Wristwatch

[bigbadwolf]

What kind of wristwatch should a quant wear to make a good impression? At what kind of price point?

 

[IntoDarkness]

if in doubt, apple watch

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Casio "No Worries" G-Shock.

 

[bigbadwolf]

The Casio uses a -- *shudder* -- quartz movement and the Apple doesn't even have a movement. I can't imagine creating a good impression with timepieces like this (in fact Apple is not even a timepiece). I want a watch that whispers "upper management."

 

[ExSan]

Biden's watch, ROLEX

 

[bigbadwolf]

Biden's watch, ROLEX

Ah, now we're entering acceptable territory. Rolex is the low end of the high end. On a side note, the discussion on a watch forum is whether the watch was gifted to him by China, Ukraine, or Wall Street.

 

[IntoDarkness]

wow bigbadwolf got a promo

 

[bigbadwolf]

wow bigbadwolf got a promo

There's no promo for the high-end watches. But you can haggle with the authorized dealers and it's best to buy on the grey market, if you can. Also a good idea to buy on the used market (but from a reputable seller, as there are fakes and "frankenwatches" galore).

 

[Daniel Duffy]

What watch does Young Sheldon wear?

 

[bigbadwolf]

These people make instructive videos on real watches:

 

[CrossGamma]

Ah - its that time of year again when bonuses are announced and bank employees want to elevate their social status by buying an expensive watch.

 

[Hasek]

Unpopular opinion, but someone need to say it. You likely don't need watches if in order to decide what to wear you are asking it on QN. You definitely don't need watches if you mentioned price point and then considering grey and used markets. This is simply not how it works. Why? Well, long story short nobody really cares except you and you already showed that you don't care.

If I need to elaborate on it more then it comes down to the fact that different people have different utility functions to measure prestige, status and so on. Watches aren't high in a common hierarchy, i.e. few people really care about them. Frankly there are even more exotic objects that can be fetish for someone but not project status for others. Let me give an example. I'm fond of watches myself and was wearing medium price range (think $1000+, Longines and up) since I was a teenager. I did it only because I could afford it and liked it myself, nobody (from school to workplace) ever had a clue how much this thing on my wrist really costs and that it supposed to, using your words, make a good impression. I always note what others are wearing (if any) but know that nobody notes what I wear. On the other hand (what a pun!) a had a classmate in undergrad who was into collecting expensive fountain ink pens (think at least a few hundred bucks for a pen). He exclusively used fountain pens for writing in any occasion and in his eyes it was a sign of a high status as well. However, he didn't care about watches at all and had the aforementioned G-Shock. Needless to say I was a guy with cheap mass market ballpoint pens for him and he was a guy with a cheap mass market Casio for me. There wasn't an overlap in our ideas of projecting a status with things.

N.B. If you still decide to go down the watch fetish road, note that you need a few good watches. Yes, it's plural. Nothing screams I don't know what I'm wearing but if it's expensive it should be good more than seeing a guy with one watch every single day. Different watches for different events.

 

[Michsund]

Unpopular opinion, but someone need to say it. You likely don't need watches if in order to decide what to wear you are asking it on QN. You definitely don't need watches if you mentioned price point and then considering grey and used markets. This is simply not how it works. Why? Well, long story short nobody really cares except you and you already showed that you don't care.

If I need to elaborate on it more then it comes down to the fact that different people have different utility functions to measure prestige, status and so on. Watches aren't high in a common hierarchy, i.e. few people really care about them. Frankly there are even more exotic objects that can be fetish for someone but not project status for others. Let me give an example. I'm fond of watches myself and was wearing medium price range (think $1000+, Longines and up) since I was a teenager. I did it only because I could afford it and liked it myself, nobody (from school to workplace) ever had a clue how much this thing on my wrist really costs and that it supposed to, using your words, make a good impression. I always note what others are wearing (if any) but know that nobody notes what I wear. On the other hand (what a pun!) a had a classmate in undergrad who was into collecting expensive fountain ink pens (think at least a few hundred bucks for a pen). He exclusively used fountain pens for writing in any occasion and in his eyes it was a sign of a high status as well. However, he didn't care about watches at all and had the aforementioned G-Shock. Needless to say I was a guy with cheap mass market ballpoint pens for him and he was a guy with a cheap mass market Casio for me. There wasn't an overlap in our ideas of projecting a status with things.

N.B. If you still decide to go down the watch fetish road, note that you need a few good watches. Yes, it's plural. Nothing screams I don't know what I'm wearing but if it's expensive it should be good more than seeing a guy with one watch every single day. Different watches for different events.

Sort of agree with this. It’s like I’ve had an extensive show and clothing collection since I’ve been and high school. I still make money selling and buying luxury clothing and shoes as well. No one really cares what you wear and most people won’t even know what it is. If you like it you should get it. I’ve found that isn’t he long run expensive clothing and shoes are worth it because you can flip them and get over half of your money back.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Let me give an example. I'm fond of watches myself and was wearing medium price range (think $1000+, Longines and up) since I was a teenager. I did it only because I could afford it and liked it myself, nobody (from school to workplace) ever had a clue how much this thing on my wrist really costs and that it supposed to, using your words, make a good impression.

I agree with everything in your post (i.e., I don't need a watch and I started this discussion not because I need one but simply to diversify the discussion away from the same dreary lot). Longines used to be a good brand (it's older than Rolex and Omega) but it never really recovered from the Quartz Crisis and these days it's part of the Swatch Group. In recent years it's been trying to climb back to the niche it used to have but with mixed success. As far as I know, it uses an off-the-shelf ETA movement, though perhaps modified.

N.B. If you still decide to go down the watch fetish road, note that you need a few good watches. Yes, it's plural. Nothing screams I don't know what I'm wearing but if it's expensive it should be good more than seeing a guy with one watch every single day. Different watches for different events.

You need a dress watch, maybe a sports watch, maybe a beater. And if you have a Patek, you certainly don't want to wear it on an everyday basis.

You're also correct that most people don't notice your watch unless they're aficionados or (some) top brass. But even top brass probably won't know anything other than Rolex, maybe Patek. They won't know about the Jacob & Co. Astronomia:

 

[bigbadwolf]

I’ve found that isn’t he long run expensive clothing and shoes are worth it because you can flip them and get over half of your money back.

That applies with ever more force to quality watches where you can usually recoup most or even all ofyour money if you go for an Omega, Rolex, or better (and of course provided you've kept the box and papers). But you can't do that if you buy something for, say, $800. That is, you'll take a hit if and when you try to sell.

 

[Michsund]

That applies with ever more force to quality watches where you can usually recoup most or even all ofyour money if you go for an Omega, Rolex, or better (and of course provided you've kept the box and papers). But you can't do that if you buy something for, say, $800. That is, you'll take a hit if and when you try to sell.

I agree luxury watches have great resell value. It’s something I wanted to get into, but I need time to learn about the watch game.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Ah - its that time of year again when bonuses are announced and bank employees want to elevate their social status by buying an expensive watch.

As another poster has pointed out, people generally don't notice. But also, they can't tell the difference between a quality watch and one that tries to imitate it (but at a much lower price). Frederique Constant comes to mind as one such brand. Here's the scathing opinion of Archie Luxury:

 

[noether-skolem]

If you want people to know you wear nice watches just go for the usual suspects (most Rolexs, AP royal oak, PP nautilus) those are probably the most common ones I've seen from my very short (3y) experience working in finance.

Personally I only have a low-end Tag Heuer my parents gifted me when I finished my undergrad, but if I were to buy my own luxury watch I might go for a famous brand but not Rolex or the two aforementioned AP/PP sport watches (I don't think they're dressy enough for business attire). Maybe Vacheron or A Lange.

Ah, now we're entering acceptable territory. Rolex is the low end of the high end. On a side note, the discussion on a watch forum is whether the watch was gifted to him by China, Ukraine, or Wall Street.

His benefactors really need to step up the game, Putin's half-million tourbillon watch might be a good reference.

 

[bigbadwolf]

If you want people to know you wear nice watches just go for the usual suspects (most Rolexs, AP royal oak, PP nautilus) those are probably the most common ones I've seen from my very short (3y) experience working in finance.

These are all good watches -- PP and AP are two members of the holy trinity (PP, AP, and VC).

Personally I only have a low-end Tag Heuer my parents gifted me when I finished my undergrad, but if I were to buy my own luxury watch I might go for a famous brand but not Rolex or the two aforementioned AP/PP sport watches (I don't think they're dressy enough for business attire). Maybe Vacheron or A Lange.

Both VC and Lange cost serious money. Other good brands are Breguet and F.P. Journe (though I think it's difficult to get hold of the latter). Oh, and I forgot to mention Jaeger Le Coultre (which is what I would like).

His benefactors really need to step up the game, Putin's half-million tourbillon watch might be a good reference.

Nah, it would be wasted on him. He doesn't have the class for a watch beyond the Rolex level. As far as I know, Putin has a $500,000 Lange -- which is fitting since Lange used to be an East German firm before the wall came down. Even Trump has a VC and PP.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Ah - its that time of year again when bonuses are announced and bank employees want to elevate their social status by buying an expensive watch.

You have to be careful -- there are expensive watches out there that are not worth the thousands (even tens of thousands) you shell out for them. Hublot is perhaps one such example. This is one reason people go for known brand names like Rolex -- though to my mind Rolex is over-priced for what it is. But that's the advantage of a brand name: you can charge more because of the name.

A good watch will be expensive (goes without saying as craftsmanship et cetera costs) but will have certain qualities (heritage and brand name for example, but also complications, human craftsmanship, and so on). These qualities are what distinguish a $5,000 watch (say a Tudor or Breitling or even Rolex) from a $50,000 Patek.