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I don't wear watches "as an accessory," but I don't feel completely dressed without one. There have been few days in the last 49 years when I haven't worn one -- beginning when I was given one for my high school graduation at age 17. (I can relate with the young man who was given a Rolex from his uncle.) Mine was a simple Bulova, not an expensive watch and wasn't my first, but it was the first one that cost more than a Timex. I still have it and wear it every few years when the battery dies in whatever watch I'm wearing.
My current watch is a simple gold Gruen. Other than the few days it's been down due to battery issues and the week I sent it in for cleaning, I've worn it daily since my late wife gave it to me as a birthday gift 20+ years ago. It was the first gift she gave me -- the first time we met, actually -- so it has great sentimental value to me. I'm sure it wasn't expensive, considering she was a poor single mom at the time, but it has a classic design and keeps nearly perfect time.
Last year I sold an old Bulova Accutron Astronaut that my ex had given me back in '68. It had quit working, and I couldn't find anyone to fix it. Rather than toss it or keep a non-working watch, I decided to put it on eBay. I clearly stated that it no longer ran, took some good close-up pictures of it and started the auction. IIRC, it had cost $225 when new. It sold for $450! Whoooopie!
Speedy,
Watches make great gifts, and at one time they were very popular as graduation gifts. I've read your posts but still don't understand why you seem to have it in for 90sman. He was given a nice watch by an uncle. He'll probably still have that watch 50 years from now and will still appreciate the gift from his uncle. To me, that's a better way to get a Rolex than by spending your money on it just because you got a promotion. In fact, if I were to ever buy a Rolex, I'd want to give it to someone rather than wear it myself. And if I ever wear one, it'll be because it was a gift from someone special. Wanna be special?
Speedy,
Watches make great gifts, and at one time they were very popular as graduation gifts. I've read your posts but still don't understand why you seem to have it in for 90sman. He was given a nice watch by an uncle. He'll probably still have that watch 50 years from now and will still appreciate the gift from his uncle. To me, that's a better way to get a Rolex than by spending your money on it just because you got a promotion. In fact, if I were to ever buy a Rolex, I'd want to give it to someone rather than wear it myself. And if I ever wear one, it'll be because it was a gift from someone special. Wanna be special?
I just view it as a waste at that age; wouldn't the uncle's money be better spent on paying $5K towards college or buying something necessary for a person entering the college atmosphere? At that age, you don't need an expensive watch...you need money for college loans/books/etc. When you're saddled with mountains of debt at 22/23, who's to say he wouldn't just pawn the watch off for two grand and use that money towards the loan payments?
The college bubble will be the next big thing to burst in our economy. I've read quite a few articles about how recent graduates can't see to find jobs they've studied for, are being forced to move back home and live with mom and dad, and are lacking the motivation to accept jobs at the low end of the totem pole. Yet these kids are also driving (used) BMW's, shopping for luxury goods, and spending money like they're making six figures. I guess my rant is more directed at the entire generation of young adults than one person in particular, it's just that the idea of receiving something that most people need to work hard for is a bit bothersome to me. How does one learn the value of hard work when expensive things are just handed to them?
I just view it as a waste at that age; wouldn't the uncle's money be better spent on paying $5K towards college or buying something necessary for a person entering the college atmosphere? At that age, you don't need an expensive watch...you need money for college loans/books/etc. When you're saddled with mountains of debt at 22/23, who's to say he wouldn't just pawn the watch off for two grand and use that money towards the loan payments?
The college bubble will be the next big thing to burst in our economy. I've read quite a few articles about how recent graduates can't see to find jobs they've studied for, are being forced to move back home and live with mom and dad, and are lacking the motivation to accept jobs at the low end of the totem pole. Yet these kids are also driving (used) BMW's, shopping for luxury goods, and spending money like they're making six figures. I guess my rant is more directed at the entire generation of young adults than one person in particular, it's just that the idea of receiving something that most people need to work hard for is a bit bothersome to me. How does one learn the value of hard work when expensive things are just handed to them?
Receiving an expensive present does not preclude being a responsible person. I know what you're saying about a young adult's simply being spoiled and over-indulged, but one fancy watch does not mean that's the case. How many young adults are given a car by their parents? Yes, some of them immediately crash it or get a DUI and learn nothing, but a lot also go on to lead respectable, productive lives.
My husband's family is fairly well-to-do, with several very successful surgeons and bankers. His older brother (different mother who remarried a very wealthy man) grew up with every privilege, the USC frat brother spending spring break in Utah jumping out of helicopters on the ski slopes. He works like crazy and is doing very well for himself, living that lifestyle with his own family now. My point is, having an expensive watch does not signify anything about a person's work ethic or sense of responsibility.
I agree that a watch as a gift is nothing new, and a Rolex for a milestone event like a graduation is not that uncommon. I have received watches as gifts, inherited a couple, etc., and they are more meaningful than those that I bought. Perhaps the most memorable was from my father's uncle, who gave me a Piguet when I was five-years-old, simply because I asked to try it on, which he thought was great fun and took it off his wrist and held it on mine. He married a widow later in life and had no children of his own, only stepchildren, and I still remember how his eyes lit up when I tried on his watch and the smile that crossed his face when he asked if I would like a watch like that someday. He then said "It's yours, but we'll give it to your parents to keep for you." He died when I was seven, so when I pull it out and wear it, I fondly remember him, and the joy he felt at the expression of a gift. My father even had a local watchmaker fit a shortened strap to the watch so I could wear it to the funeral, since restored back to an adult size, of course.
Now, people in my family joke with me over the story, and say that I should have expressed a need for a mint late-1930s Packard convertible in his garage, or that I simply could not get along without my own house in Greenwich (at 5). The point is that when a gift is given, the monetary value is meaningless, because it truly is the thought behind it that counts. And, I can honestly say that the Piguet would never be sold, only given to someone else in the family, because it's not viewed as a commodity or a consumable; rather, it's a legacy piece as it was a gift. That's the meaning that many have who receive watches as gifts for special occasions.
__________________
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
But a good quality vintage rolex with the genuine movements. (just be careful not to get scammed).
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