For the Price of a Watch......

It's been hypothesized many times that the "chase" can be every bit as fun as actually acquiring a watch...and it's true. But perhaps lost sometimes in that grand scheme is a reference point of sorts — i.e., what, exactly might I also have been able to buy with this money? When buying a watch, we tend to compare its value to, well, other watches...not the world at large.

Let me give you an example. My daughter called me last night to let me know she is going to have a baby. Great news; she already has two boys, and is hoping for a girl. So, I thought I'd buy her a gift. Went online to Mikasa.com (a company, if you aren't familiar, that makes and sells some phenomonal dinnerware, crystal, etc.) and went exploring through its clearance "rack." Cobbled together a coffee set (coffee pot, 4 mugs, oversize platter for pastries, etc., and a vegetable bowl that can be pressed into service holding whatever) all with the same understated pattern. All of this stuff is made of fine porcelin, but because it was apparently last year's design, I got some great prices. The coffee pot, for example, was once $110 on Mikasa's site (in the interest of correctness, "interim markdowns may have been taken")...and was clearanced out at $19.99. (Just an FYI: Mikasa's pricing is usually not elevated; I do Internet searches for stuff I'm interested in beforehand, and found the coffee pot still being sold at three different places for $80.)

Anyway, long story short: I decided to double up on the "package" I'd cobbled together, since it was a good deal, and send a set out to my son and his girlfriend. Because the total came to more than $150, I also got it shipped for free.

Then I went back and bought a service for 8 in bona china that was a "first time offered." Mikasa had cut its normal $699 down to $299. Again, "real" prices — they are still, for example, selling the same set (with a soup bowl instead of the bread plate) for $99 for a single five-piece setting, same as I found elsewhere (MSRP for the set was $1,150). Wasn't gonna do it, but noticed that the one set I'd noticed when I was on my buying binge earlier had, in less than a day, sold down to "in stock - four left." Apparently, I'm not the only one who can recognize a deal. This time, not only did I save about $30 on shipping, I also used a "20% off any one item" coupon, shaving $60 off the price. And, like during my first go-round, also will get 7% back from Mr. Rebates.

No, you didn't somehow cross over into Rachael Ray's website. My point? I bought two expanded coffee services in fine porcelin, and a service for 8 in "the real deal" bone china...all stuff that is good enough to be treasured, and spent less than $450 — the cost of yet another decent automatic watch I was looking at. The watch would have been, well, "just another watch" in the watchbox(es)...this other stuff will bring a light to the eyes of the people that will receive it, and may be kept a lot longer than the watch might've been...

It can be quite eye-opening to see what else you can buy with that watch allowance...

Just shut up OK?????????????????????????


KIDDING!


This may sound, selfish almost, but I do it with no complaints and because I love and support my kids wholeheartedly. Between my daughter's dance and my son's karate (and all equipment and shoes required) I CONSERVATIVELY shell out close to $700 a month between the two. Again, this probably sounds COMPLETELY opposite to 25or6to4, but in that light, I haven't felt TOO guilty about my recent acquisitions.

NOW, when I bought the Panerai, I DID have some thoughts of "big screen, PS3, surround sound," something the whole family would enjoy but we already have a 55" Panasonic plasma with an Xbox360 and a Wii hooked up to it, so again guilt pangs subside...

I work from home now so my wife caters the kids all over in a 2007 Hummer H3 all over town looking like a HOT MOM!

Wow, maybe this reply turned into THERAPY for me. I guess what I am trying to say, is that if I was spending tons on watches each month and my wife and kids were living "sub-par" comparatively, I would feel guilty, but right now, I think we are all making out pretty good...

So YES, keep that watch spending in check and make sure you "spread the wealth..."

Z, your post doesn't sound counter to mine, or "selfish" in the least.....but that wasn't the point of my post. It's not about anyone's family "going without" or living "sub-par" in order for any of us to pursue that next watch, or about feeling guilty about a watch purchase...no one here, I don't think, would sacrifice the pleasures of his or her family in order to acquire another watch.

As I noted early on, so often the "comparative analysis" of the watch's cost isn't vs. "other things" — it's vs. yet another watch. As such, it can be surprising, at times, to see just how much that money can buy when judiciously making purchases in the rest of the world...I was just noting all the "stuff" I bought — good stuff — for less than the price of a watch I was considering buying...

I hear ya man and I look for the best deal on ANYTHING I get...

Unless someone just doesn't worry about money, I don't see why anyone shops at your typical MALL store; much better deals are found at outlets and online. As you said, there are GREAT deals out there, and NOT just on watches...

My situation is this: I buy my watches with what is left over after I buy anything and everything that my family (wife & 2 kids) need. So I have absolutely no guilt droping up to $1000 on a watch. However, after that price point, I may do a "gut check" to reevaluate the purchase. This is a similar approach to what both of you just stated...just a different way of looking at it.

Either way, our families are happy and so are we!!

. . . if you have two dollars, spend one dollar for a loaf of bread . . . and spend the other on your soul.

An old adage I adopted long ago. Family first of course, but if you don't feed your soul . . . it gets hollow.

i spend a grand a month on notre dame private all girls catholic high school for my daughter (she is a junior with a 4.2 GPA) and spent 900.00 a month for my sons all boys catholic private HS (Palma baby, 450 kids and a ton of ccs football championships)! The schools are right next to each other so there are many activities they share! Two years ago they both were in high school at the same time! thats almost 80 grand to get two kids thru high school not including books, building fee's and all the parent support these schools demand!! They could have went to public school but it sucks and with gangs and what not didnt want my son in a school with over 3000 kids, same with daughter! After all this my son follows his girlfriend of all four HS years to junior college at MPC in monterey while his best friend is at USC! they didnt make it together a full year and she transfers to santa barbara JC and he is still at mpc until he graduates then we will look at another school!! I'm not paying room and board for a friggin junior college, thats where i draw the line!! Long story short we do everything we can so our kids can succeed and if my only vice is watches, well i can live with that!!

cali kid wrote:

i spend a grand a month on notre dame private all girls catholic high school for my daughter (she is a junior with a 4.2 GPA) and spent 900.00 a month for my sons all boys catholic private HS (Palma baby, 450 kids and a ton of ccs football championships)! The schools are right next to each other so there are many activities they share!

The all-girl's catholic high school charged you a grand...but the all-boy's catholic high school "only" charged you $900? sounds like you've got a case for sexual discrimination.......

I think The original post was meant to be more of a look what you can buy with your watch money, and not how you spend your money.......

I think the point he was going for , is look at all the other things you could buy instead of always chasing the next watch.......I.E, you need a new computer, but are looking at a sinn u1......you have the money, but can only spend it on one.....etc.......

i get where he is coming from, as much as i love watches, i realize sometimes that the money dropped on them could have been used to purchase something else that was needed...........ahh.....im getting responsible in my young age.....lol.......

heartbreak wrote:

I think The original post was meant to be more of a look what you can buy with your watch money, and not how you spend your money.......

I think the point he was going for , is look at all the other things you could buy instead of always chasing the next watch.......I.E, you need a new computer, but are looking at a sinn u1......you have the money, but can only spend it on one.....etc.......

Just as a clarification on my response as it relates to your point above...I buy the computer first (any anything else for that matter)...IF anything is left over (post investment/529 plan contributions/envelope for church...etc.) is what I use as my watch "slush fund"....after I accumulate enough to purchase a watch or watches, I use this cash for that...no guilt involved.


Good points though HB!

then you can say that at just about anything! i got an invicta watch with a 2900 retail value and only paid 275 bones for it!!! I dont think any of us here put our watches ahead of anything our families need!! that would be the other forum that gets you wrapped up in values pays until you're almost broke!

cali kid wrote:

then you can say that at just about anything! i got an invicta watch with a 2900 retail value and only paid 275 bones for it!!! I dont think any of us here put our watches ahead of anything our families need!! that would be the other forum that gets you wrapped up in values pays until you're almost broke!

BTW - I use VP for the church envelope!

cali kid wrote:

then you can say that at just about anything! i got an invicta watch with a 2900 retail value and only paid 275 bones for it!!! I dont think any of us here put our watches ahead of anything our families need!! that would be the other forum that gets you wrapped up in values pays until you're almost broke!

that was my point with my post........these days, anything that needs to be purchased, i buy them first and the watches are last on the list.......if everything else is taken care of, and i have money left over to purchase a watch, then i do, but priorities are priorites, and watches are not one of them in the grand scheme of things........all good points by everyone here......

25or6to4 wrote:

cali kid wrote:

i spend a grand a month on notre dame private all girls catholic high school for my daughter (she is a junior with a 4.2 GPA) and spent 900.00 a month for my sons all boys catholic private HS (Palma baby, 450 kids and a ton of ccs football championships)! The schools are right next to each other so there are many activities they share!

The all-girl's catholic high school charged you a grand...but the all-boy's catholic high school "only" charged you $900? sounds like you've got a case for sexual discrimination.......

And the boys school is alot nicer place! they have alot more revenue coming in from sporting events and alumni supports the school much more! The girls program is quite a dynasty itself in the CCS with stretches from paso robles to san jose and has won ccs softball titles in 13 of the last 15 years and has multiple championships in vollyball and basketball but they just cant raise finds like the boys school! with huge places like Dole veg, T&A, Fresh express, taylor farms and D'arrigo bros. with owners and their kids going to Palma the money just rolls in!!

heartbreak wrote:

cali kid wrote:

then you can say that at just about anything! i got an invicta watch with a 2900 retail value and only paid 275 bones for it!!! I dont think any of us here put our watches ahead of anything our families need!! that would be the other forum that gets you wrapped up in values pays until you're almost broke!

that was my point with my post........these days, anything that needs to be purchased, i buy them first and the watches are last on the list.......if everything else is taken care of, and i have money left over to purchase a watch, then i do, but priorities are priorites, and watches are not one of them in the grand scheme of things........all good points by everyone here......

You're a young guy HT and if you keep to this practice you will come out ahead in the long run! great job!

heartbreak wrote:

I think The original post was meant to be more of a look what you can buy with your watch money, and not how you spend your money.......

I think the point he was going for , is look at all the other things you could buy instead of always chasing the next watch.......I.E, you need a new computer, but are looking at a sinn u1......you have the money, but can only spend it on one.....etc.......

i get where he is coming from, as much as i love watches, i realize sometimes that the money dropped on them could have been used to purchase something else that was needed...........ahh.....im getting responsible in my young age.....lol.......

That's pretty much it, Heartbreak...with the only exception that maybe I'd change your comment "something else that was needed..." to "something else that was wanted..."

Sometimes, when focused on watches (or any other obsession), it almost seems like dollars are "play money"...the amounts you are bantering about don't seem outrageous after a while — until you step outside the envelope and see what the same amount of money will buy in other "stuff"...I don't think dropping $500 on a watch is a big deal...but when I saw how much "stuff" it bought elsewhere — not perishable stuff, but long-lasting, hold-onto-it stuff — I was, like, "Whoa!"

Ironically, it also seems like there are purchases you hesitate to make — you tend to ask yourself, "Do I really need/want that?" — but then think nothing of dropping another handful of C-notes on another watch without blinking, because you've become used to spending that much money (sometimes less, sometimes more) as the price of admission.

cali kid wrote:

heartbreak wrote:

cali kid wrote:

then you can say that at just about anything! i got an invicta watch with a 2900 retail value and only paid 275 bones for it!!! I dont think any of us here put our watches ahead of anything our families need!! that would be the other forum that gets you wrapped up in values pays until you're almost broke!

that was my point with my post........these days, anything that needs to be purchased, i buy them first and the watches are last on the list.......if everything else is taken care of, and i have money left over to purchase a watch, then i do, but priorities are priorites, and watches are not one of them in the grand scheme of things........all good points by everyone here......

You're a young guy HT and if you keep to this practice you will come out ahead in the long run! great job!

Well thank you Trevor.........i appreciate that.......
believe me, i have found the error of my ways in the past , and you either grow up quick and realize what is really important in life and how to spend your money, or you become broke and poor for a hobby........i have chosen the first, .......believe me , i would love to spend every pay check on a watch, but the rent, the bills, taking care of my girlfriend, saving money, etc, is way more important.....yes, everyone has to splurge now and then, but no one needs to be buying a new watch every week if you if you really cant afford it...........now, if you can, more power to ya.....but I think most of us here are not millionare's and we realize whats important in life , and what to take care of first..........

What a great topic 25or6to4 ! It really is something when you stop and think how much
you can get in life for the price of watches in general. Actually the watch companies probably
don't want us to realize any of this. They know we love watches, and that we want to know
what is always coming next from all of them. The key is most likely to enjoy the hobby itself
in all of it's forms, not just buying watches, but looking, and learning about them, as well as
being on forums like this. That way we can really focus on life..family, friends as a priority and
enjoy the hobby of watches too !

Very rarely are watches a necessity.
Even my AD told me that in reality, even his least expensive watches are luxuries...
depends on your level of income, and interests.