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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to consider spending £525 on a watch for myself for xmas??

285 replies

smeeinit · 28/10/2007 20:51

am i???
ive fell in love with a gucci watch and think im going to have to have it!
trouble is i was going to buy myself a personalised number plate for xmas and dont want to dissapoint myself by not getting it?!!
so do i just buy myself both or is that very unreasonable?

OP posts:
onebatmother · 30/10/2007 11:41

Oh dear, i'm getting myself in deeper and deeper but..

it's not the watches themselves that i think are necessarily vulgar, it's the act of spending the money on them - if that is philosophically possible?
Also, and particularly, the act of talking about spending the money on them here.

ScaryScaryNight · 30/10/2007 11:42

I am quite surprised that people find it vulgar that Smeeinit posted this, and query her motivations.

Dont people with less money realize that there are some filthy rich people out here?
You see them in shops, you see them driving their cars, you may even walk past a grande house on your way to work/mum n toddlers/corner shop. People are subjected to seeing people with more money than themselves all the time in real life. It is a part of life, we are not all equal, we are not of equal financial situation, life is a tapestry of different abilities and incomes, political views and values.

Indicating it is thoughtless to post this here where there are people of lesser means is a big "keep your head in the sane attitude" if I ever saw one.

Transferring this to real life, should rich people be forced into ghettoes to avoid upsetting less rich people by their mere presence?

ScaryScaryNight · 30/10/2007 11:43

sorry SAND not sane

themildmanneredaxemurderer · 30/10/2007 11:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

OrmIrian · 30/10/2007 11:47

Well I'd much rather have the £500 than either of those things. Looking forward to spending it on whatever would be much more enjoyable

Not that it's ever likely to happen....

ScaryScaryNight · 30/10/2007 11:47

TMMAM! Yes!
Some may find it vulgar to spend a grand on a "show off" pushchair rather than a modest McLaran or Mothercare, or to have more than one pushchair!

A watch will be with you for life. And might make a good heirloom.

But that is not really the point, is it?

It is utterly puzzling that some people take such offence by people having different choices, tastes and values than themselves, and get so het up about other having more money than themselves.

GreatBigHairyMonsterlapin · 30/10/2007 11:47

But why should someone not spend money on a watch that has been made by craftsmen and will last a lifetime? If we all said "ooh it's vulgar to spend more than £20 on a watch" you'd put a load of artisans out of business. I do see your point, but I think you are over-generalising.

OrmIrian · 30/10/2007 11:49

Can I just raise a teeny weeny whinge though. You say that you've worked hard to get where you are... excellent! But it does raise the implication that others haven't?

fedupwasherwoman · 30/10/2007 11:50

I'm not bothered about jumping to decry someone's choices as vulgar.

For me it is a question of whether it is prudent to spend the money on a watch and personalised number plate.

My train of thought would be....

"Do I already have a rainy day fund to see me through a few of months with no income or to replace the washing machine/boiler if it breaks down and is not repairable ?"

If the answer is "yep, sorted with the rainy day funds" then I'd treat myself to something but not to either of the items on smeeinit's wish list as they are sooooo not my thing. That however is down to personal taste/budget/priorities.

onebatmother · 30/10/2007 11:51

no of course not scary re forcing the rich into gettoes to avoid them upsetting the poor (at least, I think not..)

But were said rich person to go up to said poor person in RL and ask advice on watch, it might be considered slightly distasteful, mightn't it?

Bundle · 30/10/2007 11:52

buy a copy and go and spend the rest on something nice. or give it to charity

ScaryScaryNight · 30/10/2007 11:57

Onebatmother
Yes, but it is the price tag which is the crunch, do you think she would have posted a thread about whether to buy a watch at all? Do you think anybody would object?

It is no different than on of my friends talking to me about not being able to afford cleaning her swimming pool this year as she is buying a house by the sea and must really struggle to make ends meet so she can have a holiday home, and another friend talking about how hard it is to train domestic staff properly. I am not on their level at all, but part of being a nice human being is to be able to listen and advice regardless of your own income level. I dont find it tactless at all. Why shall rich people have to curb what they say to less rich people all the time? Dont they have the same right to speak their minds, talk about their daily life issues as the rest of us?

MrsSeanSlater · 30/10/2007 11:58

Onebatmother, smeeinnit didn't say in the OP:
So, poor people, what do you think of me spending this huge sum on a watch'
That would be highly distasteful.
She said: 'so MNers, what do you think...
MNers come from all walks of life and financial circumstances.
Some of us are poorer than her. Some of us are richer than her.
Last time i went watch shopping the shop was crammed to the gills with watches costing £1,000 and over, which suggests that a fair few people see nothing wrong with spending a large sum on a watch.

onebatmother · 30/10/2007 12:10

But I can;t post about what other people think, MSS,only what I think.

But please, buy watch, enjoy it, I am certianly being mean-spirited and curmudgeonly.

irises · 30/10/2007 12:10

I would buy a £500 watch, no prob, if the spare cash was there and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I know people with £7,000 Rolexes which I think is over the top, but £500 is about right for a watch which will last a long time (get a nice Tissot or Tag, though, the Gucci one's a bit too clunky for my taste).

Personalised number plates, on the other hand always make me think the person has a bit of an insecurity thing going.

Original poster
smeeinit · 30/10/2007 12:12

omg is this still going on???!
i reallt think thats onebatsmother needs to actually read the whole thread and the op before suggesting that im "flashing the cash"
and can i just get one thing straight.....im not in any sense "filthy rich" but ....here i go AGAIN.... i do have the cash to buy myself a decent watch that i want. yes ive worked hard for my money and continue to do so BUT i have never implied omirian that others dont w ork hard.

bundle read the thread in full,you will see i do actually give to charity on a regular basis.

and just to end with onebatsmother if you find this thread soooo distastefull you can ignore it you know rather than keep posting on it?

OP posts:
onebatmother · 30/10/2007 12:14

Yes I am bowing out. Please see most recent post, it's sincerely meant.

iota · 30/10/2007 12:16

smeeinit - you might like to read this earlier expensive watch thread - lots of V expensive watch owners on there

iota · 30/10/2007 12:23

persoanl plates denote insecurity. irises? not round here.

Our local Gay, Lesbian and Transgender nightclub owner has a fab number plate - its:

B1 GAY

I don't think he's insecure (and apparently he's not gay either)

Someone petrol-bombed his car though

spokette · 30/10/2007 12:25

Smeenit, YANBU

Ignore the naysayers. You have earnt your cash, you are not braggging, it is not vulgar, you are just asking for opinions so why you should be attacked for this is beyond me.

Yes there are people out there who can afford very little. However, why should those who can afford more be forced to remain undercover for fear of offending overly delicate sensibilities, especially when they are not bragging or being crass or vulgar about their good fortune?

Why should only the have nots be allowed to post about their predicaments?

iota · 30/10/2007 12:26

B1 GAY story here

DarthVader · 30/10/2007 12:33

I would find both of these pointless items to own and even if I were rich would choose not to own them!
But if they will make you happy and you can afford it then why not!

Kewcumber · 30/10/2007 12:41

only £535 for a watch? Amateur. Mine cost significantly more. A tip for you though, I do make a particular point of asking if people are poor when I meet them then I hide it under my sleeve .

ScaryScaryNight · 30/10/2007 12:52

Lol at Kewcumber
And the reason I never wear my gold watch with diamonds (omega) is because I am afraid somebody will either hack my arm off, or be so intimdated they wont talk to me.

BrownSuga · 30/10/2007 12:52

yes do spend your hard earned on what you like. but i think you won't like that watch in a couple of years. buy something classy and timeless. both dh & i have tags, we wear them everyday, love them, and yes they're insured.

classy watches this way

this way for pre-loved classy watches

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