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How do you view your watch collection

  • It is an investment for the next generation

    Votes: 2 5.4%
  • It is a depreciating asset that I can use on a rainy day

    Votes: 18 48.6%
  • It is my portable currency that flies under the radar

    Votes: 2 5.4%
  • It isn't worth much to be of any importance financially

    Votes: 15 40.5%

"wristwatches are international portable currency"

1K views 13 replies 13 participants last post by  hydrocarbon 
#1 ·
Not another your income vs your watch posting :)

In the current issue of Fortune magazine, there's an article on watches.
It seems that the watch-collecting hobby has become very popular
recently and there's a small section titled "An asset class that ticks".

(There's also some funny business mentioned that hinted at taxation
issues, which I can't believe that somebody would say it in the open.)

I'm wondering how many of you view your watch collection as an
appreciating investment?
 
#2 ·
For me it's "it's a piece of jewelry that if it kept value would be great but I don't buy jewelry for value."
 
#4 ·
Thats a ridiculous proposition. With some very anomalous exceptions, watches generally depreciate quickly; the moment you walk out of the store with them. Just like with new cars, as soon as you drive them off the lot.

Just like with a new car, everyone should do it once or more, but not as an investment.

Commodioties will likely always be commodities, so if you buy a gold watch, the value of the gold will hold or improve, but take the value of the gold in your watch and weigh it against the price you paid for the watch - you'll soon see that gold will need to start doing a lot better, and soon, in order for that investment to pay off.

I buy watches because I like them, and the thought of later selling them never really crosses my mind. I buy what I can afford, not something out of my means justified because I might be able to recoup some of the money back down the road. Maybe I'm the minority there, but I don't see how watches are a great, or even a good investment.

If you happen to come across a cigar box full of antique Rolexes at a garage sale one day for $10 a pop, invest away.
 
#6 ·
My collection is anything but an investment. The one exception to this is my DJ. It's worth nearly as much now as it was 20 years ago. In all that time it has also been "cash on my wrist" as I could sell it and get my money (a good chunk of it anyway) back on it at any time
 
#7 ·
Brands like Rolex maintain their value very well and are easy to convert to cash: pawn. They have international appeal. You can carry a significant amount of money in a watch, solid gold, diamonds. Probably not enough to cash it in and go start a new life, but enough to get out of a jam-so a few thousand dollars.
 
#14 · (Edited)
It depends entirely on the watch. The vast majority are not exactly what I'd call an investment, or at least not a very smart one.

Being a resident of Iceland in 2008 would also have played a factor. (Scroll to the last paragraph: Houston, we have a problem: Iceland)

Patek Philippe very un-subtly plays the investment/heirloom card, but I don't think their current models will prove to be nearly as sound of a buy as some people are hoping. I'll grant that it's a clever way to persuade folks to squander part of their children's inheritance on a fragile, high-maintenance toy. To be fair, an almost-identical approach has worked extremely well for the DeBeers cartel, but diamonds don't exactly stop working if you drop them (in most cases) or don't have them taken apart and re-oiled at regular intervals. Also, Patek doesn't quite have monopoly control of the high-end watch market.



 
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