I'd bet good money the whole reason for this essay is PG tried to buy a Patek and was told to fuck off. This is his way of getting back at them. The last parag

I'd bet good money the whole reason for this essay is PG tried to buy a Patek and was told to fuck off. This is his way of getting back at them. The last paragraph goes so far as to predict/hope that the whole sector will at some point simply die: > mechanical watches would start to be seen by the next cohort of young rich people as an old guy thing. It's hard to imagine a luxury watch brand surviving that. In cauda venenum if there ever was one.