for me. I love that it’s automatic so I never have to worry about batteries, and in these times of technology, I like that I have a little piece of old-school engineering ticking away on my wrist.
After a TON of research...highly recommend visiting watchuseek.com, the best watch forum....I decided on an automatic Longines watch. It was about 1/4 of the price of a Rolex or Cartier, but has all the horological cred and classic style. In fact, Longines was founded long before Rolex! There are tons of other brands that create beautiful and quality watches, and I prefer something that is more under-the-radar and actually considered more highly by those in-the-know about watches.
And totally worth it! Even though it was less than a Rolex, it was still a big purchase for me. I love that it’s automatic so I never have to worry about batteries, and in these times of technology, I like that I have a little piece of old-school engineering ticking away on my wrist.
Only you can answer this. There are plenty of brands that have high quality automatic time pieces. Take your time. What makes your heart sing may be very different than TPF which is heavily skewed to branded watches like Rolex, Cartier etc. also, if when you buy, you know that you will love and wear it and not resell, then you can obtain a sizable discount if the watch is without box or papers. Of course if you do this, you should authenticate and take all precautions, paypal credit card plus due diligence prior to purchase.
Except for certain types of Rolex and patek, watches can lose up to 50% of their value immediately, so even for some people who have a lot of money, a luxury watch is not for them. Another TPFer posted about Rolex and an eBay reselelr called watch chest. If you are interested in Rolex or Cartier, there are also more specialized watch forums (on TPF and elsewhere). Richmont Owns many luxury watch brands and also bought a large stake in a watch reseller called watch finders. its a sign of the times that luxury retailers are keeping an eye on the resale market.
I agree with @canto bight ’s post for a perhaps younger viewpoint re the Apple Watch. I’m reminded that some younger people don’t even wear a watch bc their phone is more accurate. And with @foxgal re other venerable watch brands like longines or Baume & mercier. But of course, don’t buy if you have your heart set on a Rolex bc you will then have settled and will probably go on to buying what you want in the future anyway.
of course, investing the money in stocks, RE or other will be ‘better‘ than buying a depreciating luxury item, and you shouldn’t do it unless you can do so comfortably, without consumer debt etc etc. but others have covered this.
edit: my mom has multiple pateks; Cartier; Rolex; Bulgari; Vacheron and mueller; and her favorite is Timex indiglo bc can read it in the dark
a Rolex with a champagne dial is hard to read as your eyes age.
@mewt , I love your grand seiko. DH and I visited a Grand Seiko watches of Switzerland pop up boutique in soho and had the opportunity to hear all about the hand crafted dials, workmanship and history and see a credor watch too. stylistically, DH is a Alange person and I’m more Cartier, IWC, JLC, (though I’m continually debating a large rose gold Rolex versus pasha C ) but the quality of the grand seiko was outstanding.
@Bookie2020, Forgot to add: if you decide you want a Rolex, you might like a less flashy one like a SS oyster or Daytona, size 36 mm, a bit older on the resale market about 5600 usd retail. I believe watch forums recommend resellers like chrono24, but pls do your own DD and research https://www.chrono24.com/rolex/oyster-perpetual--mod55.htm
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Imo:
It's only worth it if it suits your lifestyle.
By that, I mean, that if you'll feel comfortable wearing it often, If you can wear it at work/ running errands/ arround your friends and family without feeling it's too much. And if it doesn't clash with your other jewelry/ clothing/ accessories. And if you can afford loosing it or breaking it without being devasteted or extreamly sad than sure, get it and wear it in good health
It's only worth it if it suits your lifestyle.
By that, I mean, that if you'll feel comfortable wearing it often, If you can wear it at work/ running errands/ arround your friends and family without feeling it's too much. And if it doesn't clash with your other jewelry/ clothing/ accessories. And if you can afford loosing it or breaking it without being devasteted or extreamly sad than sure, get it and wear it in good health