FEATURE: Is Trying On Expensive Watches a Good Idea? (featuring Jim Dollares)

Chopard Alpine Eagle

When I was in London recently I had the opportunity to try on a 'Chopard Alpine Eagle' which while not SUPER excessively expensive, is still something that I could not really contemplate buying without some serious saving and some intense soul searching. I was very impressed with the quality of the watch in the hand and I could totally understand why people who can afford to drop £11,000 on a watch without too much heartache would, but it also made me question whether trying on watches you know you can't really afford is a good idea. Does it make you dissatisfied with what you can actually afford or is it all part of the fun of being a watch enthusiast?

To find out, I thought I would ask our Swedish friend Jim Dollares,..

ROB: Hey Jim, thanks for doing this with me. So first off, let's get this out of the way, what is the most 'expensive' watch you have ever tried on?

JIM: Wazzup bromigo. Good to see you again. Well wow, that is a really really good question. I think it must be either the solid gold Breitling Chronomat or the Lange & Söhne Saxonia in yellow gold. The Lange made no impression on me at the time because I wasn't at all into dressy stuff back then. The Breitling though, it was an incredible thing to wear. 

I am very jealous that you got to try on the Alpine Eagle, a watch I am a big fan of.

ROB: Yeah it was verrrrrry nice. So how much do you reckon we are talking about? £20,000? 

JIM: The Breitling was maybe 20k yes. And even though it was superb to wear, it wasn't something that I went on dreaming about. I knew already when putting it on that it was never something I would even consider spending the money for.

Looks like the perfect watch for Jim 'King of Bling' Dollare$

ROB: I only ask because obviously there's a difference between trying on a watch that you could maybe afford if you really really wanted and you were prepared to save hard for years and a watch that is just completely out of the question. Like for example I tried on a Roger Dubois Excalibur Spider Volant tourbillon in Harrods that cost more than my house (when I bought it), that's just ridiculous. But what I mean is, that doesn't really have any bearing because it's soo far out there that it's like being disillusioned with your Ford because you can't afford a Ferrari.

JIM: Very good point and I think you are absolutely right. I haven't really thought about it earlier actually but I have definitely experienced the difference. Some of my biggest 'highs' I have felt are when trying on a watch that is out of reach but not totally ridiculous. For me that has been for example some IWC steel models, we're talking big money but realistic to save up for and maybe sell an existing watch to help fund the new one. Those watches have usually left a big impression with me and made me reconsider my collection.

I have had similar experiences test driving cars when I think about it. I remember one time test driving a brand new fully equipped BMW 750i. It was cool and all that. But I was more emotional another time test driving a VW Golf with a big engine. That thing put a big smile on my face and I already started making mental plans to one day own one. I still want it, but couldn't care less for the BMW.

ROB: Well that's also a good point, cos maybe trying on a watch (or car) that would be a ridiculous stretch would show that actually you don't think it's worth it, in which case you save yourself a lot of bother!

But yeah, I think that's what I'm getting at, where you try on something that's attainable but expensive. Like that Alpine Eagle I tried on, it's £11,200, which is a long, long way out of my comfort zone, but given the value of my collection it's not 'impossible' because I could sell a (huge) number of pieces to buy it if I 'really' wanted to. Now that felt quite different to any of my current watches, even without knowing how much it cost it was obviously much higher quality than anything I currently own... and I can see where I could have gone home and thought 'I need to sell half my collection and buy something like that'. But then you get into the whole other side of that argument like would I really feel comfortable wearing an £11,000 watch and would it have longevity, and if not am I going to lose a ton of money chasing the next high end watch that I can't afford?

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Volant Tourbillon

JIM: Yes but one important question though. How do you feel about your own watches now that you have tried on the Alpine Eagle? Did it change in any way?

ROB: No I don't think so. Probably because although it's probably fairly priced in relation to the market, it's too expensive for me to realistically want it. So, how can I put this... if it was say £6000, then I might have thought, shit I need to get one of these what can I sell, but I would have to sell a LOT of watches to get £11,000 together, so it's still not realistic. 

But I think it's useful to try on watches that are outside your 'current' scope because things may change. And funnily enough, when I did try that Roger DuBuis Exoskeleton thing on I didn't really like it all that much anyway. I feel like maybe of the two of us you are the one who would try something on, like an IWC and then want to sell stuff to get it. Do you agree?

JIM: Yes most certainly! I am not as brand faithful to TAG Heuer as you are. Its been my favourite watchmaker for more than four years now and I don't see that ever changing. But that doesn't mean you can't have a little fun on the side though right? And well, I did recently sell my Heuer01 to fund a Black Bay 58 which proves that I obviously would do such thing!

The benefit in general of experiencing different brands is that you get some good perspective. Take the F1 clasps for example. A one watch person who buys a TAG Heuer F1 as his only nice timepiece, might actually think that the clasp is worthy of a premium watch. While us with experience easily can tell that such clasp hardly even belongs on a £200 Tissot quartz diver!

What clashes for me and in a way, ruins my collecting, is that at this point it is difficult to find the premium and feeling I am looking for in a watch for the price I am normally willing to pay. I kind of wish all watches I long for would be around 1500-2500, a perfect price point for my wallet. But in reality there is basically only one brand I have found that can meet my expectations at these prices and this would be Longines. So I think I will have to eventually buy fewer watches and less frequently. Or accept that my watch budget must be bigger.

ROB: I totally agree, if watches were cheaper I would still spend just as much on them, I'd just have more. And maybe it's good to get some perspective from these experiences. Like trying on a £10k watch makes you question whether it's actually worth it and then it makes you ask the same questions about cheaper watches, cos even though they are 'cheaper' they are not by any means 'cheap'.

Like the other day I saw a comment on a YouTube video about a Monaco and it said something like 'It's a beautiful watch but I don't think I will ever be able to afford one'. It does give you pause for thought and I think it's good sometimes to 'question' whether it's right to spend such large sums of money on things which are not really 'needed'. Like I know in the past you have said that you also have to consider other things like your son's future etc...

Wait, you never said you sold the Heuer 01 to pay for the Black Bay. You said you ordered the Black Bay and then casually dropped in a few days later that you'd sold the TAG. Now I'm pissed

JIM: Haha sorry! Well no the order was more like this. I came to the conclusion that the Heuer01 wasn't truly loved. It cost a lot of money, money I could use on something I truly love. I started looking at my wish list to see what else I could get for the H01 money, and that lead to a decision to get the Black Bay.

Going back to the price discussion. I think the risk of "ruining" your own collection won't necessarily come from expensive watches. More from experiencing well built and high quality products. While more common the higher up the price ladder you go, well built and high quality watches are available in most price intervals. My experience has made me reject ever getting another current generation Formula 1. In hindsight I know now that the £1450 I payed for it, was logically not worth it. It doesn't feel like a watch at that price point. Don't get me wrong, I love the watch more than ever because it means so much to me and lets not forget it is insanely good looking. But I have seen and tried enough watches to know what to demand for that price. Right now it seems what I am looking for though in terms of quality, attention to details and premium feeling, is only available for £3000-4000 and up.

ROB: I know what you mean, I really like my orange F1 and I don't regret buying it for a second, but I do question whether it's really 'worth' £1200....

Hmm, that's an interesting viewpoint, and you are right because while there is some correlation between cost and quality, it's not always clear cut and linear. After all, a £10,000 watch is not necessarily twice as good as a £5000 watch, and so on.

JIM: Exactly! And it seems that some independent brands can do for £500 what the Swiss charge £4000 for. This brings me to something you know I am thinking a lot about. Should I pull the trigger and get a hyped micro brand watch? I am kind of hoping to be breathtaken by high quality and premium feeling for little money. It would be more financially logical to step down in prices, rather than making it a habit to always spend between £3-6000. I mean... what if that beautiful Baltic feels as good as the Tudor? I will never know unless I try and all reviews everywhere keep praising the Baltic. Similar with some other beloved independents.

ROB: Hmm, yes... but then you can't compare a brand that no one has ever heard of with a brand that spends millions of dollars advertising itself every year. You have to accept that a 'branded' product like TAG Heuer or Rolex is going to cost much more than a Zelos. But I agree it does chafe the balls a little when you see the specs on these sub £1000 microbrand watches!

Maybe Longines is the answer for you. It's Swiss, but it seems a little less overpriced than some of the others and that Baltic isn't my cup of tea sure, but at the price it seems very good value for money compared to Swiss makes.

French assembled (Chinese made) Baltic HSS 002

JIM: No that is true of course. But I notice that the older and wiser I get (and since I read that awesome book 'Deluxe: How Luxury Lost it's Lustre' by Dana Thomas), the less I care about branding and prestige. This was a good discussion for me, I am reflecting and concluding that its the beauty, quality and feeling of the product itself I care for.

ROB: Which is as it should be of course, the problem for me though is that nothing else excites me like a TAG Heuer. I think it's too late for me, save yourself while you still can!

JIM: Have you ever had the feeling that TAG Heuer is like two companies? It feels like you have the "affordable stuff" below I don't know, say £3000. And then you have the premium stuff way up there. The difference between these products is very clear. Obviously that is the point with entry level products but... do you know what I mean?

ROB: Absolutely. And it's getting worse every year, for example the Monaco is getting further and further away from being 'affordable'. In fact I think I said this recently to you, that usually if someone asks 'should I buy a watch on credit' generally my answer would always be '100% NO', but given the way the prices are rising every year then maybe it's not such a bad idea. As long as it's interest free credit of course... and as long as you are confident in your ability to repay the loan.

But then I struggle with the idea of spending more than £3000 on a watch full stop (and I've only done that once), because I just don't think that I can justify it to myself and because I have found so much joy in older pieces that costs £100s not £1000s.

So then, in conclusion, I would say that trying on very expensive watches is fine because ultimately you can't afford them and it's just nice to experience things that you will never be able to own. But trying on watches that are a step or three outside your price limit may be risky; it might make you doubt what you already have, or it might give you clarity and make you want to buy better but less frequently.

As for me, well I think my feet are firmly on the ground, sure I liked the Alpine Eagle but would I save every spare penny I earned for 2-3 years to be able to buy it? Not a chance. 

Thanks to Jim for taking part in this little chat, hopefully it won't be too long before he's back on the T.H.E. Blog with his Black Bay 58 'Buying Experience' post...