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I Wore an Expensive Watch While Traveling and People Treated Me Differently
- FussyZeus 8y agoSo if works for an expensive watch, but not an expensive phone, where does that leave an expensive smart watch, ala Apple Watch Edition?
- jbob2000 8y agoThe Apple Watch is tacky, it’s not a statement of wealth or style by any means. It’s a big ugly square that looks like it belongs on someone’s ankle while on house arrest. It’s made by the millions by a bunch of robots and underpaid Asians; There’s no story to it, no history, no movement, nothing to talk about other than “yep it’s my Apple Watch”. Don’t get me wrong, I have an Apple Watch and I wear it as needed. But it’s not a “watch”, it’s a wrist computer, and everybody has a computer, it’s a common good.
- King-Aaron 8y agoI have found that people who pay attention to good watches pay no attention to Apple watches.
- dingaling 8y agoI found it interesting that he says that he doesn't usually wear a watch, to avoid being evaluated, but was happy to mention the brand iPhone. An implicit wealth-boast. Why not just say 'phone'? I have noticed the same behaviour from people who drive certain well-promoted brands of car, Audi and Mini being most common.
- yial 8y agoI think you’re missing it; or to better understand maybe look at resale value. It’s a way to say “I have lots of options” much quicker. His friend in Sardinia understood it much better.
- dagw 8y agoSo if works for an expensive watch, but not an expensive phone The difference is that there aren't really any interesting expensive phones. A couple of companies tried, but it never caught on. The most expensive phone anyone will ever reasonably buy is the latest iPhone and that isn't really that expensive (certainly not when compared to watches).
- sstorie 8y agoMight be a nice article but I couldn't even read it because of the email popup that I couldn't dismiss (or missed how to do it easily).
- dagw 8y agoHad exactly the same problem. A really obnoxious site
- josh_fyi 8y agoThe obvious next step is to buy a fake expensive watch. It doesn't have to carry a brandname or even a fake name based on a brandname. But there are dozens of luxury watch brands. So unless they are an aficionado, most people won't know that the one you wear is not a super-high-end brand which is so rare that they have never seen the name.
- yial 8y agoInterestingly; I’ve used this before in sales but not to actively be nicer to be people (though perhaps it came across like that) but to more effectively target my time. For many people, if they’re looking at items that are $4,000-$7,000 they’re tire kicking. But, if someone has on a Rolex (not even that expensive ) or maybe a Hublot... I’ll even settle for an Hermès, just to say that they’re more likely to purchase. That’s not to say that many people with budget wactches don’t have the income to spend, just that people who spend money on watches sometimes seem more likely to splurge vs save on expensive luxery goods.
- CyberFonic 8y agoReads like a fluff piece written just to sell expensive watches to people who lack substance but want to impress other shallow people. Or am I just being cynical?
- heavenlyblue 8y agoSo when you begin a conversation with a stranger, how do you estimate his depth?
- zazen 8y agoThis reeks of confirmation bias. The guy started with a stereotypical belief that rich people are really impressed by expensive watches, and by considering the times that he _just felt sure_ he was impressing people with his expensive watch, he felt able to conclude that his belief was correct. On top of which, he kind of had to come to the conclusion that the watch makes a difference, in order to have an article to write. If he reported a negative result, he wouldn't get a lot of clicks for that.