DH says I’m ridiculous for wanting to spend this amount of money on a watch, who is BU?

[Halowinslet]

I’ve been lusting after a Rolex datejust for as long as I can remember, but have always stopped myself from buying because there has always been something more ‘sensible’ to do with the money, like keeping it in savings or spending money on an experience like a holiday. This year I’ve been feeling pretty low what with the current situation and there’s no way I’ll be able to go on holiday this year as I’m vulnerable health wise.

Announced to DH this morning that I’m thinking about treating myself to a nice pre owned Rolex (£6k) on the basis that it’s what I’d usually spend on holidays in a year anyway and they hold their value pretty well, in the event that I ever wanted/needed to sell.

DH thinks I’m being absolutely ridiculous spending such a large amount of money on a watch and now I’m wondering whether I’m having a moment of madness. I should point out that the funds would be coming from my own pot of money, rather than joint.

Rolexes usually hold their value so are not in fact a waste of money.

If you have the spare money OP there is nothing wrong with getting yourself something you’ve waited a long time for and enjoying it.

@BadgerB

A few years ago I bought a pre-owned Patek Philippe. I still love it - and my eldest grand-daughter says she has first dibs on it when I die..

Me too. It's actually a man's watch, very unostentatious, and I bought it to treat myself after having got rid of the worst ex-partner....

Cheap mechanical movement
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Somewhat more expensive one

I'd be sooo embarrassed to walk around displaying wealth like that.
Haven't read the thread

OP, if you buy it take good care of the paperwork (and the watch!).

right - but OP would. Maybe they see a holiday as a pointless waste of money. Point surely is - having the freedom to spend £6k on anything non-essential is a luxury. The choice of what that is, is kind of besides the point and ultimately incredibly subjective to the person buying it.

Agreed. But what was the whole point of the thread if not to ask for the inevitably subjective opinions of people who might or might not share the OP's views on whether it was worth buying a £6k watch? So it seems a bit odd that people then get so snarky when some people unsurprisingly respond that yes, they would consider it a waste of money!

@TonTonMacoute

Ouch! 🤣 Some people have, actually, and still choose not to. But your job is done, I feel suitably patronised

I expect OP also feels suitably patronised for having the nerve to want to spend her own money as she chooses, just because it is on something other people don't see the point of.

There are people who spend this amount on the type of holiday that I would hate, a holiday that lasts a few weeks then it's over and that money is gone forever. You can't hang on to it, or sell it to someone else when it's over. Yet people can easily accept that it might be the holiday of lifetime and therefore worth it.

I just think it's strange that watches bring out this particular animus on MN (although MN is a very strange place sometimes).

Absolutely, I don't disagree with any of that. There was an unnecessarily snobbish tone to some of the posts which I found nauseating, though. Very much explaining to the plebs that they were just too unsophisticated to appreciate these things properly, rather than an understanding that tastes differ widely, even amongst similar income brackets.

@Marmaladee

I'd be sooo embarrassed to walk around displaying wealth like that. Haven't read the thread

cheer up, you do get used to have a few bucks in the bank. Reverse snobbery is so cringey.

Go for it! It's your money and you can afford it. A good watch is a real investment as they don't really lose money, especially if you keep them pristine, however I think it's a waste to not wear them everyday.
It's tradition in my family to get a Rolex for your 21st birthday.

I absolutely wish that I had bought myself nice things with my own money much sooner.
Hell yes, get it.

I have a couple of lovely watches - expensive but not Rolex expensive. I love them and wear them every day (well, one of them at a time!). However, the upkeep is also pricey, last time I got them cleaned and serviced and new batteries it was nearly £300.

By contrast dh loves his £25 Timex watch. It has everything he wants - a clear face, large numbers and a light so he can tell the time during the night. Every couple of years the strap breaks and he buys a new one.

Dh loves watches . He bought a Rolex for £10k . Sold it to Watchfinder for £15k ( two years later)
Apparently there was a waiting list for this watch.
Rolexes are very good investments as long as you take care of them and keep the paperwork

OK so it's hard to tell a real Rolex from a fake - but not if you look inside?

There are people who spend this amount on the type of holiday that I would hate, a holiday that lasts a few weeks then it's over and that money is gone forever. You can't hang on to it, or sell it to someone else when it's over. Yet people can easily accept that it might be the holiday of lifetime and therefore worth it.

A holiday can be the source of many happy memories which are priceless to some people.

Very much explaining to the plebs that they were just too unsophisticated to appreciate these things properly, rather than an understanding that tastes differ widely, even amongst similar income brackets.

Oversensitive rubbish!

You don't have to be a 'pleb' to have not seen a watch like a Blancpain or a Patek Philippe IRL. I am shown countless photos of watches by DH, which leave me cold - some of them worth far more than £6k. However, I have looked at and handled watches in shops and have been much more able to understand their appeal.

I don't think it is particularly patronising to point this out.

At the risk of patronising you further I once met the watchmaker George Daniels and was able to hold and admire his own pocket watch that he made himself from scratch.

His watches sell for millions, and he grumbled that the owners kept them in bank vaults. He wore his every day.

Daniels

I've got a Rolex that my mum bought my dad back in the day. Sadly, I don't think the paperwork was kept. I've never seen it anyway.

Buy it and enjoy it, OP!

Don't ask a bunch of strangers on the internet what they think about a watch... 🤣

If you want it, go for it, but I second a PP and say go and try one on just to make sure you like it! At the end of the day, if it's your money then why not?

I absolutely love mine and at first my DH was thinking I was mad but he eventually bought one and now understands the value and how it really is an investment time piece!

Handbags on the other hand is where I really can't bring myself to spending loads on!

@TonTonMacoute

Ouch! 🤣 Some people have, actually, and still choose not to. But your job is done, I feel suitably patronised

I expect OP also feels suitably patronised for having the nerve to want to spend her own money as she chooses, just because it is on something other people don't see the point of.

There are people who spend this amount on the type of holiday that I would hate, a holiday that lasts a few weeks then it's over and that money is gone forever. You can't hang on to it, or sell it to someone else when it's over. Yet people can easily accept that it might be the holiday of lifetime and therefore worth it.

I just think it's strange that watches bring out this particular animus on MN (although MN is a very strange place sometimes).

Agree People spend thousands on holidays which are over in a couple of weeks and most posters on MN don’t have a problem with this. I would rather a holiday than a watch my dh would rather have a watch than a holiday. Different strokes

A holiday can be the source of many happy memories which are priceless to some people

Of course but the one thing it’s never going to be is an investment, whereas a collectible watch or a well chosen piece of art give the owner pleasure and attract a profit.

On holiday in Hong Kong, many years ago, I bought a cheap Rolex "copy watch". A couple of years later I lost it - at Crufts Dog Show, in fact. I've often wondered if the person who found it thought they'd found something really valuable.

I’ve lost so many watches ,or forgotten to taken them off when I’ve gone swimming…yeah not for me

It is undeniably a ludicrous amount of money to spend on a watch.

I bought a watch in 2015 for £6k which is now worth £30k. Really kicking myself for doing that. Not.